You Can’t Lose With the Stuff I Use…Mind Science (Rev. IKE)

Truth Matters Newsletters – Aug 2009 – Vol. 14 Issue 8 – You Can’t Lose With the Stuff I Use…Mind Science – Rev. Ike – by Rev. Bob Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

You Can’t Lose With the Stuff I Use…Mind Science

(Rev. Ike)

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Before there was Robert Tilton, Benny Hinn, Kenny Copeland or Paul and Jan Crouch, there was Rev. Ike. Like the aforementioned flimflam artists Ike was a tongue-talking prophesying and preaching Pentecostal. Like many charismatic luminaries he too was excommunicated (kicked out of) his Pentecostal denomination. (1) The following is a statement from Ike’s own website:

Rev. Frederick Eikerenkoetter, better known to millions as REV. IKE, “The Success and Prosperity Preacher,” has been Minister, Teacher, Motivator, Evangelist, Counselor, and Pastor to millions of people for over 40 years. Rev. Ike dared to go where most theologians, Bible teachers, and preachers would not. As an evangelist, on TV, radio, and at mass meetings, he had the ‘nerve’ to PREACH “Prosperity NOW!” — long before it became popular to do so. He was dismissed by some “mainstream” and “fundamentalist” people, but now many famous preachers, teachers, and authors sound just like Rev. Ike—teaching prosperity! Rev. Ike’s Science of Living Ministry began with only a handful of faithful supporters. He taught these people how to get turned on to life. He showed them how to BE, to DO, and to HAVE all the good that they desire through the Presence and Power of God, infinite Good, within everyone. Since then, Rev. Ike has become a Spiritual advisor to millions of people of all races and religions—and even to those with NO religion. He teaches that the Presence of God in you is your Unlimited Resource of Good. Rev. Ike attracts people from all walks of life: ordinary people, the rich, the poor, the famous, movie stars, political figures, sports champions—even priests and rabbis! The growth of Rev. Ike’s Ministry is realized daily, as thousands of testimonies and letters pour in from people all over the world. These people have received Good Health, Healing, Joy, Love, Success, Prosperity, Good Fortune, and More Money through applying his teachings in their lives. (2)

Some, our older readers may remember seeing this good looking black “preacher” on television (he was one of the original televangelists) who often told those gathered to hear him “I don’t want to hear any change in the offering plates, change makes me nervous.” The message he preached never varied and could be easily boiled into another one of his aphorisms “the lack of money is the root of all evil.” He used all of the commonly used biblical texts trotted out by today’s shameless shams to bilk, God’s gullible sheep out of their hard earned ducats. In fact, there is little reason at all to believe that today’s crop of shysters were not shaped and formed by his example and proclamations regarding God’s alleged desire for His children to be filthy rich.

Rev. Ike embodied his message at one point owing sixteen (16) Rolls Royce’s, custom made suits, shoes and multiple homes. Ike was “praising God” in the backseat of his Rolls long before Gospel pimp Fred. Price made the statement that “there was nothing like praising God in the backseat of his Rolls Royce.” Ike purchased one of seven famed movie theaters in New York City and had a congregation of over 5,000 people making him one of the early mega-church pastors even before the term was coined. (3)

Even though Ike began his life as a Christian, attended a Pentecostal seminary and was an ordained Pentecostal pastor for a short while somewhere he veered off course. His messages went from sin and salvation to prosperity through the power of the mind or what he called “mind science.” The following citation will give you an idea of what Ike taught:

Some ‘religious’ people are going to be shocked by what I have to say next…You see, Rev. Ike’s teachings are based on the bible,—but not the literal translation of the fundamentalists…Rev. Ike interprets the Bible SYMBOLICALLY, not literally. He considers the Bible the greatest book of Mind Science—the greatest book of spiritual psychology—ever written! When he gets through with you, the Bible will never be the same…You will INDERSTAND it for the first time in your life! And you will love God more than ever, but it won’t be the God you learned about in Sunday School. It won’t be that stingy, hard-hearted, hard-of-hearing God-in the Sky you’ve been praying to…because, you’ll learn to stop looking for help from a God OUTSIDE of you. You will know the truth of yourself—that you are a Child of God and God is WITHIN YOU. (4)

When symbolism or allegory is used as the standard method of interpreting the Scriptures then God’s Word ceases to have any objective meaning. Objective truth did not matter to Ike, what did matter was convincing his followers that if they could imagine what they wanted from God, confess what they wanted and not be swayed by circumstances they could have whatever they wanted! The only difference between what Ike taught and what the Word of Faith (WOF) cult teaches today is simply the false distinction between mind and spirit.

Ike’s system was a mental system, conceiving what you want in your mind then proclaiming it into existence. WOF teaches one must incubate what is desired in the spirit and then confessed via faith-filled words until the desire manifests. The question that plagues many in the WOF cult is simply how does one know if they have planted their desire in the soul (mind/will/emotion) or their spirit?  The cult’s answer this way —if you got what you desired then it was birthed in the spirit, created by faith and brought to pass by the correct use of spiritual law (vs. mental laws). If one fails to receive their desire then obviously it was because they only had a soul or mental assert versus a true heart/faith conviction.

This minor distinction of mind and spirit is really all that differentiates in practice, Theosophy, New thought, Mind Science, Christian Science from the Word of Faith cult. Norman Vincent Peale, widely accepted today by many Christians taught “mind science” without calling it such:

Peale taught “Your unconscious mind….[has a] power that turns wishes into realities when the wishes are strong enough.” He also stated “God is energy. As you breathe God in, as you visualize His energy, you will be reenergized. (5).

Another wolf in sheep’s clothing, Robert Schuller is another purveyor of mind science but naturally he calls it something different:

Robert Schuller attributed to Peale to be the man who had the greatest influence upon his theology and ministry, (He even claimed Peale starting the positive thinking movement). Schuller changed the term positive thinking to Possibility thinking and continued to contain the principles of these same ideas. (6)

Ike’s system was far simpler to put into action than the WOF’s, for Ike all one had to do was think on what he or she wanted, visualize it, speak positive words about it and don’t doubt. There was no confusion over mind versus spirit, the devil coming to steal your seed, digging up your seed through negative confessions. His system was purely mind science or what we could call old fashioned occultism. In the occult: the “law of manifestation,” declares that thoughts held firmly in the mind, spoken aloud, or visualized will “manifest” in the physical world.

We will see the concepts and idea of visualization is carried into the word faith teaching of speaking and confessing.

To see the obvious connection between what Kenneth Copeland/Hagin/ Meyer/Dollar/Duplantis/Cho et all teach and New Thought or Mind Science; one only has to read a few books by New Thought authors. Compare Dr. Paul Cho’s (pastor of the world’s largest church in Korea) book “The Fourth Dimension” and that of Napoleon Hill “Think and Grow Rich.”

Ernest Holmes, Founder of Religious Science teaches that mankind creates his own reality through what he visualizes and confesses…brothers and sisters that is exactly what I was taught while bewitched by the WOF cult!

The recent best-selling book “The Secret” was really nothing more than a rehashing of what Rev. Ike and other mind science occultists had been teaching since the fall of Adam.  “The Secret” is a simple restatement of what occultists call “the law of attraction.” This so-called law states that people’s conscious and unconscious thoughts dictate the reality in their lives. This is no different than saying ‘you can have whatsoever you say” or you may hear televangelists say “you are living the life of all your prior confessions today. If you want to change your life, then change your confession.”

There is nothing wrong with having a positive attitude and that will often spill over into positive statements (out of the abundance of the heart the mouth does speak (see Matt. 12:34). However, that is a long way from creating our own realities by what we say. Ike and the WOF make the mistake of creating God in their own image. Ike says God dwells within all people and WOF says that we are all little gods. Both statements are patently false. When Jesus said that the Kingdom of God was within He was speaking to those who had faith in Him (see Luke 17:21). Nowhere, apart from the fevered minds of the deluders, does the bible ever teach that we are little gods and are to be doing god-like things such as daily miracles, creating reality, changing reality, etc.

We used to say in the traditional Pentecostal church —”God is God all by Himself!” which was our statement of His sovereignty. Jesus did not come to make us feel better about ourselves. He came to expose our sinfulness to us and through faith in Him and His work on the cross alone. We enter into a new reality of being a child of God, one who has been translated from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son (see Col. 1:13). Jesus did not come to make us all filthy rich in this life. He came to set us free from ourselves through the discipleship of the cross (see Luke 14:27) and once being free from our needs we can see the needs of others and help meet them.

As enticing as the promises of the televangelists (past and present) are, do not be deceived by them. These liars with seared consciences have no real regard for you and your family. All they care about (as was abundantly proven with Robert Tilton) (8)  is whether or not your check will clear.

 

If you have loved ones, family or friends who slavishly follow people like: Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Fred Price, Joyce Meyer, Jesse Duplantis, Mark Barclay, Keith Butler, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, etc…Please feel free to ask them to contact DMI and we will be more than glad to answer any and all of their questions abut these SINistries. If we cannot answer their specific questions, we are united with those who can. Rev. Ike is gone to his just reward. I have no heaven or hell to put him in, there are no holes in my hands…however, I am sure that He has learned this OBJECTIVE TRUTH now: Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15). At the end of our lives, Jesus will not be concerned with how well you or I did with the Stock Market, or how big our 401(k) plan was, nor with what type of automobile we drove. All that will matter on that Day is what we did for His Kingdom. What did we do with the truth He gave us? Did we act on the Word, did we bury it, or teat it as unimportant? Did we trust in His work or our work(s)? Only time will tell and that time is growing short my friends. Our advice is simple —live for Christ as if it were your last day….t may be Selah. ♦

Copyright 2009 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

1. Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch, Ken Hagin Sr., John Osteen all “left” i.e. got the boot from their former Pentecostal associates.

2. Obtained from http://www.scienceoflivingonline.com/ on 8-6-09. Underlining added for emphasis.

3. Rev. Ike said it first, but then years later Fred Price made the same statement when he got his first Rolls Royce.

4. The Science of Living website

5. Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Imaging (Fawcett Crest, 1982), p. 77

6. Norman Vincent Peale, PLUS: the Magazine of Positive Thinking, 37:4, May 1986, Part II, 23.

7. Obtained from http://www.letusreason.org/WF48.htm on 08-08-09

8. Ibid

9. Robert Tilton in the late 1980’s was proven to have simply opened his mail and automatically removed the checks and thrown away the prayer requests. Similar facts have been demonstrated about Oral Roberts. The Trinity Foundation has about a 9 hour video/dvd regarding the rise and fall of Mr. Tilton, who is still on television in a somewhat diminished capacity (he still rakes in a few million dollars a year, down from the 80 to 90 million).

 

The Cult of Personality Is Crumbling

Truth Matters Newsletters – February 2009 – Vol. 14 Issue 2 – The Cult of Personality Is Crumbing – by Rev. Bob Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

The Cult of Personality Is Crumbling

By Rev. Bob Liichow

The following article is written by Gillian Flaccus – Associated Press Writer on 2/1/2009. The highlighting italics and underlining were added by DMI for emphasis.

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Once one of the nation’s most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life’s work crumble. His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled mega church is home to the “Hour of Power” broadcast, an evangelism staple that’s been on the air for more than three decades.

The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County Property to pay off debts. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter from the elder Schuller to elite donors. In the letter, Schuller Sr. implored the Eagle’s Club members – who supply 30 percent of the church’s revenue – for donation and hinted that the show might go off the air without their support.

“The final months of 2008 were devastating for our ministry,” the 82-year old pastor wrote.

The Crystal Cathedral blames the recession for its woes. But it’s clear that the elder Schuller’s carefully orchestrated leadership transition, planned over a decade, has stumbled badly. It’s a problem common to personality driven ministries. Most have collapsed or been greatly diminished after their founders pulpit or died.

Members often tie their donations to the pastor, not the institution, said Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University. Schuller, with a style that blends pop psychology and theology, has a particularly devoted following, she said. “Viewers are probably much less likely to give when it’s not their preacher they’re giving to,” she said. “There’s something about these televised programs where people develop a certain loyalty.”

Today’s increasingly fragmented media landscape is also to blame, said Quentin Schultze, a Calvin College professor who specializes in Christian media. Church-based televangelism led by powerful personalities filled TV in the 1980s, but now only a handful of shows remain, he said. Among the struggling ministries are those of Oral Roberts and the late D. James Kennedy of “The Coral Ridge Hour” TV show. “I don’t see a scenario for maintaining a TV-based mega church anymore. The days of doing that in the models of Schuller and Jimmy Swaggart and Oral Roberts are over,” Schultze said. “It’s amazing to me that the ‘Hour of Power’ was able to keep going as long as it did.”

Through a spokesman Schuller Sr., his family members and other cathedral officials declined to comment. The younger Schuller, 54, did not respond to an e-mail requesting an interview. The elder Schuller, who called his weekly show “America’s Television Church,” founded his ministry in a drive-in-theater after moving to Southern California in 1955.

He studied marketing strategies to attract worshippers and preached a feel-good Christianity, describing himself as a “possibility thinker” and spinning his upbeat style into a 10,000-member church and a broadcast watched by millions worldwide. The church’s main sanctuary, the Crystal Cathedral, is a landmark designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, with a spire visible from afar amid Orange County’s suburban sprawl. Thousands make the pilgrimage to see where the broadcast is filmed before a live congregation. The Schullers consider the church a family business and the younger Schuller’s 2006 appointment was sanctioned by the Crystal Cathedral’s parent denomination, the Reformed Church in America.

But the church announced on Nov. 29, that Schuller Jr. had resigned as senior pastor, just a month after he was removed from the church’s syndicated broadcasts. In a news release, Schuller Sr. said: “Robert and I have been struggling as we each have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry.” The church since instituted a rotating roaster of high-profile guest preachers, including Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, the Chicago-area mega church, and evangelist Luis Palau.

Schuller Sr.’s daughter and sons-in-law remain involved in the church, some in key roles. But Juan Carlos Ortiz, the interim senior pastor, hopes to appoint a senior pastor with no ties to the Schuller family within two years.

On the church Web site, concerned members and TV fans have posted hundreds of comments protesting the upheaval, with some indicating they have stopped giving or will leave altogether.

Several angry viewers have launched petitions to get the younger Schuller back. Melody Mook, a 58-year-old medical transcriptionist from El Paso, Texas, said she stopped her $25 monthly donation and is looking elsewhere for her spiritual needs. She said she dislikes the guest pastors. “I feel hurt and confused and I’m not sure that I want to sit and watch when I know there’s problems beneath the surface,” she said. “You feel like you’re in somebody else’s church every Sunday.” Others said they felt betrayed that the Schullers couldn’t put God before their family spat. “They have not been forthcoming at all,” said John Dewart, an insurance agent from New Jersey who’s watched for 30 years. “Why can’t a father and son work together for the glory of God.? That’s my big question.”

(End of Article)

For years, even when I was a raving charismatic one thing I always disagreed with was the practice of naming ministries, later I learned were really SINistries ) after the people who started them. When you put your name on something it points to you and if you are in ministry my advice is for you to always point to Jesus Christ the One who are supposed to be serving.

So the article by Flaccus should not come as any surprise. When various so-called works of God that are built upon fallen men or women will begin to crumble and fall when their founders begin to die off. I can promise you that any work that is bearing the name of a man will bear some of the marks of a cult of personality. I am referring to works men name after themselves, not names given by others posthumously.

For example, Oral Roberts reported that no less than God Himself told him never to touch the “three G’s.” The three g’s are (1) the gold, (2) the glory and (3) the girls. Well Oral seems to have been obedient with number 3, he is the husband of one wife with no hint of adultery. He failed with number one, he is phenomenally wealthy and number two he did name his university after himself, i.e. “Oral Roberts University,” and his SINistry is called “Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association.” So is it any wonder with Oral and his deathbed that his son Richard is having trouble keeping the ORU ship afloat not to mention the television aspect of the work? After all, these things bear Oral’s name and not Richard’s. At best he stands in the shadow of his allegedly anointed father, a shadow Richard never could nor will outgrow.

Benny Hinn Media Ministries, is one of the “official” names of Mr. Hinn’s moneymaking machine. When he dies it will not continue. Why not? Because it is built around Mr. Hinn there is no “ministry.” The same can be said of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Joyce Meyer Ministries, Jerry Savelle Ministries, Jesse Duplantis Ministries, Ed Dufresne Ministries, Marilyn Hickey Ministries, ad nauseam.

None of the above were created to live any longer than their flawed founders, apart from their specious books and tapes. None of them has any plans to really continue after the deaths of their namesakes. These leaders are not interested in raising up disciples because their operations are one-man shows. NEVER FORGET THIS FACT! It is all about Benny Hinn, Kenny Copeland, Joyce and Jesse.

Perhaps the one exception to the rule might be Marilyn Hickey Ministries. Marilyn is getting pretty long in the tooth so to speak and is not in the best of health. So a couple of years back she brought her daughter Sarah along side her. However, Sarah lacks the abilities her first-grade teacher mom has in communicating to audiences. She does try to use the same aphorisms and gestures as Marilyn but she ain’t Marilyn and when Marilyn dies that work will decrease to infecting people on a local church level as opposed to the current global level of infection.

I suppose in retrospect it is somewhat of a good thing that these SINisters thought only of themselves when they got started out. Because they have a built in self-destruct button in the form of their death (and I do not care how much faith you have, there is still one death per person).

In closing, I find it interesting that I cannot find one biblically sound television ministry that is named after a living person, man or woman. Names have meaning names indicate things and point people in certain directions. Biblically, names are important and often have prophetic meaning. Thus, I think the very act of consciously naming of a work (that is supposed to be about Jesus) after oneself speaks volumes abut the direction that work will take. Jesus’ words are as true today as they will be forever when He says “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”  ♦

Copyright © 2009 Robert S. Liichow

False Prophets Real Profit$

Truth Matters Newsletters – August 2008 Vol. 13 Issue 9 – False Prophets Real Profit$ – By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

False Prophets Real Profit$

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

If it is true that history repeats itself, then the false prophets and false teachers of old must have also reaped great financial rewards. This much is certain with the advent of Pentecostalism in America all those who claimed to be prophets of our Lord had two indisputable things in common: (1) false prophets who delivered lying words that were generated from their own hearts or they were demonically inspired and (2) they all became very wealthy at the expense of those who followed them.

 

A Little Walk through American Prophetic History

Initially after the Azusa “revival of 1906 for the next several years no one came forward and declared they were a restored prophet or apostle. The fledgling Pentecostal movement did have pastors, Bible teachers and evangelists, both male and female.

Father Divine

Possibly the first individual who received the Spirit at Azusa and went off the spiritual rails in a devastating manner was a man named George Baker. The Azusa enthusiasm and the demonic spirit imparted to him led to his damnation.

This was a major turning point in his life. While he spoke in tongues, he felt a stirring, and suddenly, as Baker believed that he had reached a state of ultimate spiritual purification, a condition Fillmore described as the “consciousness of himself as a spiritual being, knowing himself to be the Christ of God, he is IAM, and ready to recreate the world….He had blended New Thought with Methodism, a little Catholicism, Pentecostalism, and African-American storefront theology, and had devised a syncretic belief system.   (1)

After his Azusa experience George Baker became internationally known as “Father Divine” and he and his man followers considered him to be literally god in the flesh. (2)

Sweet Daddy Grace

Once Father Divine (George Baker) got established and garnered quite a following another man jumped into this obvious lucrative pool of gullible folks. This liar went by the name of Sweet Daddy Grace and he formed The United House of Prayer For All People.

His first big success came five years later when he opened a church in Charlotte. The United House of Prayer for All People prided itself on an ecstatic worship style that included speaking in tongues. Grace claimed great powers and developed a line of products including “Daddy Grace” coffee, tea, soaps, and hand creams reputed to have healing properties. By the time of his death in 1960, the church he founded had become a denomination and Grace himself a rich man.   (2)

 

Please keep in mind that many mainline Pentecostals (such as they were back in the early 1900’s ) did not publicly endorse any of these men, yet their members did flock to hear them speak, prophecy, and give them “numbers” to play on the street. The next early false prophet came out of the ranks of the Pentecostal cult my wife and her family was raised in. It was called “Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ” (to separate it from its main contender “The Church of God in Christ.” Triumph people taught complete sanctification in this life. Proof of having attained this exalted level of holiness was simple, such a person would never die physically (naturally, they became know in a pejorative manner as the never die folk).

Prophet Jones Already recognized as a prophet, at the age of six he joined and began preaching sermons to a Birmingham sect known as Triumph the church and Kingdom of God in Christ, similar in character to the one he later founded in Detroit. At 11 he quit school to devote full time to preaching. In 1938 The Triumph sect sent the 21 year-old Jones to Detroit as a missionary where enthusiastic converts soon pressed expensive gifts upon him. The gifts, his superiors ruled, were rightfully the property of the church. Rather than give them up, Jones broke away to launch his own sect. Prophet Jones founded the Church of Universal Triumph, the Dominion of God Inc. in 1938 in Detroit. Originally headquartered in the old Oriole Theater at 8450 Linwood, the church later moved above the Fine Arts Theater at 2940 Woodward. He blessed his inner circle with royal and noble titles, such as “Sir,” “Prince” and “Princess,” “Lord” and “Lady” and other majestic appellations. His mother who died in 1951 was known as Grace Rev. Lady Catherine Jones. Jones reached his peak as a religious leader in the 1940’s and late ‘50s, and lived like a millionaire. He resided in an 18th century-style French castle at 75 Arden Park. The three-story, 54-room graystone chateau had been built in 1917 by Edmund A. Vier, a General Motors Corp. executive, at a cost of $100,000.  (4)

Like several of the more well know false prophet Jones was a homosexual. Another more recent example would be Paul Cain and some others recently “outted.” As an aside I believe the reason why homosexuality goes hand-in-hand with false prophets is simply because God gives them over to dark desires as a punishment for lying in His holy name (read Romans 1-2).

One of the more “flamboyant” false prophets who was an early arrival to the television ministry is Rev. Ike, Whose real name is Frederick Eikerenkoetter. I remember Ike on television as a young boy and is statement to this day is “you can’t lose with the stuff I use…mind science.” He also used to cajole his audiences by telling them he did not want to hear any change in the offering plates when they were passed because it made him nervous.

Rev. Ike formally the Right Reverend Dr. Fredrick J. Eikerenkoetter II stated that he owns a fleet of Rolls-Royces (a different color for every day of the week, appointed in mink), diamond rings, expensive suits, and multiple mansions – far from hiding his wealth, Reverend Ike makes it a point of his preaching. His theology centers around the “Science of Living” and “Thinkenomics,” his own version of economics based on the premise that poverty, a lack of luck, poor health, etc, are the results of incorrect attitudes, a lack of confidence, a lack of faith and a failure to get in touch with the “presence of God within each of us.” (5)

Frankly, I had thought that “Rev.” Ike had long since assumed room temperature but lo-and-behold, one morning a few years back I saw him on BET (6) standing beside a new breed of false prophet, Bishop E. Bernard Jordan whose SINistry is located in New York. Jordan learned his trade as a prophet by attending Dr. Bill Hamon’s “School of the Prophets.” Where anyone who feels led (I sent many of you a sample of felt lead) to become a spokesperson for the Ancient of Days can go and learn the techniques on how to hear from God and accurately deliver His message {for a price} to His paying people. Here is just a short squib on Mr. Jordan:

Bishop E. Bernard Jordan at the age of 15, where he was summoned to prophesy. By the age of 24, he was recognized nationally as a prophet. Rising from the obscurity of the ghetto to his present and current fame he is known to millions as God’s messenger, the Prophet. Bishop Elijah Bernard Jordan is the founder and Senior Pastor of Zoe Ministries since 1983 Bishop Jordan teaches biblical principles and ethics essential to successful living….Bishop Jordan is a modern-day prophet whose ministry is absolutely astounding! Like Nostradamus, Bishop Pike, and Edgar Cayce, the accuracy of the gift that operates in Bishop Jordan will astound you! He is known to predict exact names, dates, and times of events both individually and globally! His visual perception is so exact that he is able to give accurate descriptions of locations that are pertinent to the recipient of the prophecy!   (7)

I have watched and recorded Mr. Jordan many times and he is in fact one very creepy looking dude. Anyone he “speaks” over gives him money either directly or into a collection plate next to him as he prognosticates. Through his SINistry you can buy different kinds of soap which when used can give one dreams, revelations, peace, etc…Probably three of his best known followers are the former thug and rapper “Run DMC” – now known as “Rev.” Run (has his reality television show) and television judge Glenda Hatchett, and of course, Rev. Ike who speaks at Jordan’s meetings. Naturally Jordan is extremely wealthy. My wife and I ministered to a brother from Africa who upon coming to America for an advanced degree foolishly gave Jordan $5,000 (he knows the truth now, thanks be to God). At one point he was offering a fresh word from the Lord each day for a mere $365, sent to you personally. It only takes a couple of thousand dupes to send in their checks and pretty soon, like Ike, Jordan is riding in his own Bentley or Rolls Royce. Another problem with these self-proclaimed profit$ is that those who follow them never mature in their own spiritual walk with Christ. They are totally dependent upon the word of the Lord through their chosen mouthpiece. Not only that when a person has given themselves totally over to the spiritual authority of another sinful person they are prey to become victims of spiritual abuse. There are many recorded cases of “prophets” taking sexual advantage of those submitted to them, both male and female.

 

Kenneth & Gloria Copeland

In light of all of these ostentatious profit$ there are few who are seated at the zenith of prophetic pimpery (my own new word) and those residing at the summit are Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth & Gloria Copeland. Compared to their wealth all these others are just “piker’s” mere “wannabes” Kenneth Copeland Ministries {KCM} are so wealthy that no one outside their tight nepotistic inner circle knows for sure how wealthy they are. To guess close to or just over a billion dollars in probably not far off the mark. KCM is not telling, and they basically told Senator Grassy what he could do with his questions and have remained mum.

Keep in mind that I was a follower to Kenny’s ministry for years, gave to it, still have 100’s of hours of his teachings on cassette and their books in our archives. My wife and I distinctly remember Jerry Savelle speaking at a “Word” conference and how he marveled over all the antique cars that Kenneth had, including an old steam car! From what Savelle shard with us it seemed to be quite an extensive collection.

A few months ago Truth Matters wrote an article dealing with all the airplanes/jets that the various televangelist owned. Who had the most planes? Why Mr. Copeland and why not, some years ago he/KCM purchased Eagle Mountain Army/Air force base in the 1980’s. (8) This defunct airbase is over 1,500 acres and includes a mansion on a lake which only the Copeland’s are allowed to use. KCM’s main headquarters are on the property also.

A recent Associated Press article took the Copeland’s to task concerning their vast financial holdings, after al, KCM is a non-profit corporation yet strangely enough those associated directly with the running of the non-profit have all profited very handsomely.

Here are some excerpts of what Eric Gorski wrote in his July 27, 2008 piece for the AP.

NEWARK, Texas (AP) —Here in the gentle hills of north Texas, televangelist Kenneth Copeland has built a religious empire teaching that God wants his followers to prosper…Over the years, a circle of Copeland’s relatives and friends have done just that, The Associated Press has found. They include the brother-in-law with a lucrative deal to broker Copeland’s television time, the son who acquired church-owned land for his ranching business and saw it more than quadruple in value, and board members who together have been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking at church events…Kenneth Copland Ministries is organized under the tax code as a church, so it gets a layer of privacy not afforded large secular and religious nonprofit groups that must disclose budgets and salaries. Pastors’ pay must be “reasonable” under the federal tax code, a term that gives churches wide latitude. Copeland’s current salary is not made public by his ministry. However, the church disclosed in a property-tax exemption application that his wages were $364,577 in 1995; Copeland’s wife, Gloria earned $292,593. It’s not clear whether those figures include other earnings, such as special offerings for guest preaching or book royalties. Another 13 Copeland relatives were on the church’s payroll that year. (9)

Nothing like keeping the wealth in the family I suppose. But it does make one take pause to think about the coincidence that the church land sold to John Copeland (his son) turned out to have deposits of oil and natural gas on it! Not to mention that Board of Directors of non-profits are not to be paid any type of salary apart from being reimbursed for their expenses in traveling to board meetings or board related activities. Copeland’s board members rake in hundreds of thousands per year for merely speaking on his anointed behalf! Another thing, you can bet your sweet bippy that Gloria and Kenny earn far more than a paltry $657,170 per year.  Creflo Dollar just gave Kenny a personal check for one million dollars to celebrate his forty years in SINistry, not to mention all the other “love gifts” he receives and the money from his many books, cassettes, videos and dvd’s.

What I find particularly disturbing is that he and so many other televangelists transformed their organizations into “churches” many of them during the turbulent times of the 1980’s when scandal after scandal rocked their empires. Churches do not have to report any of their income to the government. Their annual “take”, peoples salaries, the budgets are never revealed. Copeland is not the only one incorporated as a church. Joyce Meyer’s organization is incorporated as a “church,” as is Benny Hinn’s and Marilyn Hickey and naturally Robert Tilton and the St. Matthew’s scam artists and many other well known evangelists.

None of these people serve as pastors, they do not hold regular church services where congregation members are baptized married and buried. They do not have deacons and /or elders. Most do not even have official separate sanctuaries. Although I will admit Copeland does have a church with a man he hired as a pastor, yet he himself is not a pastor. The dirty little secret is this: these folks became “churches” as a means to hide their excessive wealth, not because God has called them to serve their communities through legitimate church activities.

After all, if people knew exactly how much money these organizations had in their control it would be next to impossible for them to shear the sheep any longer. At the height of his empire Robert Tilton boasted of bringing in over 100 million dollars per year. Mr. Hinn is estimated to bring in around 80 million per year and Mr. Copeland seems to being doing better than either of these frauds.

Why Do People Support These People?

It is no secret that these folks are phenomenally wealthy. This is one of their primary messages and they point to themselves as proof that what they are teaching works. Part of the prosperity doctrine is that one must not speak negatively of their teachers because these negative words will kill the financial “seed” they have planted.

Another aspect of this false teaching is that – you must continue faithfully to give your very best to the false prophet/teacher if you expect to reap an abundant harvest. They teach that one must “cast your bread upon the water” (Ecc. 11:1) and it will return after many days…how many days, years, epochs is not revealed to the devotee. Only one thing is certain KEEP ON GIVING!

The message of financial prosperity, not just enough to meet your needs, but a message of living the lifestyle of the rich and famous is so widely poplar because it panders to the innate greed without our fallen hearts. These heretics simply tie a “biblical bow” around a teaching that God has never endorsed.

Another reason people give is because they believe their favorite heretic has paid their dues (every one of them tells sad stories of their initial poverty until they received the revelation of seed-faith) and now due to their faithfully acting on certain spiritual laws regarding giving and receiving God has blessed them and if the devotee will stay in “faith” and not doubt and keep giving their day will come too! What the poor dupe fails to realize is that very little of what comes into these blasphemous behemoths ever goes out into genuine charitable works. All any charismatic Word of Faith/Positive Confession believer has to do is simply take a step away from the hoopla and the occasional testimony and see that there are no more millionaires within their ranks than anywhere else. One would imagine that after thirty (30) years of proclaiming prosperity and people faithfully acting on these spiritual laws that there should be a plethora of millionaires….yet there are not. The acid test of any false teaching is that it does not produce the results promised.

Copeland, Hinn, Meyer, Tilton, Dollar, Savelle, Price, Osteen, Roberts, Hickey, Hagin, Duplantis and the Crouch’s annual take is estimated at around a billion dollars per year. Where are all the hospitals, orphanages, feeding programs, and clothing programs (see Matt. 25:36). How about helping rebuild farms in Nigeria, Africa’s breadbasket enabling farmers to grow crops and feed themselves. How abut building Christian schools and supplying teachers? The Saudi Muslims are building their Madras’s all over the world, including the United States with their money—-what are these “Christians” doing to actually expand the kingdom of God? NEXT TO NOTHING! Oh yes they preach the law when it comes to tithing, yet, they do not give away 10% off the gross from their offerings. Not to mention they excel at urging their devotees to not only to give tithes but also additional offerings. (Mal. 3:10).

Paul & Jan Crouch TBN

Paul & Jan Crouch love to show pictures of the “hospital” in Haiti and of Jan giving out little blond haired dolls (which look unfortunately like her) to the poor children. Let’s get real people it costs next to nothing to build a hospital and even less a Christian school in Egypt, Haiti, anywhere in Africa or the Philippines. TBN is documented to be worth in excess of billion dollars! To be sure all of these frauds will show some pictures of what great works they are doing with your money (remember Robert Tilton standing in front an orphanage, which was later proven to be a fake), but do not be deceived by their claims, like many politicians you know they are lying when they open their mouths.

The practice of GIVING sacrificially is highly touted by them all, the practice of sacrificial LIVING is a totally alien concept to them. According to their perverted doctrine it is God’s will for them to live in the best homes behind gated communities. As King’s kids they are to drive and own a fleet of the most luxurious cars and to wear nothing “off the rack” unless it comes off the rack on Rodeo Drive or Savile Row. Never forget that Mr. Hinn was documented taking the Concorde to Paris to purchase some ties several years ago. (11)

If these people were truly people of God they would be constantly building Christian schools, educating pastors (naturally since none of these deceivers has any biblical education themselves that might be a stretch), building medical clinics, distributing Bibles by the boatload.

Joyce Meyer

Instead, they buy huge plots of land for themselves and their families upon which they build mansions (remember the expose by the Saint Louis Post Dispatch on the Joyce Meyer compound and the multiple mansions on her land) (12)   They purchase newer and faster private jets (which no one else can use, even to take a kidney across the country I suppose), fleets of Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Bentley and Escalades for themselves, family members and board members. The cost of just one of any of these automobiles could purchase at least a thousand bicycles for Pastors in India, not to mention maybe going as far, GASP, as buying them motor scooters so these true men of God can promote the Gospel more effectively!

It sickens my spirit to see how these false prophets profit mainly off those on fixed income and those who are biblically ignorant. What troubles me is the question of when will God’s people wake up and join the likes of DMI and other apologetic ministries and begin to point their fingers at these people are boldly declare “the emperor has no clothes on!”

We need to organize and get militant when they come to our towns. We need to make signs and picket outside their venues in a peaceful and godly manner. We need to be equipped with solid information to hand out to the people being drawn in by the sirens song of success and excess. We must let these folks know that there are congregations they can attend who will not rape them spiritually and steal from them financially. Lastly, we must let thee false prophets and false teachers know that God has watchmen and we are on the wall crying out a warning to His people. I take comfort in the words of Asaph and underlined what was and is pertinent to me:

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How can god know? Does the Most High have knowledge? This is what the wicked are like–always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart may fall, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

When you’ve made a career out of studying every religious crook, spiritual abuser, false prophet, false teacher, false apostle and blasphemer and they seem to continue to “prosper” and grow in popularity it can be depressing IF you take your eyes off of Jesus and forget that our reward is truly in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves do not break in and steal (Matt. 6:19) Another text has always kept me centered in this work and I hope it is a comfort to you as well:

Proverbs 36:7-9

“Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

My God has been faithful to manifest this (and other texts) in my life. I used to walk the floors and cry out to God “God I want to know the truth, I want to know the truth God” for hours some times. It took Him some years to break through my stubborn heart but He has finally brought me to the truth and He has delivered my wife and I from falsehood and keep lies far from us. We’ve always had our daily bread, been extremely close to poverty but not quite there. Well as to the riches, He has surely kept those from us for our own benefit. He has been teaching us the lesson the Apostle Paul learned Phil 4:11-13.    Selah  ♦

Copyright ©  2008 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes:

1. Watts, Jill God Harlem U.S.A. The Father Divine Story, University of California Press 1992, pp. 25-30.

2. The story about Father Divine and what his mission did is exceedingly amazing and you can either purchase the above book mentioned at http://www.abebooks.com or research his life on the internet, a fascinating false prophet.

3. Obtained from http://capeverde-islands.com/grace.html  on 08-07-08

4. Obtained from http://info.detnews.com/redeign/history/story/historytemplate.cfm?id=182&CFID=21077377&CFTOKEN=96371783   on 08-07-2008

5. Obtained from: http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverendike on 08-07-2008

BET is the Black entertainment Television which sells its time to any “Gospel” pimp who can afford it, much to their (BET’s) shame.

6. Obtained from: http://www.bishopjordan.com/whoweare/aboutjordan.htm on 08-07-2008. Underlining added; please note that the three individuals cited as comparisons to Jordan were all damnable heretics by any stretch of the imagination and NOT Christians!

7. http://endtimepropheticwords.wordpress.com/category/kenneth-copeland-eagle-mountain-kcm/

8. Obtained from: http://ap.google.com/article/AlegM5jhLNcxgGPktbbovb1kMFVwo7WK1wD92638KGO on 08-07-2008 underlining added, please note that the bold print was added for emphasis.

9. Obtained from: http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur38455.cfm on 08-12-08

10. Still the best book exposing Mr. Hinn for the liar he is The confusing world of Benny Hinn, Personal Freedom Outreach. www.pfo.org

11.Obtained from: http://www.stltoday.com/stitoday/news/special/joycemeyer.nsf/0/610CC8888098171886256256DDC0080820A? Open Document on 08-12-08

Dead Men Walking

Truth Matters Newsletters – February  2008  Vol. 13  Issue 2 – Dead Men Walking – By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Dead Men Walking

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Please forgive the somewhat abbreviated first article and the lateness of this specific newsletter it is all due to my work load at seminary. Since so many of you gave sacrificially for me to attend classes I feel it is my duty to God and our partners to do the best I can in them.

What was I trying to get across in the first article can be boiled down to the following — victory over the world, the flesh and the devil is experienced by those who have “died” to the world, the flesh and devil, i.e. are purposefully living the crucified life.

This type of message is not very popular and it has not been for probably 2,000 years. Certainly you will never hear any televangelists or other popular SINister teach about dying to self for the sake of expanding the kingdom of God. The teaching of the cross is as radical today as when Jesus and the Apostles initially taught it.

The important thing to keep in our minds is that this teaching is not for some people who have risen to some high degree of personal holiness, in fact, from what I read it seems that this teaching of “dying to live” is really spiritual boot camp, sort of Christianity “101” and really when looked at properly it becomes crystal clear why this teaching has to be foundational because almost all our “work” for the kingdom to be of any value has to flow from this basis of the crucified life. So allow me briefly to share with you some of the texts which will be GREAT ones for us all to ponder and mediate on during this Lenten season.

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:24-25

The context of this verse is plain, Jesus is speaking to His followers about the need to “die” to ourselves. It is only when we die, i.e. get ourselves off of our hands, that we become free to focus on the needs of our neighbors. As long as we stay focused on our needs, our wants and desires we cannot and will not see the desperate needs of those around us. Regarding Himself Jesus said:

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt. 20:28

In His comment here Jesus is settling the dispute of who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. The greatest one is the one who serves all the others. Jesus came to serve humanity by dying for our sins. We as His disciples serve humanity by picking up our cross and following in Jesus footsteps (see Matt. 10:38) to the place of crucifixion and dying to self. The author of Hebrews tells us to “go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore” (Heb. 13:11).

We know that this death to self took place in the waters of baptism:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–because anyone who has died has been freed form sin. Rom. 6:6-7

It is one thing to remember that one has been baptized, it is quite another to live out that baptismal life consciously. This seems to be how the Apostle Paul lived life — being aware of his death and new life in and by the power of Christ:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20

Paul makes his comment in the context of a rebuke to the Galatians who were being misled into thinking they could start their spiritual life out by God’s grace and somehow complete it by their works. Paul calls them “foolish.” Please understand I am not advocating some systems of works or of human will power. Quite the opposite. What the Bible is calling for is: for us as the people of God to wake up to who we really are and by God’s grace live accordingly. The Apostle Paul says in another place—

Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 1 Cor. 15:34

He reminds them again in his second letter to them that they are the righteousness of God in Christ and are now ambassadors of reconciliation to the rest of the world (2 Cor. 5:17-19).

I think it is time for many of God’s people to “wake up.” Wake up to the fact that in their flesh dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18) and we must realize that our flesh cannot be reformed or renewed that is why it must be crucified daily.

We also must wake up to who we are in Christ. I’ve stated this before but I want to say it again and really meditate on this FACT: What God did in our re-birth is vastly more powerful and superior to what Satan accomplished when Adam fell.

If the work of Satan and sin in the fall were more powerful than Jesus work on the cross, then logically Jesus would not have been victorious over the devil. Yet we know He was! He says to His disciples “REJOICE, I have overcome the world” (Jh 16:33). He overcame death, hell and the grave for you and I. He lovingly gives His victory to us if we will but accept it and lean upon the power of His Holy Spirit, our Divine “Helper” who indwells us to grant us grace to grasp hold of what is ours in Christ in the face of all temptation, trails and tests. Let’s work together with the Spirit of Grace and be the overcomers Christ so dearly paid for.

Let us close this Lenten mediation out with a quote from Dr. Francis Pieper:

God who creates faith, also produces sanctification by His infinite power (1 Thess. 5:23-24). But in this work of sanctification, the Christian also plays a part. In conversion man merely experiences the working of God, but in sanctification the Christian plays an active role; he cooperates (synergism of the new man)…In other words: it is the Holy Ghost who produces the activity of the new man; the new man remains the organ of the Holy Ghost. (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 14) ♦

Copyright © Robert S. Liichow  

 

Pat’s Pathetic Prophetic Track Record

Truth Matters Newsletters – January 2008  Vol. 13  Issue 1 – Pat’s Pathetic Prophetic Track Record – by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Pat’s Pathetic Prophetic Track Record

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Fortunately for the people of God 2008 does not have to be a mystery waiting to be revealed because we have the prophet (big time profit) Pat Robertson’s word directly from God’s lips to his ear and then to us via his 700 Club show. Maybe before the startling revelations for 2008 we should consider some of his previous prophetic (pathetic) insights:

• In 1980, Robertson predicted the start of World War III, telling his audience that God said the year would be full of “sorrow and bloodshed that will have no end soon, for the world is being torn apart, and my kingdom shall rise from the ruins of it.” He also prophesied in the same year that the Soviet Union would invade the Middle East to seize its oil reserves.
• In 1988, Robertson claimed that God told him to run for president. He did not even win the Republican primary.
• In his 1991 book ‘The New World Order, Robertson forecast that U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller would be elected president in 1956.
• In 1998, Robertson threatened that as punishment for flying rainbow flags during Disney World’s annual Gay Days event, the city of Orlando would be struck by “earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor”.
• In 2004, Robertson predicted that George W. Bush would win reelection in a “blowout”. Although Bush was reelected, it was by 50.7% to 48.3% – the closest ever margin for a sitting president.
• In January 2006, Robertson forecast that the U.S. midterm elections would leave the Republican party in control of Congress. He also predicted that the Iraq war would “come to a successful conclusion” that year and U.S. troops would begin withdrawing.
• Robertson also predicted in 2006, that devastating storms and hurricanes would lash the U.S. coast. He must have thought this a particularly safe guess, but in fact no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. in that year. He also prophesied something like a tsunami hitting the northwest coast causing much devastation…no such thing occurred. In 2007, he predicted a terrorist attack on a major American city, possibly nuclear in nature with maybe a million people dying. “(Uh Pat, thankfully you were wrong about that too).

Concerning last year’s mishap Robertson responds, “All I can think is that somehow the people of God prayed and God in his mercy spared us.”  Concerning Bush’s social security reform, Robertson said, “I have a relatively good track record. Sometimes I miss.”

Mr. Robertson thinks awfully highly of himself to say “I have a relatively good track record.” His prophetic track record is ABYSMAL.  (1) What if we applied the standard Robertson uses on himself to the biblical prophets? All of them would be something like less than 10% accurate.

It is a serious thing to make pronouncements in the name of the Lord which are false. Not only is it a violation of the Second Commandment, but it brings shame and ridicule upon our Lord and His Church. Someone needs to tell Mr. Robertson that for a biblical prophet a “relatively good track record” is 100% accuracy nothing less.

Every time a self-proclaimed charismatic “prophet” gives out a word from the Lord and it fails to come to pass these false prophets attempt to explain it away by saying “we prayed and averted the problem” or if something good did not happen “we did not meet the conditions of the prophetic word.” Or if something is time specific then we are told that it is a genuine word from God, but the timetable has been pushed back or any number of reasons. Even the false prophet/false teacher Kenneth Copeland partially learned his lesson about spewing forth prophetic words in his monthly magazine “The Believers Voice of Victory.” Copeland originally ran a column entitled “The News Before It Happens,” but when these words from God continually failed to come to pass month after month, he dropped the column (he still profalies in God’s name in his conferences however).

I guess charismatic believers have the world’s shortest attention spans and memories because after twenty years of prophetic error people still wait with baited breath to hear what “God” has to say to the Church through His servant Pat “the profit” Robertson. Well, be in suspense no longer….Here is our future!

2008 Prognostications

On Wednesday’s “700 Club” broadcast, the founder of the C.B.N. predicted that evangelism will increase and more people will seek God as the chaos develops. Robertson said, “We will see the presence of angels and we will see an intensification of miracles around the world.” (source: www.foxnews.com/story) Pat also said that the price of gas would go up and that “I also believe the Lord was saying by 2009, maybe 2010, there’s going to be a major stock market crash,” (source: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/pat-robertson-predicts-violence,-recession2008). Which is it Pat 2009 or 2010? Hasn’t “God” made up His mind yet? ♦

 Copyright © Robert S. Liichow

 

Do Miracles, Signs & Wonders Create Faith?

Truth Matters Newsletters – September 2006 – Vol. 11 Issue 9 – Do Miracles, Signs & Wonders Create Faith? – by Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Do Miracles, Signs & Wonders Create Faith? 

By Robert S. Liichow

 

Bonnke claims that “miracles are proof of the presence of the power of God (1) Bonnke emphasized the date of June 11 separately, at which time Christ would in a special way point Himself. In Bonnke’s Language this announcement meant that Christ would evidence Himself by unusually numerous miracles during the service. (2) The supernatural will occur differently; maybe out in public is valid. I believe it can be kind of God’s calling card. (3)

In the past as a charismatic extremist if I heard this statement once I heard it a hundred times, “miracles are God’s calling card.” We heard this uttered in person at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship by John Arnott, former senior a few years ago.

 

What is meant by this statement and other similar statements is that the Lord is supposed to be working miracles through His anointed vessels as a means to bring people to a saving faith in Christ Jesus. Lester Sumrall, now deceased made the following statement in his book Miracles Don’t Just Happen:

In the Acts of the Apostles we read of ‘all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.’ His doing preceded His teaching.

Every sermon that Christ preached was prefaced by a model miracle. We are going to follow His example. (4)

To begin with Lester makes the assumption that the “doing” of Jesus was always a miraculous event which was then followed up with His proclaiming of the Gospel, ergo we should expect to work miracles first and then preach the Word. Sumrall is reading into this text more than there is, he is guilty of eisegesis versus exegesis.

There are a great many sermons where Jesus did not perform miracles “first” and then proceed to teach the people. Frankly, just about anytime Jesus spoke it was a sermon of one type or another. Here are a few examples:

Matthew 7:28-29 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes.

Here Jesus preached first then we read of Him healing several people, the leper (8:2), the centurion’s servant (8:7), Peter’s mother-in-law (8:15). In all of these cases we find examples of healing and not miracles. In fact, these texts in places state “and I will come and heal him” (8:7). We read in Mark 1:39 “And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” Jesus again is shown preaching the Gospel then performing signs and wonders.

Mr. Sumrall was simply wrong in his teachings about miracles. Unfortunately his views have been part-n-parcel of early Pentecostalism and today’s Charismatic movement. Almost every major sign-gift SINister has written books or produced tapes or videos on how to become a miracle worker or how to receive a miracle. * Here are just a few examples:

Oral Roberts —Expect A Miracle / and Still Expecting Miracles (2 tapes)

Kenneth Copeland — Walking in the Realm of the Miraculous

Benny Hinn — Miracles DVD

Steve Hill — Operating in the Miraculous (God wants to use you in his miraculous!)

Marilyn Hickey —Your Miracle Source

Charles & Francis Hunter — Impossible Miracles

Kenneth E. Hagin — Miracles of Healing (tape series)

Kathryn Kuhlman — I Believe in Miracles

Robert Tilton — Faith Aid Miracle Healing Kit

Prophet T.B. Joshua — Divine Miracles (DVD)

Don Stewart — Miracle Seeds for Success and Prosperity

John Wimber — Power Evangelism, Signs & Wonders Today

Signs and Wonders and Church Growth

Pat Robertson — Miracles Can Be Yours Today

Paul F. Crouch and R.W. Schambach —Miracles II “Greater Miracles”

R.W. Schambach — Miracles: Eyewitness to the Miraculous

The Price of God’s Miracle-Working Power

T.L. Osborn — Receive Miracle Healing

How to Receive Miracle Healing

Modern Miracles in Mombasa

Ruth Heflin — Miracles that I have Seen

WHEN THE MIRACULOUS BECOMES COMMONPLACE IT CEASES TO BE “MIRACULOUS”

These are just a few of the better known authors of books about how to obtain a miracle, how to develop spiritually to work miracles, etc. All of the books that have been cited are available on the Internet by simple googling the name of the author. Most of these books and many others are available in almost all “Christian” bookstores too.

It is one thing to write about miracles, but it is quite another to proclaim yourself a miracle-worker as many SINisters do today. Mr. David Hogan is possibly a bigger prevaricator than Benny Hinn. The following is a direct statement from his website:

The ministry has become known for some amazing miracles through the Holy Spirit. They report to have witnessed over 200 people being raised from the dead! When David is not in Mexico he ministers under a strong anointing for preaching and healing. (5)

On his website you can watch a series of videos entitled “Faith to Raise the Dead.” The Statement made before the links to these videos says “These videos may be some of the most viewed and listened to around the earth in our time.” This is simply not true, in fact, I’ll wager that the majority of Christians have never even heard of Mr. Hogan. Hogan has never brought one person forward to be examined or interviewed who he is supposed to have raised form the dead. One would think that TBN or the 700 Club would love to have an “exclusive” interview with one such person. Surely out of over 200 people Hogan could produce one or two resurrected folks….who no doubt could write books on what they experienced while dead.

Peter Popoff is another proven fraud and liar. His website’s front page says “Peter Popoff Miracle Ministry.” (6) His site is filled with unsubstantiated testimonies of alleged miracles due to Mr. Popoff’s direct connection with God. Unfortunately his video clips of his healing services are not working on his site, so you’ll just have to take his word about what God is doing through him. You can order free “miracle spring water,” which I encourage all our readers to do and get on his mailing list as well so you can receive monthly point-of-contact fetish items each month!

The best known miracle-man today is naturally Mr. Benny Hinn. Here is a copy of a ticket I received from him:

Hinn knows in advance that “God’ will be working miracles through him; he also is an astute observer of the desperate plight of multitudes of people who are willing to drive hundreds of miles, wait in long lines for hours, and donate money they can’t afford to give; yet do so in the hope that God is indeed working miracles through Hinn and that they will be the recipient of God’s miraculous power.

It is the height of presumption and hubris to declare God will be working miracles tonight or that He will be healing the sick during this revival. Yet even with his abysmal track record of healing failures, i.e. people who his ministry declared “healed” who died either a few weeks, or months later multitudes still flock to this man’s so-called “Miracle Crusades” all over the world. (7) After close to twenty years of miracle crusades one would imagine that the offices of the Benny Hinn Ministries (BHM) would be overflowing with medical records, legal affidavits, and notarized statements from thousands of people who have either received divine healing or a genuine creative miracle. Yet BHM cannot produce any such proof of the bold claims Hinn makes.

My wife and I participated in several of Mr. Hinn’s crusades. At first we went as part of the mob, later we became part of the mass choirs (that got us closer to the “anointing”).

The flow of the services go something like this: the song leader would lead the crowd in a few songs, then we’d sing “How Great Thou Art” and it was always during the singing of this song that Mr. Hinn, usually in a bright white suit, would appear on the platform with a spotlight on him. Folks, it was no accident that we were singing about how great God was, but Benny knew psychologically that the mob was there because they believed he, Hinn himself, was “great” too, certainly greater and closer to the Lord than they were.

Then Hinn would cite a few healing texts, reminding people that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He would proclaim how he felt a strong anointing or how he had been told by God in prayer that many miracles and healings would take place during that specific crusade. All that the people had to do was to have faith in God. Hinn never preached the Gospel in any of the crusades we attended; he simply cited texts on healing and especially on the blessings of giving.

How better to show ones faith than to put it into action by making as generous a donation as possible? The people were encouraged to “sow” a financial seed into BHM thus proving to God and themselves that they really believed. Hinn would pray God’s blessings on those who gave. Ushers mystically appeared with buckets which looked like the large family sized KFC buckets. Then with the precision of a Rolex ® watch and the speed of a Japanese bullet train thousands of sheep were sheared of their money.

Once the money was collected then the real show began. Hinn would lead the choir in some simple songs, often having us sing the refrains over and over. Then he would suddenly stop and point out into the crowds (nonspecifically) and begin to declare that God was healing someone with cancer in the balcony or He was healing backs etc…Then a chosen, vetted few, would be allowed onto the platform where Hinn would either blow on them, hit them with his suit coat or lay hands on them and like domino’s they would all fall down. At times Hinn would knock down the same person several times saying “pick him up,” and laugh at them as they lay spastic at his feet.

Those lucky enough to be interviewed by Hinn always reported they were healed or received a miracle of a type which was non-verifiable. In other words, no arms grew back, the twisted bodies of the people in the “wheelchair section” remained as twisted. No visible tumors dropped off in front of the cameras. Then a few more songs would be sung while Hinn was led away by his henchmen. The MC for the evening would exhort people to not give up if they did not receive their miracle that evening, because tomorrow evening there would be another “miracle” service. They were also encouraged to purchase the “faith building” materials at all of the tables surrounding the arenas.

On Friday night the people got to see and some believed they felt the power of “God.” On Saturday morning (at least at the last crusade we sang in) an aging Rex Humbard toddled out onto the platform and gave the standard decision-based Gospel appeal to those faithful few who got up early enough to come back to the arena.

What I want to emphasize is the formula Hinn and basically all the other so-called healing evangelists and miracle workers use —perform the signs & wonders shtick, then make an appeal to the unconverted to answer the altar call and make a decision to receive Christ. Is this the biblical pattern for salvation? This is the position that needs to be rebutted biblically in order for us to come to the biblical truth.

Has God Appointed Modern Miracle Workers Today?

It is important for you to understand clearly that DMI firmly believes that our Lord Jesus Christ does still heal His people. However, He does so according to the good pleasure of His will. There are no steps, laws, or principles that we can enact in order to cause our Lord to heal anyone.

The belief in the so-called ministry of the Healing Evangelist aka Miracle-worker came about in the mid 1800’s with the holiness movement and got firmly rooted in many Christian’s minds after 1906 after the neo-Montanist revival at Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California.

The reason the Church has been plagued by people such as Maria Woodworth-Etter (the trance evangelist), Smith Wigglesworth, F.F. Bosworth, Aimee Semple McPhearson, A.A. Allen, Kathryn Kuhlman, Jack Coe, Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, William Branham, Robert Tilton, Leroy Jenkins, Peter Popoff, Benny Hinn, Jim Wittington and a host of others is because their initial presuppositions were wrong.

Once people began to believe that God had “restored” the gift of other tongues supernaturally then it logically followed that they would also believe the other supernatural gifts either were restored or in the process of being restored, including the gift of the working of miracles (1 Cor. 12:10). It did not take the fledgling neo-Montanist movement long to continue down their slippery slope by believing that since “God” had restored the sign-gifts to the Church He is also restoring the office of the Prophet and the Apostle. To them the Book of Acts became a blueprint for how the Church is supposed to be organized and that miraculous signs and wonders are to be normative in local congregations.

A new magazine came to our office entitled The Voice of the Prophetic and it is filled with nuts, fruits and flakes to be perfectly blunt about it. Here is a quote from a “restored” prophetess by the name of Patricia King:

His voice repeatedly speaks to my heart, ‘I am waiting for My church to move in My authority, to conquer the works of darkness that are manifesting unrestrained. I am waiting for My mature sons and daughters to manifest My glory and My authority. All creation is waiting; all creation is groaning. (7)

Obviously, Ms. King does not place value on the work of Christ Jesus on the cross where He defeated Satan:

Col 2:13-15: And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

I am not denying that there is legitimate spiritual warfare and conflict with Satan and his demons. Yet today’s extremists hold to a view that Satan and demons operate freely in this world unless the Church uses its divine authority to bind the devil and his imps up. I have personally heard the late Kenneth Hagin share how the Lord Jesus appeared to him but an evil spirit jumped up between them and Hagin could not hear Jesus. Hagin waited patiently for Jesus to do something (you see the cross was not enough). Then Hagin finally got angry and rebuked the demonic imp in Jesus name and it scampered away. Hagin asked Jesus why He didn’t do something about the evil spirit. Hagin’s Jesus said He couldn’t because He had given His authority to the Church and unless we do something about Satan and his works, well then, they just won’t get done! You can read about this encounter in Hagin’s book I Believe In Visions.

In the minds of the extremists today it is the mature believers within the Church who wield the true spiritual authority over the devil and demons, not Jesus Christ. Patricia King also misspeaks when her voice tells her that dark works are “manifesting unrestrained.” Yet again the Bible plainly teaches in Second Thessalonians:

2 Thess. 2:2-6: not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.

The evil one is currently under divine restraint and always will be. He is not manifesting anything in an unrestrained mode of operation at all. Satan is a created being who, although rebellious, is still completely subject to the sovereignty of God. He and his minions can do only what the Lord allows them to do. This is clearly seen in Job 1:10-12 or when the demons asked Jesus to allow them to enter into the swine (read Matt. 8:31-32).

Yet King rattles on in her article buttressing Hagin’s heterodox teaching by saying:

He is asking us to take up the authority He won back for us on the cross and move in His supernatural power to confront the powers of darkness, turning the attention of the people back to the One True God. (8)

NEWSFLASH !

Ms. King the world has never been focused on the One True God since the fall of Adam. The example she cites is that of Moses standing up against the Pharaoh’s magicians. The signs and wonders God wrought through Moses did not make the Egyptians believe, in fact, God hardened the heart of the Pharaoh as opposed to giving him faith. Through His work on the cross Jesus did not win back for us the “lost” power to move in the miraculous. He did give us a method to confront the powers of darkness, but that power comes in a completely different form then that which was given to Moses. The entire philosophy of those practicing what is called “strategic level spiritual warfare” is based upon the belief that we, the Church, must enforce Satan’s defeat and take back cities and even nations he has “owned.” This is why people like Dr. C. Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, Dutch Schultz and others go to places like Ephesus and march around casting down the “spirit” of Diana which they had discerned had ruled over that area for centuries! (9)

Once a neighborhood or city has had the principalities and powers cast down and bound up by the mature saints…then there is what they call an “open heaven” where their prayers are unhindered and revival can come. Once these warriors have done their work people’s ears are now free from demonic blockage and they can and will receive Christ as Savior. In their view people cannot come to faith in Christ until the demonic forces are driven out or bound up by human agents! This is a blasphemous doctrine because it places both Satan and sinful man as ultimately in control of individuals eternal state before God. It is no longer God who draws, nor is it the Spirit who calls, but men.

This magazine goes on to state in another article concerning how the glory realm is getting thinner, i.e. nearer and more accessible to us. This article is written by Cindy McGill who says:

Already, we are experiencing manifestations of gold, jewels, instant miraculous healings and deliverances. God is flooding lives as He has given the invitation to come in and take over. These things are only the beginning of unbelievable things we are about to see. (10)

DMI was among the first Apologetic Ministry to debunk the myth of gold teeth and gold dust, in fact, we may have the only book in circulation exposing this alleged phenomena. Most importantly, note how “God” through these miraculous signs & wonders is inviting us to come in and take over! The role of the Holy Spirit is not mentioned, nor the proclamation of the Gospel. Just non-biblical signs &wonders and presto the Church is just supposed to come in and take over. Take over what? Why the world of course. The Prophetic/Apostolic movement is almost exclusively one of Christian Dominion or what is also-called Kingdom Now Theology.

Moving in the miraculous is the new wave of evangelism.  Stacey Campbell says in her article: Prophecy is for Unbelievers:

Of all the evangelism I have ever done—from surveys, to door-to-door, to street preaching, to church dinner, to friendship evangelism—prophetic evangelism is by far the most effective form of evangelism I have ever engaged in. (11)

Stacey seems to have literally been around the block when it comes to sharing the Christian faith. Yet out of all the methods she has tried what has proved most successful? Not the foolishness of preaching (read 1 Cor. 1:21) the Law & Gospel to the lost. Even though the Apostle Paul himself told the sign-saturated Corinthians—-

1 Co. 2:2: For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

The Bible is completely silent about this so-called miraculous prophetic evangelism. Nowhere are God’s people exhorted to go out and win the lost via the use of the spiritual gifts (which we all possess in some fashion) given by the Holy Spirit. This concept is merely an outgrowth from what has become known as the “Third Wave” with Dr. C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber as its fountainhead. Wimber’s book Power Evangelism is where much of this unbiblical nonsense gained a foothold in the sign-gift movement. In his confused mind the simple preaching of the Gospel was not getting the job done. He believed and taught that people needed to see some demonstration(s) of wonder-working power before they would believe the message {according to Wimber and his followers}. In Wimber’s theology “seeing was believing,” yet is this the teaching of the Bible? Does God use miracles/miracle-workers to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?

Probably one of the strongest biblical proofs from the Old Testament that signs and wonders do not create faith is seen in the lives of the Jews following Moses in the desert. They were brought out of Egypt through a series of miracles and the Lord sustained them for forty years by providing manna and quail for them. Yet what does the Bible have to say about this generation of sign-seeking people?

Heb 3:1-19 But with whom was he grieved forty years? [was it] not with them that had sinned, whom carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

After a lifetime of seeing miracles these people were unable to enter into the land God has promised to give them because of their unbelief. Signs & wonders did not cause them to believe; it did not engender faith in their hearts at all.

Another instance is that of Nebuchadnezzar. He personally saw miracles (read Dan. 3:14-25, Dan. 6:22) yet these demonstrations of God’s power did not bring him to a saving faith in the God of Israel. Later on in the book of Daniel the miraculous hand that wrote on the wall (read Dan. 5:22) to Belshazzar did not bring him to repentance. The wondrous sign was in fact his death warrant, much as was the last great sign in Egypt, the slaying of all the firstborn makes. Or, how about the time when the ark was taken captive by the Philistines and placed in the temple of their god Dagon (read 1 Sam. 5:2)? After finding their god on his face, broken before the ark of the Lord, they decided they’d better send it back to Israel (1 Sam. 6:6-15). The signs God worked among the Philistines did not bring them to cast aside their false gods and embrace the true God in spite of His judgments upon them as long as they had the ark. The uniform testimony of the Old Testament proves that signs and wonders do not cause people to believe in the Living God. What about in the New Testament?

Maybe here we will find evidence of God moving in a new dispensation, one of signs and wonders to produce saving faith in people who witness or experience them.

In John chapter six our Lord feeds thousands in a miraculous way. The multitude wanted to immediately make Him their King and some did declare He was a prophet (see John 6:14). Jesus knew what was in their hearts and left by boat, yet the crowd followed Him and He rebuked them by saying:

John 6:26-27: Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

The miracles of the loaves and fishes did not cause the people to believe He was the Savior. Some did think He was a prophet, others thought He’d make a good King, after all, He could feed them with little of their own labor,. So this great miracle did not produce saving faith. The people did want to know how they too could “work” the works (miracles) of God. Jesus’ response is very telling to our brethren who are besotted with so-called signs & wonders today:

John 6:28-29: Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Sorry folks, Jesus did not give the crowd three steps to miracle working power, nor did He provide six keys to the supernatural realm. Instead He pointed to His Father and said “this is the work of (from) God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” Our Master refocused the people AWAY from the signs & wonders (food that perishes) and said that it was God who would do the work and that work was to draw whomever He would to faith in Hs Son. Jesus had a poor view of those who ran after Him seeking signs and wonders:

Matt 12:38-39: Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Today’s sign seekers are an equally evil and adulterous in my opinion because they have misplaced their faith. Their faith is resting in what they can see or in some cases what type of “power” they can manifest and not in the Word of God first and foremost. In the account of the rich man who went to hell Jesus again warns that a miracle will not create saving faith, whereas God’s Word will:

Luke 16:29-31: Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Note the emphasis placed on hearing the Word of God and not seeing the powerful miracle of one being raised from the dead. The point is — if people will not receive the Word of God, then miracles will be of no help to them. So I repeat myself and state that miracles do not produce saving faith.

The extremist movement is hungry for spiritual power, yet seems to have little appetite for the simple teaching of the Bible. The Apostle Paul makes it very plain where the true power is when he writes:

Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The accurate proclaiming of the Law & Gospel is the power of God unto salvation; not signs and wonders. The Gospel of John shows this power in operation:

John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

Many of our brothers and sisters around the world have become fascinated concerning the signs, wonders, and miracles. Let us be cautious of many of the claims being made. The Bible warns us in several places about lying signs and wonders whose only goal is to deceive people and lead them AWAY from Jesus, not bring them to a saving faith in Him!

Matthew 24:11: And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Mark 13:22-23: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

2 Thess. 2:9-12 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The Church has been warned repeatedly to be on guard against people who come saying they have the “power” of God. Those who are not grounded on a solid doctrinal foundation may be deceived by these clever counterfeits. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians seems to indicate that people will love the lying signs and wonders which will lead them to NOT love the truth (“They word is truth” Jh 17:17).

Obviously, these miracles did not and will not bring people to faith in Jesus Christ…no miracle ever has apart from the sovereign working of God in the hearts of those He draws unto Himself.

On closing one of the most frightening warnings given by Christ in the Bible, at least to me when I was a former charismatic extremist myself is the following

Mt. 7:21-23: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. As many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in they name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Working or possessing supernatural (often confused with paranormal powers) gifts and using them in “Jesus” name is not the guarantee to enter into heaven. Jesus states quite emphatically in the Greek that He never at any time knew these people. What is the work God finds acceptable?

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The “work” is faith in God the Son and this work is really not ours per se. Faith to believe is a gift from God and it comes to us by grace alone (read Eph. 2:8). All the power the Church needs is found in the Gospel. It has the power to literally take people and translate them from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s Dear Son. The Gospel makes the spiritually dead alive with life eternal and grants them an inheritance which is unfading.

Please pray for all of those who’ve been misled, often by well intentioned but ignorant leaders. Millions are seeking for God in all the wrong places chasing after the latest reported sign, wonder or revival…when all the time God’s true power, His Word sits gathering dust in their homes. Selah.

Copyright © 2006 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

1. Simpson, Sandy. Reinhard Bonnke Out of Sight Out of Mind 04-24-01.

2. Ibid. Underlining added for emphasis.

3. Obtained from http://desertpastor.typepad.com/paradoxology/2006/signs_and_wonder.html on (08-20-06)

4. Sumrall, Lester, Miracles Don’t Just Happen, Plainfield, N.J. Logos International, 1979, p. 15

5. Obtained from http://www.fathersglory.com/insp/David_Hogan-1.htm. Underlining, italics and bold type added for emphasis.

6. Obtained from http://www.peterpopoff.org/

7. These “failures” have been well documented by the television exposes on Mr. Hinn, not to mention the research done by the Trinity Foundation and Personal Freedom Outreach.

8. King, Patricia, The Voice of the Prophetic, The Clash of Kingdoms by Patricia King, Oct. 2006, p.9 Underlining added for emphasis.

9. Ibid. p. 35 Underlining added.

10. The whole aspect of spiritual warfare as taught by Wagner, Jacobs and others is nothing but an attempt to justify their own theological views of Kingdom Now.

11. McGill, Cindy, The Voice of the Prophetic. Eye Has Not Seen, Nor Ear Heard the Veil to the Glory Realm in Getting Thinner, Oct. 2006, p. 23. Underlining added.

12. Ibid, p. 27. Underlining added.

13. John Wimber who died at age 65. John Wimber said that he picked up a “Chinese cancer spirit” while visiting China. Apparently he and his elders lacked the miracle working power and could not either cast out this cancer spirit or bind it up. Eventually he succumbed to it. This, sad as anyone’s death is, has always stuck me as rather strange, especially in light of the fact that he also penned a book entitled Power Healing!

The Dreaded Curse of the charismaniac

Truth Matters Newsletters – December 2005 – Vol. 10 Issue 12 – The Dreaded Curse of the Charismaniac – By Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International 

The Dreaded Curse of the charismaniac

The content of several recent e-mails to our ministry expose an untaught but often practiced doctrine within the charismatic extremist movement from which I was delivered, the dire practice of “cursing” those who oppose charismania for one reason or another.

Cursing someone is basically invoking the name of a deity or using supernatural power to cause destruction, harm or calamity to another person. Normally one associates cursing with voodoo, Santeria (1) or some other form of witchcraft and not with Christianity, especially not with folks who claim to have a higher “dose” of the Holy Ghost whose love is alleged to be shed abroad in their hearts. (see Romans 5:5) !

What is sad is that some professing Christians couch their curses in the name of our Lord Jesus. The usual manner for curses to be unleashed by charismaniacs (2) occurs in two basic ways. First, curses are proclaimed as an alleged prophetic directive from the Lord. The example I will shortly site from Mr. Hinn is a manifestation of this type of curse. Secondly, curses are uttered in the name of the Lord against those who disagree with someone, usually over doctrinal issues or against those who call into question not only the biblical teachings of someone but also their lifestyle. This second form is often simply unmasked anger or hatred for someone, but done in the name of Jesus to sanctify it. This variety is seen by the Charismaniac as a legitimate form of righteous anger as typified by Jesus overturning the tables in the temple (see Matthew 21:12) or His verbal excoriation of the Scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23:27). My first example is of the second type and was uttered by Mr. Paul Crouch, the Founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) against all the Christian Apologists who dared question Mr. Crouch and his cronies about doctrinal issues being transmitted globally via TBN.

That old rotten Sanhedrin crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots…they’re damned and on their way to hell and I don’t think there’s any redemption for them…the hypocrites, the heresy hunters, that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian’s eyes…when they’ve got a whole forest in their own lives…” I say, to hell with you! Get out of my life! Get out of the way! Quit blockin’ God’s bridges! I’m tired of this!…This is my spirit. Oh, hallelujah!” …There’s a spiritual application here….I want to say to all you scribes, Pharisees, heresy-hunters, all of you that are around pickin’ little bits of doctrinal error out of everybody’s eyes and dividin’ the Body of Christ…get out of God’s way, stop blockin’ God’s bridges, or God’s goin’ to shoot you if I don’t… let Him sort out all this doctrinal doodoo!….I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don’t even call me if you want to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten somebody out…criticize Ken Copeland…or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I don’t ever want to talk to you…I don’t want to see your ugly face! (3)

See a Video here :

According to my research Mr. Crouch has never recanted or repented for such hatred and anger. Crouch says that those of us who question him regarding doctrinal issues are “damned and on their way to hell.” Obviously, Crouch has become the one who holds the eternal life and knows who is damned and on their way to hell (and he is not even a Calvinist!!). “There is no redemption for them,” my Bible says that God so loved the world that He sent His Son to die for sinners (read John 3:16) and in another place the Holy Writ says that our Father desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (read 1 timothy 2:4). So how can there be “no redemption” for us po’ heresy-hunters? “To hell with you…” when was the last time you pointed your finger at Christian brothers and sisters (or even outright sinners) and said “go to hell”? Hopefully never, but Mr. Crouch is on a higher spiritual plane than the rest of us and so the following dictum does not pertain to him:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. But that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Eph. 4:29

Crouch brings God into his tirade by declaring that those of us with legitimate doctrinal concerns regarding orthodox Christian dogma are blocking God’s bridges (aka TBN) and says we are guilty of dividing the Body of Christ. What is more if we do not stop challenging Crouch, Copeland, Hagin and others then “God’s gonin’ shoot” us if Crouch does not first.

See Video here – Paul Crouch: God’s gonna shot you if I don’t:

It seems various Christian Apologists were contacting TBN and contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints (read Jude 3) and Crouch was fed up with our calls, letters and e-mails. I say this because he mentions doctrine four times in his curse along with Copeland, Hagin, two unabashed heretics.

To the charismatic extremist the battle cry is “doctrine divides.” As long as one calls Jesus his Lord and believes He ascended back to heaven is all the doctrine one needs to inspect. Crouch is not upset by a little illegal doctrine in a Christian’s life, but he is upset by anyone who would dare to try to lovingly correct those who are in error. Crouch has obviously lost sight of what Jesus warned when He said —

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees…How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6,11-12

No one has perfect doctrine and no one in the Apologetic arena of ministry I know has ever made such a claim. Speaking for myself, the more I study God’s Word the more I learn how little I do know. However, there are cardinal doctrines which must be universally agreed upon in order to be considered a genuine Christian. These are the issues we are chiefly concerned about.

Jesus warns His disciples about the danger of false doctrine and we echo His warnings today to our brothers and sisters. There is no such thing as harmless false (illegal) doctrine. True, none of us is 100% doctrinally pure, but it is one thing to lack understanding concerning some facet of biblical truth and quite another to embrace something that is erroneous. The Apostle Paul rebukes the Galatians who were being bewitched by legalism. He reminds them—

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion [cometh] not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Galatians 5:7-9

Crouch is very willing to “wink” at a little leaven (illegal doctrine), DMI is not. Truth Matters to God and His truth is worth fighting for. When you know God’s truth in a certain area and keep silent knowing your brethren believes a lie how are you walking in love towards them? Paul understood that everything produces after its own kind and thus he knew the danger of allowing the Galatians to cling to anything, no matter how small that was unsound biblically.

The following is another example of this type of curse directed at me personally in a recent missive of “love” from an alleged brother in Christ. Note the tone and language. Not only does this misguided soul violate the Holy Scriptures, he does not even take time to use his spell and grammar checker! Nor does he cite any specific examples of where our ministry has misrepresented Mr. Hagin. We stand by the well documented fact that he stole intellectually from E.W. Kenyon Finis Dake and other authors. We also do not recant that he was a false teacher and false prophet, all of which is well documented on our website and other websites and books if anyone cares to take the time to research. So enjoy the following e-mail and I believe it speaks for itself and helps answer why I am glad to consider myself an “X-charismaniac.” (Bold type and underlining are added for emphasis on my part- spelling corrected).

“Dear Robert, I just read your article on the web. It’s great that you are investigating religion, but you got the Kenneth Hagin situation wrong. I’m a born again Christian and realize that some people do not understand Kenneth’s ministry. I have an organization speaking against you since you don’t seem to know what you’re talking about.  He is not a false prophet at all. These things were revealed to him. No I will not argue with you, there are plenty of people on the forum who already think you have this all wrong. He was not a part of TV or TBN after the 80 since he was told not to go on TV by the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Your judgment is coming as well and you who don’t really know what you’re talking about. You have started a war—- but not with sweet innocent children but ones that can go into the spirit realm and destroy you. Think about it Jesus Christ won’t help you once the curse is upon you. PS we are born again Christians too.

This e-mail would be funny if this guy was not trying to be serious. It appears this man has an entire organization “speaking against me” (keep in mind curses are generally verbalized in order to be effective). It seems my judgment is coming due to the powerful curses released by these unsweetened negative nabobs of doom, despair and agony. Gee whatever happened to being harmless as doves (read Matthew 10:16) ?

Due to our exposure of Mr. Hagin we have started a “war” with bitter (as opposed to sweet), guilty (as opposed to innocent) Christians who can ascend into the spirit realm and destroy me.

Let me address his first accusation regarding my not understanding Mr. Hagin’s SINistry. Oh really?  We have almost every one of his books, untold numbers of his cassettes, videos and I have seen him in person, up close and personal, even been in prayer lines where he was imparting his special ‘anointing” so special it is not even mentioned in the Bible! No, quite the contrary, as a former Word of Faith Pastor/teacher I am extremely familiar with his doctrine and it is unsound biblically. His so-called visions and out-of-body experiences with Jesus are farcical.

What kind of a dolt is this guy?  Doesn’t he realize that after Crouch, and as you will shortly read ‘Benny the healer Hinn’ have cursed you…you’ve been cursed?  All I can say is, “hey take your best shot pal.”

I wish I had a dime for every time somebody was going to go up to the spirit realm (he must have been reading too much Mary K. Baxter or Howard Pittman) and destroy me, my family and marriage. Sounds more like witchcraft versus the character of Christ Jesus, who commanded us to turn the other check when struck (read Matthew 5:39). Golly, even Jesus Christ, God the Son Himself won’t help me (and by inference others) who dare to speak out against what we know to be false doctrine. I guess since “dad” Hagin assumed room temperature, speaking out against him has been elevated to the status of blaspheming the Holy Spirit (I think not).

I on the other hand must and do bless these misguided souls. We pray for all of them as well as the remaining Hagin family that our gracious Lord Jesus Christ will open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel and they will recant their false doctrines and pull the books that contain them from the shelves.

I wrote this man back and here is the less than godly response from our so-called brother. His language and hatred betray him. Read with sadness the following:

“We are human Christians not sweet get your –ass –kicked –by —religion–and the — Gov’t don’t care what you write about us. GET IT? And we still gave our lives to Jesus Christ. Even the devil was mad for the day of vengence, write more and get destroyed more. We do not accept your fake ass apology as PS ask the Lord Jesus Christ if we are not of HIM? You’ll be more than surprised and ‘17 million of us know you will not reveal when He truly answers you.’ Some people need to keep their mouth shut and their websites. The demonic attacks are ones you and your church can’t fight off,  judgment starts in the house of the LORD “

Uh, what planet is this guy from? I guess we counter-cult apologists, myself in particular, are sweet non-human Christians [sic] who get our “ass kicked by religion.” I readily admit that I am sweet, which beats being sour and bitter. I also confess that I am an alien and pilgrim on this planet (read Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11). I guess he did not read about the Apostle Paul getting his “ass kicked” by religion—

I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So [am] I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I [am] more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; [in] journeying often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, in perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:21-28

Paul must have been too sweet, innocent and passive when faced with such opposition. Why didn’t he go into the spirit realm and hurl down curses on those who withstood him? Maybe Paul was emulating the faith of those we read about in the following text:

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy;) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth. Hebrews 11:35-38

Could it be that Paul had heard James or John recount their experience with the Samaritan villages who rejected Jesus?

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save [them]. And they went to another village. Luke 9:53-56

Mr. Crouch and others who proclaim curses desiring the destruction of their enemies do not know what spirit they are of. These folks have lost sight of the mission of Jesus which is salvation and not destruction.

Back to the e-mailed curse! In our response DMI did not apologize for anything we have written regarding the false prophet Kenneth Hagin Sr. What we did say was that we would “bless” him, and we did in our prayer time, I guess those coals get pretty hot when they get heaped on his head, ergo the vitriolic response. I need not ask our Lord if he is “of Him,” his fruit speaks loudly enough so we have no need to bother the Ancient of Days with such a question. If he wants to reject our prayers and blessings that is his right, but the bible says that “love believes the best” and obviously he is not walking in love because he doubts our sincerity. Again, pray for this misguided soul and may God have mercy upon him and those caught up in calling darkness light and light darkness. I pray God has mercy on the individual who sent the above email to us. Feel free to express your love to him; it seems he really needs a hug or something! His email address is atiragepro@gmail.com.

Let’s consider the type of curse that is given in the quasi-prophetic form. This one is very popular among the so-called restored prophets for obvious reasons. I will cite an example given by Mr. Hinn since he is one of the most widely known and accepted false prophets plaguing the church today. The following curse was literally growled by Mr. Hinn at a miracle crusade held in Denver, Co.

“Yes Lord I’ll do it! I place a curse on every man and woman that will stretch his hand against this anointing I curse that man who dares to speak a word against this ministry.”   (4)

See Video Here: Benny Hinn puts a curse on people:

Hinn would want us to believe that our Lord (the One who came to not destroy but save, the One who on the cross said :Father forgive them”) told him to curse every man and woman who comes against Benny’s alleged anointing and ministry! It is sad to think that people actually believe that Hinn has been sanctioned to curse people and since God is no respecter of persons other lesser “lights” in the extremist movement have taken to placing curses on those who disagree with them. This is a perfect example of the “little leaven“, (cursing in this case,) spreads to others in the Body if it is not dealt with biblically.

The Biblical Attitude Regarding Cursing

The Bible does have quite a bit to say regarding the matter of cursing our enemies. We read the following comment from the lips of Job:

If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. Job 31:29-30

We all know what happened when Balak tried to pay Balaam to curse God’s people:

…Balak the King of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel, How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? Num. 23:7-8

Furthermore, we are commanded by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:14 to “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” Mr. Crouch, Hinn, the e-mailer and others are in direct violation of God’s Word when they attempt to proclaim and place curses on others. In Luke 5:44  Jesus commands us to “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,”

What a shame that many in the sign-gift movement have spiraled down to this level of unbiblical diatribe and unwillingness to admit that many of their leaders have feet of clay and sinful hearts, like the rest of us. They too are in continual need of God’s forgiveness and mercy.  ♦

Copyright © 2005 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

1. Santeria is one of the many syncretic religions created in the New World. It is based on the West African religions brought to the new world by slaves imported to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations. These slaves carried their own religious traditions, including a tradition of possession trance for communications with the ancestors and deities, the use of animal sacrifice and the practice of sacred drumming and dance. Obtained from http://sparta.rice.edu/~maryc/Santeria.

2. Charismaniac, a term I believe I coined but I could be wrong is meant to refer only to those people who embrace the latest pseudo-spiritual beliefs and practices such as holy laughter, strategic level spiritual warfare, being druck in the spirit, the heresies of the Word of Faith cult, aberrant faith healing practices and the like. DMI is not lumping all Pentecostals and charismatic/sign-gift believers into this category. DMI works with both Pentecostal and biblically sound sign/gift people who have not been carried away by the prevailing winds of false doctrine swirling around in their circles.

3. This is only a portion of a rather long rant by Mr. Crouch one can view him in action on various websites and videos. Transcripts of all he said zre also widely distributed on the internet. This portion was obtained from http://cnview.com/on_line_resources/paul_crouch_curses_those_who_contend_for_sound_doctrine.htm.

4. Obtained from http://www.christian-witness.org/archives/cetf1999/bhinnlower.html. There are many websites which show the actual video clips in which Mr. Hinn’s demeanor changes, his voice changes and he hurls his “Spirit-led” curse at those who oppose him and his ministry. The underlining has been added for emphasis.

Morris Cerullo – Indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for Tax Fraud

Truth Matters Newsletter – September 2005 – Vol. 10 Issue 9 – Morris Cerullo Indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for Tax Fraud – By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

 

Morris Cerullo

Indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for Tax Fraud

More bad news for the highly anointed within the rarified air of the international charismatic leadership, Mr. Cerullo has been indicted by a federal grand jury on July 10, 2005 “on three counts of filing false individual income tax returns.” (1)

According to the newspaper report Mr. Cerullo somehow managed to underreport his income by $550,000 during the years 1998-2000. If he is convicted, which in all fairness he has not yet been, he faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Why should we care about what Cerullo has done? What impact does it have on our lives as individuals? Individually whether he is convicted or not will have little obvious effect on our personal lives, however what he does as a recognized “Christian” leader around the world does impact our witness as the people of God. Mr. Cerullo has been a very visible and prominent entity speaking in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on a global scale for a long time. His moral failure is simply more fodder for the enemies of Christ to use in attempting to bolster their case against the claims of Christianity.

The Origins of Morris Cerullo

Like all the so-called “healing” evangelists Cerullo makes the claim that he was supernaturally appointed by God when he was a child:

The Holy Spirit revealed the truth of Jesus Christ as the Messiah to Morris Cerullo when he was only 14-½ years old, living in a Jewish Orthodox orphanage. God sent two angels to supernaturally lead him into the outside world on the first leg of a spiritual journey which has taken him to the very forefront of worldwide evangelism. (2)

Not only does God speak to him but his prophetic annunciations come with a special anointing of God’s Presence. He received a divine, supernatural call from God to preach at the age of fifteen when God took him into the heavens and revealed Himself to him by a supernatural vision. (3)

Every one of these roving healers claim that God has supernaturally brought them into their ministries. Kenneth E. Hagin wrote in his book I believe In Visions how as a young teenager he literally died three times and went to hell three times. On his third descend into hell he cried out to God and was saved. (4) Before Hagin’s tall tale the most widely revered of the healers, William M. Branham claimed to have been visited by angels and heard an audible voice which was his call into ministry. (5) Benny Hinn’s story of his supernatural dealings with God are well chronicled in the book The Confusing World of Benny Hinn. (6) A.A. Allen tells of how he shut himself up in a room and fasted and prayed to God until He came to him. Allen says that God revealed to him thirteen things that if he would do them it would cause the miracle healing power of God to manifest. (7) After Branham and before Allen there was of course the godfather of greed, Oral Roberts who has testified for over fifty years how “God” anointed his right hand with healing power (he started on the healing circuit in 1947). I would be remiss if I did not also mention Robert Liardon, whose claim to fame started with his alleged trip to heaven as an eight year old boy. His story, which is filled with unbelievable heavenly accounts, is written in his best selling book I Saw Heaven.

I mention all of the above individuals to simply point out that all of them make some outrageous claim, often trying to outdo one another concerning either how God called them or how He gifted them with some form of special anointing. In other words, each healer has his or her shtick and Cerullo is no different from the rest of the herd of heretics. Like all the rest he has seen angels, heard voices, no one else heard, been taken to heaven and thus we must accept that he is divinely qualified and empowered by God’s Spirit.

Not only does Morris claim to have divine healing power, his website makes the following claims regarding this man:

Dr. Morris Cerullo, Apostle and Prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a man on the move for God. He is a man whose entire life is dedicated to fulfilling the call of God to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every living creature. In 1982, God gave him a specific call in Porte Alegro, Brazil when He said, “Son, build Me an army.” This army is made up of Nationals trained to take the Gospel to their villages, cities, states, and nations with the same anointing that rests upon Dr. Cerullo’s life and ministry. (8)

Morris makes the claim to be both an “Apostle” and “Prophet” of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only this he is a man with a “specific call” from God Almighty. Armed with this specific call Morris founded: Morris Cerullo World Evangelism. His website enlightens us on the scope of this humble work:

Morris Cerullo World Evangelism is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven (7) committed and dedicated Christians men and woman with a common goal and vision to reach the lost of this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Morris Cerullo World Evangelism is known as the ministry upon which the sun never sets! At any given time, on any given day, somewhere in the world, ministry is going on under the banner of MCWE. Over the years, Dr. Cerullo has established and maintained tremendous relationships with “his sons and daughters in the Gospel” and his preaching, teaching, training, prophetic ministry and counseling is in great demand around the world. (9)

You’ve Read the Hype, Now Here Are the Facts

Morris the “Apostle” 

I like to eat cheese; doing so does not make me a mouse. Morris can claim to be an Apostle but that does not make him one. The mental wards are filled with people with delusions of grandeur, people who claim to be the President, Queen of England or even Jesus Christ! Cerullo can claim to be anyone or anything he likes, but as my sainted granny used to say “the proof is in the pudding.”

The Bible lays out some very clear and distinct marks which must be present in order for someone to claim that they are in fact biblical Apostles. Let’s take a quick look into the Gospel of Mark concerning the Apostles:

1. The Apostles responded immediately and unconditionally to the call from Jesus. Mark 1:18,20; 2:14.

2. The apostles left everything when Jesus called. Mark 1:18,20.

3. Jesus called the apostles to be His companions, to be an eyewitness to His ministry and to preach what He taught them. Mark 3:14

I might add that of the original twelve all were martyred with the exception of Saint John. I could also throw in that none of them were extravagantly wealthy, (unlike Cerullo). In its simplest and broadest terms an “Apostle” is one whom God has sent on a specific mission. If a Christian missionary goes into a city and establishes a church where there was none before, it might be loosely considered an apostolic work. That is far different than claiming one is an Apostle in the same sense as the New Testament Apostles, which is the teaching of today’s Apostolic Movement, which includes Cerullo.

The Book of Acts gives us some four insights regarding the requirements to be considered a true Apostle of the Lamb:

These special messengers or delegates were called by God. Because of that, there were some very specific requirements for an apostle. After Judas betrayed Jesus and killed himself, another apostle was selected and this selection process gives us the requirements to be an apostle. This process can be found in Acts 1:16-26. We’ll see there are basically four requirements to be a true apostle.

The first requirement  is to be a messenger. The name itself means messenger, so a requirement to be an apostle is to have a message and to deliver the message to the people. This was the “ministry of an apostle: and is spoken of in verse 17 of the text when Peter talks about Judas.

The second requirement  is a formal training period. The training is done by Jesus and covers a time of about three to three-and-a-half years. We get this from verses 21-22 of our text. As Peter and the group are trying to decide who to select to replace Judas, they only consider men who were with them and Jesus from the time of John the Baptist to the time that Jesus ascended into heaven. It’s estimated that from the time John the Baptist baptized Jesus to the time Jesus ascended was about 3 to 3.5 years. These men were with the group and personally trained by Jesus during this time.

The third requirement  is the person had to be a witness of the resurrected Jesus Christ. As the requirements are continued in verse 22, Peter says, “must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection.” In other words, they had to personally witness (see) Jesus after Jesus arose.

The fourth requirement  and final requirement is that God, not man, selects the person. Remember part of the definition of the word is that the apostle is “sent forth with orders.” It’s God who gives them the orders and sends them forth. Notice in verse 24 through 26 during this selection process, they prayed and cast lots, leaving the final decision up to God to control the lots and the lot fell upon Matthias. (10)

Cerullo does not meet any of these biblical requirements. However, some may try to argue that the Apostle Paul was not one of the twelve, he did not literally walk with Jesus nor was he there as a witness of His resurrection, ergo God has other “Apostles” which are not so narrowly defined. Well let’s take a few moments and consider Paul:

1. Paul was truly a messenger. He went on three primary missionary journeys and he wrote much of the New Testament. He clearly meets the broad definition of the word apostle and his ministry was one of a messenger. Also, Paul carried a very specific message, the letters of the New Testament.

2. To meet the second requirement, Paul would have had to have been trained by Jesus Christ just as the others apostles were. Notice what Paul says in Galatians 1:15-18. After he was called to be a messenger (to preach as he says in verse 16 of Galatians chapter 1), he didn’t confer (talk with) flesh and blood. Paul didn’t even go to the other apostles (Galatians 1:17). If he didn’t confer with flesh and blood, then he must have conferred with the Spirit-the Holy Spirit of god. We get an indication that Paul went out into the desert of Arabia and then after three years, started his ministry (Galatians 1:17-18). Paul was personally trained by the Spirit of the Lord for the 3-year period. Paul even tells us that what he is giving us, he got from the Lord (I Corinthians 11:23).

3. But, to be a true apostle, Paul would have also needed to be a witness of Jesus after the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15: 4-8, Paul mentions the resurrection of Christ and Paul mentions all the people who saw Jesus after the resurrection. In verse 8, Paul says he saw the Lord as well. Paul goes on to say he was born out of due time and he feels he is not worthy to be an apostle because of the persecution he has done to the church, but because of the grace of God, he did see Jesus and is an apostle (1 Corinthians 15:8-10).

4. Finally, we need to see if God personally called Paul to be an apostle. Notice the verse in Romans 1:1. If you have the true word of God, a true translation, the verse will read, “Paul a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”  Notice he says, called “to be” an apostle. He’s not just called an apostle, like a name, but he is called to the specific office of an apostle.  This same phrase is repeated in 1 Corinthians 1:1. Galatians 1:15 also says Paul was called by God. We see the start of Paul’s calling Acts 9:1-20. (11)

Paul meets the biblical requirements and what is more he demonstrated to those who doubted his Apostleship the “true signs of an Apostle” (read 2 Cor. 12:12). Paul’s claim was backed up by true signs and wonders wrought by the Holy Spirit through him.

Mr. Cerullo can call himself an “Apostle,” others may refer to him by that title but the biblical facts speak for themselves, Cerullo is not an apostle. At best he is self-deceived into thinking he is one or at worst he is a false apostle sent by Satan in the guise of a minister of righteousness (read 2 Cor. 11:13). In either scenario the results spell tragedy for himself and those who follow him.

Morris the “Prophet”

It is bad enough to claim to be an Apostle, but he also lays claim to be a “Prophet” of our Lord too. The Bible sets forth one basic standard for a prophet— 100% accuracy when one says they are speaking the word of the Lord (read Deut 18:20-21). God allows no wiggle room or margin of error for anyone who dares to say “thus saith the Lord” or “the Lord told me.” Anyone who does make such statements and they do not come from the Lord and do not come to pass that individual is not to be listened to, followed and is to be considered a false prophet. With this caveat in mind lets look at a few of Cerullo’s prophetic revelations:

“Take up your pen and write. I want you to warn my people. There are 5 major crises that are coming in the next decade of destiny, the 1990’s “ The world will be experiencing the greatest economic turmoil in the history of humanity.”….one of the greatest crises we have ever experienced.” It will be an incredible financial crisis and it’s going to plunge the world into a state of great turmoil and perplexity.” We’re going to see in this decade a complete collapse of the present worldwide monetary system.” It will make the Wall Street crash of 1929 seem like a picnic.” And that crisis will come before the year 1994. “ (12)

Morris gave this prophetic word in September, 1985, it is twenty years later and this alleged Word of the Lord failed to come to pass by any stretch of the imagination. Almost all of you reading this newsletter were alive in 1994 and none, zip zero nada of what the Lord revealed to Morris was fulfilled. Here is a more recent example:

“God showed me at the beginning of 1995 that He was taking us to a strategic level of warfare prayer. He gave us this revelation: God revealed to me that the Decade of the Holy Spirit is closing. He showed me that for three years there will be a new manifestation of true intercession of God’s people rises [sic] to heaven, God will begin to release the flood gates of heaven. God is bringing His intercessors to the frontlines of evangelism! He has strategically placed intercessors in key positions worldwide, where He will use them to effect changes, in the spirit, that will result in a worldwide harvest of souls! But in the midst of this darkness, God has shown me that this is the hour for the Church to unite as a mighty force to launch the greatest prayer assault in the history of the church against the satanic forces now working to establish dominion and control over Europe.” (13)

I am not going to waste your time by parsing everything “God” showed Morris in this encounter. If he is correct, then the ministry of the Holy Spirit ceased or was about to cease. Can anyone show me where His ministry officially began (hint read Genesis 1:2) or where the Bible says His ministry will close? As for the so-called “prayer evangelism” concept, that is pure nonsense. People are not “prayed” into the kingdom of God. People are saved by the means of grace God has given the Church, and prayer is not a means of grace. They are saved by the foolishness of preaching (read 1 Cor. 1:21). Nowhere does the Bible teach that through special intercessors people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. At best our Lord did say that we are to pray that the Lord of the harvest send out laborers (read Matt. 9:38) i.e. workers, people who are obeying the command of their Master by preaching the Gospel to every living creature (read Mark 16:15). The bottom line is this; Cerullo lied in the name of the Lord and delivered false and misleading information he claims was given to him by God. Again we are faced with only two possible conclusions: (1) Morris is self-deceived and unwittingly deceiving others, or (2) is a false prophet, a tare amongst the wheat sown by Satan to lead God’s people astray.

“Dr.” Morris Cerullo

He claims to be an Apostle and we have seen that he is not. He has claimed to be a Prophet and again he failed the test. Is he a Doctor of Divinity and Humanities? No, not really. His doctorate is an honorary one bestowed on him by another fraud who happens to be the Founder an President of Oral Roberts University, yup you guessed, Oral Roberts gave Morris the degree. (14) On Cerullo’s website he is referred to as “Dr. Cerullo” in almost every paragraph. Why? To give the undiscerning the false belief that Morris is a biblical scholar and theologian when the fact is that he has no earned degrees in biblical studies for any accredited seminary!

Every claim this man makes about himself is a lie. He is neither an Apostle, nor a prophet and even his doctoral degree is worthless. What we do know is that he may be going to jail for attempting to defraud the Federal government out of their rightful share of taxable revenue. This latest grand jury indictment merely echoes a lawsuit brought against Morris by two of his own ministry executives in 2000:

John Paul Warren’s suit, filed last month in San Diego Superior Court, is the second such lawsuit this year against Cerullo, a 68-year-old San Diego-based evangelist known for his cable network and worldwide crusades. Another former executive sued in March, saying he resigned after confronting Cerullo about unspecified “fund-raising abuses.” Both suits were filed by the same lawyer. Cerullo, whose ministry says it has trained 1.3 million people around the world in Christian proselytizing, says the claims are completely false. “The Bible teaches us not to take our brothers to court, “Cerullo said. Warren’s suit says Cerullo reneged on a promise to give each $1,500 donor a satellite dish allowing access to the ministry’s Global Prayer Satellite Network. To Warren’s knowledge, none of the donors received a dish, according to the suit. The lawsuit also accuses Cerullo of hiring Warren for the unstated purpose of gaining access to the confidential 5,000-name donor list that Warren had built up during his 20 years as a minister in Northern California. The lawsuit says Cerullo hired Warren in 1998 with a promise to make him “second in command” and “successor” when Cerullo retired at the end of 2000. Instead, it says, Warren was given a lesser position and was fired in October 1999 after confronting Cerullo about “several integrity issues.” Warren’s lawyer, Dean Broyles, said Cerullo routinely coaxed money from donors by promising to spend it in certain ways, then didn’t follow through. “Both of my clients were very high up within the organization and they were privy to and personally observed a lot of ethical misconduct within the industry,” Broyles said. “In my humble opinion, that’s why they’re no longer there.” Broyles’ other client, Harry Turner, accuses Cerullo of taking back his bonus and saying bad things about him after Turner confronted Cerullo about his fund-raising methods. Turner, who was senior vice president with Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, resigned in December. (15)

Although these two individuals did not prevail in court against Cerullo I believe their accusations helped focus the vigilant eyes of Uncle Sam on this deceiver. If you know anyone who is currently supporting this man and his Sinistry I would urge you to share these facts with them. I equally urge us all to pray for Mr. Cerullo that our merciful Lord would open his eyes and grant him a repentant attitude. ♦

Copyright © 2005   Robert S. Liichow

End Notes:

1. Obtained from the San Diego Union-Tribune July 13,2005 via the http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11670

2. Obtained from http://www.mcwe.com/aboutus.php?SessionId=33f440af97b2d8623b7c78710b4b480b. Bold type added for emphasis.

3. Ibid. Bold type added.

4. This account can be found in the book I Believe In Vision, Kenneth E. Hagin. Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Tulsa, OK.

5. His account can be read in Gordon Lindsey’s book Twentieth Century Prophet.

6. You can order a copy of this excellent resource on Mr. Hinn by contacting http://www.pfo.org.

7. Obtained from http://www.jackieandsusan.com/Gospel_Forefathers/gh_titles/AA_Allen.html.

8. Obtained from http://www.mewe.com/aboutus.php?SessionId=33f440af97b2d8623b7c78710b4b480b.

9ibid. Bold type added.

10. Obtained from His Clear Path Ministries, P.O. Box 241962, Montgomery, AL 36124-1962.

11. Ibid.

12. Cerullo, Morris 5 Great Crises, Morris Cerullo Ministries cassette tape, September 1989.

13. Morris Cerullo World Evangelism web site, Copyright 1999 by Morris Cerullo World Evangelism. This “word” was given by Morris at the MORRIS CERULLO WORLD EVANGELISM EUROPEAN SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER CONFERENCE May 27-31, 1999 Earl’s Court, London, England. Underlining added.

14. In fact with just a little digging around one can quickly learn that almost every charismatic leader of renown received their doctorate from Oral Roberts. Whether it is Marilyn Hickey, Joyce Meyer, Jesse Duplantis, etc…all of these are fake degrees given by a fake-healer to deceive the ignorant into believing these individuals are in fact biblical scholars when in reality none of them have any actual accredited degrees from accredited seminaries.

15. Obtained from http://religionnewsblog.com/11669.

  

The Need for Educated Pastors

Truth Matters Newsletter – September 2005 – Vol. 10 Issue 9 – The Need for Educated Pastors – by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

The Need for Educated Pastors

“I also must be right up front with you about seminaries and Bible colleges, I believe all they do is produce rubber stamp “ministers” and when the ‘ministers’ are done, it seems most take the stance “Ok, I have absolute truth and nothing can change my mind”, and sadly nothing usually does. Peter never had any “formal” training, but yet Jesus decided to build His church with Peter being the Rock. I believe seminaries and bible colleges hinder people from truly being led of the Spirit.” (EMAIL comments from Shirl on 09-05-05). (1)

Every time I mention the need for pastors to obtain a sound seminary education I am met with the shrill email response of “knowledge puffs up. The above quote echoes what almost all the various proponents of biblical ignorance repeat, that being, the charismatic urban legend regarding the Apostles of Jesus being untrained men, thus people do not need any formal biblical education in order to serve as pastors or Bible teachers.

People who hold such views base them on two major premises. First, they have their own favorite teacher/preacher who has no biblical education and they are “blessed” by their ministry, ergo, a seminary education is unnecessary. Secondly, they look at the following many of these charismatic superstars have and assume that the masses of people and multi-millions of dollars they receive and indicative of the blessing of Almighty God upon the work they are doing in His name. “Dr.” Kenneth E. Hagin who constantly referred to seminaries as “cemeteries,” which always drew a cheap laugh from the audience. (2).

There is a great fear among many leaders, especially in the Word of Faith cult and many charismatic sects concerning their members obtaining any formal biblical education. They know that when they do these individuals will leave their movement, as did my wife and myself. Jesus said that if one would continue in His Word he would know the truth and the truth would set him free (read John 8:32) and that is exactly what happens when the Word of God is properly taught…people get set free. Unfortunately, the opposite is equally true. Where the scripture are taken out of context and taught by biblically ignorant teachers, those who swallow-and-follow what these blind guides teach end up in spiritual bondage, which they eventually perpetuate to others.

Their answer to the lack of sound biblical education is to simply establish their own schools. By doing this these leaders accomplish several things. First, it keeps people in the cult by further indoctrinating them and eventually sending them out as “pastors” over their own congregations. This leads to point number two: it is a way to garner in additional financial resources from their graduates/pastors who send their members to the school they came from. Thirdly, it helps give the cult leaders a degree of legitimacy, after all, they are Presidents of Bible Schools! Here are just a few of the “Bible” schools that some blind guides of renown have started: Spirit Life Bible College — “Dr.” Roberts Liardon; Rhema Bible Training Center — “Dr. “Kenneth E. Hagin; New Life Bible College — Norval Hayes; Jerry Savelle Ministries International Correspondence School — “Dr.” Jerry Savell; Word to the World College — “Dr.” Marilyn Hickey; Supernatural Ministries Training Institute — “Dr” Mark Barclay; School of Ministry — John Arnott. None of these schools possesses accepted accreditation and any legitimate college or seminary does not recognize their graduates diplomas or degrees. Please note that many of the founders of these schools always use the title “Dr.” in front of their names. The FACT is that none of them has an earned doctoral degree; in most cases they were given these titles by another fraud, “Dr.” Oral Roberts. They love to use the title without having to do the work to earn it. They use the title to deceive people into thinking they are biblically educated.

It is important to understand that when you see the superstars of charismatic televangelism you are looking at and listening to individuals who have (in the majority of cases) absolutely no biblical training or formal education whatsoever. Let me cite just a few of the more popular preachers one can see daily on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN): Kenneth & Gloria Copeland; Mr. Benny Hinn; Jesse Duplantis; Kim Clement; Jerry Savelle, Joyce Meyer, Charles Capps; Marilyn Hickey; and Joel Osteen. None of these individuals have any biblical education, most of them have not even attended a secular college or earned a college degree, with the exception of Marilyn Hickey who did earn a teaching degree for primary school if memory serves me correctly. Yet these individuals are deemed as possessing divine insights into the Word of God and are seen by multitudes as being some of the greatest biblical exegetes of the Church!  Millions of people’s spiritual understanding is solely based on what these blind guides teach.

The Biblical Precedent For Educated Pastors

Contrary to popular charismatic thought the Bible is full of exhortations for God’s people especially those in ministry, to be well educated concerning the Holy Scriptures.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Study in the Greek means “to exert one’s self, endeavor, give diligence” (3) We are to mentally exert ourselves in gaining a proper understanding of the Word of God so that we will not be ashamed before our God, rightly handling the word of truth. This implies it is very easy to wrongly handle God’s Word.

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.   James 3:1

When someone stands before the people of God and attempts to teach the Bible they had better know what they are talking about. Pastors who rightly divide the word of truth will be tools of liberation, those who wrongly teach God’s Word become instruments of bondage, often leading God’s people further from the goal of spiritual fruitfulness.

This is nothing new; Peter, regarding some of what the Apostle Paul taught, had to warn his flock of the dangers of being led astray by untrained clergy;

As also in all [his] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as [they do] also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 2 Peter 3:16

Let me state quite emphatically that no one has a perfect understanding of the Bible in this life. Every pastor is a sinner, each one of us is fallen and sees through a mirror darkly (see 1 Cor. 13:12). Knowing this fact it should drive those of us in public ministry to our knees all the more beseeching our Lord to grant us His mercy in understanding His Word.

If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth; that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11

We should approach our education with humility and when we stand before God’s people to speak to do so with godly fear and trembling. It is not a light matter to teach God’s Word. That is why it behooves us to get as much solid training as we can before we attempt to stand in the pastoral office.

Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7

Buy the truth, and sell [it] not; [also] wisdom, and instruction and understanding Proverbs 23:23

With all our getting we are to acquire wisdom, understanding and instruction. When Proverbs 23:23 refers to “buying” it simply means to go acquire truth, wisdom and understanding, and once you have done this, do not let it go (sell I).

Defusing the Myths

“Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” 1 Cor. 8:1

Myth #1   “Brother you are just promoting the teachings of men and we all know that knowledge puff up, but love builds up.”

This charge is often leveled against those of us who expound the value of formal biblical training. The problem with this proof text is that they take it completely out of its context (a little something they would learn not to do if they took a class in hermeneutics). Paul is referring to the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols.

There was evidently difference of opinion on the subject among the Corinthian Christians. Aspects of the matter come forward not touched on in the Jerusalem Conference to which Paul does not here allude, though he does treat it in Ga. 2: 1-10. There was the more enlightened group who acted on the basis of their superior knowledge about the non-existence of the gods represented by the idols. Ye know that we all have knowledge. This may be a quotation from the letter (Moffatt Lit of N.T., p. 112). Since their conversion to Christ, they know the emptiness of idol-worship. Paul admits that all Christians have this knowledge (personal experience, ), but this problem cannot be solved by knowledge. (4)

Paul was not an anti-intellectual by any means! Nor was he suggesting that love was superior to biblical knowledge. In the context of this passage love is the guide in solving social interactions. In fact he wrote his disciple, Timothy to remember to bring with him the books and especially the parchments when he came to Paul (read 2 Tim. 4:13). While testifying of Christ to Festus, even this petty potentate recognized Paul as a learned man. (read Acts 26:24).

By all historical accounts the Apostle Paul was one of the most highly educated men of his time. True he considered all his education to be of no value when compared to the glory of knowing Jesus Christ (read Phil. 3:8), but the fact still remains that God used Paul, a highly educated man to write approximately two-thirds of the New Testament.

Myth #2   “The disciples of Jesus were ignorant and unlearned men; they did not have any formal biblical education and look how God used them!”

That is the basic statement DMI receives, or as Shirl stated in her email  “Peter never had any “formal” training, but yet Jesus decided to build His church with Peter being the Rock.”  Defusing this myth requires no “formal” training, just a modicum of common sense. The disciples, the twelve specifically, spent three and a half years or around 1,277.5 days with Jesus. They were taught by God the Son personally 7 days a week, no Christmas or Easter breaks. They spent every waking moment with God the Son learning the Word of God from the Living Word! What is more, in preparing His disciples for His departure He gave them a tremendous promise:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.   John 14:28

The disciples were hardly “ignorant and unlearned” men with no formal biblical education. The exact opposite is true. They were personally instructed by two of the three persons of the Trinity. After His resurrection from the dead, a couple of the disciples obtained some more direct instruction in biblical theology.

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all, the scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27

The only people who call the disciples ignorant and unlearned were the Sadducees and temple priests (read Acts 4:13). This was not a statement of fact because as we have seen the Apostles were in reality the best taught and biblically equipped people of all time!

Myth #3    “God used uneducated people in great ways, you’re just exalting knowledge.

Without a doubt, God does use people without formal biblical training in great ways…but not as effective pastors. I would remind our detractors of a few historical facts. Moses was one of the most highly educated men in all of Egypt and God used him to lead the Israelites, delivered the Law unto them, etc. The Bible says the following of Solomon:

And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 1 Kings 4:30.

Daniel and his cohorts were proven to be ten times wiser than all the wise men in Cyrus’ empire (read Dan. 1:20), the greatest one of its day. God has always used highly educated men to move His plan forward. I could mention men such as Justin Martyr, Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards and a host of other theological luminaries all of whom have added to the Church.

DMI and other Apologetic ministries are not “exalting knowledge,” but we are quick to add that there is no premium on ignorance either! It is really very simple; if you want to become a doctor you have to attend medical school, a veterinarian must go to veterinary school and even your barber (hopefully) attended Barber College. If we demand expertise from our plumbers, electricians, doctors, architects and pilots how much more should those in sacred ministry desire to be as highly trained as they can be? I am truly perplexed over why God’s people do not expect as much from their spiritual leaders as they do from their plumbers.

It is not about gaining “head knowledge” it is about being able to skillfully and accurately teach God’s Word to His people so that they may apply it correctly to their lives and bear fruit that glorifies their heavenly Father.

The reason I am so passionate about the need for good education is because I came from a background where it was not valued at all. As a charismatic extremist I served as a pastor and teacher for fifteen years before I went to seminary. Was my ministry invalid? No, not really, but I was ineffective in sharing God’s Word in its context. I was guilty of teaching heretical doctrines at times, because I was not equipped with the tools/knowledge of how to properly interpret the scripture thus I did not know when I was being fed spiritual garbage by other well intentioned heretics. (Hagin, Copeland, Savelle, Hickey, et al.) so I parroted what my “anointed” mentors taught me.

When my wife and I went to Michigan Theological Seminary our eyes were opened and it was if scales fell from our eyes with each course we took. I readily admit to being far from perfect, nor do I have perfect doctrinal understanding… and because I recognize this it has caused me to become a life long student of God’s Word. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I truly know and the hungrier I get to draw closer and closer to my Lord through His Word.

Not everyone needs to attend seminary in order to serve the Lord, that is a given, but I do encourage all of my brothers and sisters in Christ to avail themselves of every avenue open to them to learn about our Lord through in-depth study of His Word. There may even be a good (orthodox) seminary in your area and you might consider auditing some classes on systematic theology, church history or hermeneutics. Most seminaries charge very little to folks who just want to “sit in” without getting the college credit for the courses. It would be time well spent. Let me close this article out with the words of our Lord Jesus:

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.  Mark 15:14      ♦

Copyright © 2005  Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

1. Shirl emailed DMI to complain about our article on Mr. Joel Osteen in which I mentioned the fact that he had absolutely no biblical education whatsoever and does not see the need to have one.

2. It is amazing that a man who made fun of seminaries and called people with Ph.D’s “Post-Hole-Diggers” would accept and use the title “Dr.” in front of his name and in his later publications. He did not mind being called “Dr. Hagin,” even though it was an honorary degree bestowed by his partner in crime, Mr. Oral Roberts, who have given out fake degrees to almost every major charismatic minister on television today.

3. Obtained from http://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/words/4/1125927988-3573.html

4. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software ver. 4.0.035

Sacred Cow Number Three – Jesus Died Spiritually

Truth Matters Newsletter – Vol. 10 Issue 4 – April 2005 – Sacred Cow Number Three – Jesus Died Spiritually – by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Sacred Cow Number Three – Jesus Died Spiritually

(see also special note at the end of article)

 The problem with doctrinal error is that when it is left unchecked, like leaven in bread, it spreads and expands into further deeper errors; which is why our Lord warned us:

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees….Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6,12

This is especially true of the Word of Faith (WOF) cult and their heretical stance regarding the Person of Jesus Christ. From their error concerning His humanity and deity the gyre of error widens and now must include the atonement for our sins by Jesus.

Last month Truth Matters examined the WOF belief that Jesus ministered only as a man while on earth, albeit a man anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Word of Faith (WOF) cult so divided His divine from human nature that, according to their belief, Jesus never operated as God from His divinity. This is an ancient heretical view taught chiefly by Nestorians, and is condemned as a damnable doctrine by various Church Councils, especially that of Chalcedon.

Since God had given Adam complete dominion over the earth and he in turn gave it over to Satan, Satan became the “god” of this world. In order to exercise any legal authority here one must have a physical body and be a human being, which is why Christ came in the flesh. So, according to the cultists, He could battle Satan as a man, just as the first Adam had done (and lost). This second Adam hopefully would be victorious where the first Adam failed. This time the battle ground was not in the Garden of Eden, but at the cross and beyond it into the bowels of hell itself. Let me allow E.W. Kenyon to explain his view:

Jesus the Sinner Man

“The Revelation that Paul received in II Corinthians 5:21 is that God actually made Him to become sins for us. he not only bore our sins, but the sin-nature itself was laid upon Him, until He became all that spiritual death had made man…1Timothy 3:16 reveals that Christ was justified in Spirit. He in identification, had become so utterly one with us that He Himself needed justification when man’s penalty was paid. The next step in Redemption was that He who had been made sin be begotten of God…Jesus Christ, when man’s penalty has been paid, had to be born of God and pass from death into life just as man, because He had become identified with our Spiritual Death. After Christ has been justified in spirit and born of God, He conquered Satan as a man. It is evident that Satan tried to hold Christ within his authority. Satan did hold Christ until God could declare man righteous.” (1)

He is the first born out of spiritual death, the first person who was ever born again…His spirit absolutely became impregnated with the sin nature of the world…Christ did not have sin reckoned to Him. He was made to be sin….This is a remarkable fact, that Jesus was born again before He was raised from the dead…Jesus, after He had been justified and made alive in the spirit, became Satan’s master. And ‘having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it’ (Col. 2:15). It is more graphic in a marginal rendering. ‘Having put off from himself the principalities and the powers (It would seem as though the whole hosts of hell were upon him he was going through agonies beyond words, and suddenly is justified, made alive) ‘He hurls back the hosts of darkness’….He had conquered Satan. He had stripped him of his authority. Keys represent authority. Jesus was master of all hell. He did not conquer Satan for Himself. Jesus conquered Satan for us, for you and for me. (2)

Every WOF teacher proclaims this message regarding the atonement and it is nothing less than damnable blasphemy. According to Kenyon’s doctrine (which is parroted by Copeland, Meyer, Price, Capps, Butler, Tilton, Savelle, Duplantis, Dollar, et al.) Jesus did not bear our sins on the cross. He became an actual sinner. As any sinner, He needed to be regenerated spiritually (born-again) by God, which according to Kenyon this is what happened in hell.

Kenneth Copeland has popularized Kenyon’s heresy to such a degree he did a tape series entitled “What Happened From the Cross to the Throne” which is the exact title of one of Kenyon’s more “popular” books. The book and tape series are available in may non-discerning Christian bookstores.

Now here’s the part I want you to get When He said, “It is finished,” on that cross he was not speaking of the plan of redemption — the plan of redemption had just begun. There were still three days and three nights to be gone through before He went to the throne…See, you have to realize that He (Jesus) died; you have to realize that He went into the pit of hell as a mortal man made sin. But He didn’t stay there, thank God. He was reborn in the pit of hell and resurrected…The righteousness of God was made to be sin.

He (Jesus) accepted the sin nature of Satan in His own spirit and at the moment that He did that He cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? You don’t know what happened at the cross. Why do you think Moses, obeying the instruction of God, hung the serpent up on the pole instead of a lamb? That used to bug me. I said, “Why in the world would you want to put a snake up there the sign of Satan? Why didn’t you put a lamb on that pole.” And the Lord said, “Because it was the sign of Satan that was hanging on the cross.” He said, “I accepted in my own spirit spiritual death and the light was turned off.”    (3)

“It wasn’t a physical death on the cross that paid the price for sin…anybody can do that.    (4)

“It is finished” obviously does not mean that, now we have “greater light” on the true meaning of Jesus’ words. Christ did not win redemption for sinful humanity on the cross. NO! The human sinful man Jesus in hell won it for us after being tormented by Satan and his demons for 3 days! Lest no one thinks Joel Osteen, pastor of the largest congregation in America, is not a WOF heretic, at least regarding this most central tenant of our faith simply read the statement below from one of his sermons:

“The Bible indicates that for three days, Jesus went into the very depths of hell. Right into the enemy’s own territory. And He did battle with Satan face to face. Can you imagine what a show down that was?    (5)

Joel Osteen is on record stating in Charisma magazine that “people aren’t interested in theology.” Which unfortunately is true and sets them up to believe such utter nonsense as Osteen is cited spewing.

Kenneth Hagin’s (6) “son in the Gospel,“ Fred Price (raised a Jehovah Witness), pastor of the mega-church, Crenshaw Christian Center in California, teaches the same heresy:

Price explains  “Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price. No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God…Satan and all the demons of hell thought that they had Him bound. And they threw a net over Jesus and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence.     (7)

I do not want to be remiss and leave out one of America’s most popular female Bible “teachers” Joyce Meyer, on this subject since she is equally dogmatic in her assertions:

“Jesus said ‘It is finished.’ And He meant the Old Covenant. The job He had to do was just getting started. He really did the job the three days and nights that He was in hell. That’s where the job was done. He was pronounced guilty on the cross but He paid the price in hell. (8)

“There is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth I am presenting. You cannot go to heaven unless you believe with all your heart that Jesus took your place in hell. (9)

I could cite five or ten other televised WOF preachers, but they would all be saying the same thing. Sadly, to our knowledge none of these media stars has ever recanted their heretical views concerning Christ Jesus and His atoning death on the cross. Nor have any of them repented of their biblical inaccuracies regarding His nature as both God and man.

Did Jesus Atone For Our Sins, As a Sinner in Hell?

To begin with, the WOF cult faith has resurrected a concept of the atonement that was deemed heretical by the Church. The “ransom theory” of the atonement taught that Jesus died to buy mankind back from Satan. 

Remember that in the March issue of Truth Matters, I discussed the WOF view on how Adam gave Satan his authority in the fall, thus making Satan the “god” of this world. In their belief system, God had to buy back mankind, who, due to Adam’s sin were the property of Satan. Charles Hodge, the Reformed theologian gives us a good understanding of this concept:

The [theory] appeals to the old principle of the rights of war, according to which the conquered became the slaves of the conqueror. Satan conquered Adam, and thus became the rightful owner of him and his posterity. Hence he is called the god and prince of this world. To deliver men from this dreadful bondage, Christ offered Himself as a ransom to Satan. Satan accepted the offer, and renounced his right to retain mankind as his slaves. In answer to the question, How Satan could accept Christ as the ransom for men, if he knew Him to be a divine person? It was said that he did not know Him to be divine, because His divinity was veiled by His humanity. (10)

There are at least four reasons why the ransom theory was later rejected by the Church. First, Satan has no claim on the lost per se, they are not his property which have to be purchased by Christ’s death. Secondly, Satan is not the one who must be satisfied by the sacrifice before sinners can be redeemed.

Thirdly, in the Bible the Greek work for ransom simply means “redemption-price”, it does not necessarily imply a price paid to Satan. Fourthly, The Bible plainly teaches that Christ’s atonement was a sacrifice to God (read Eph. 5:2 and Isaiah. 53:10). So their initial premise is wrong and thus everything that springs from it equally wrong.

This WOF teaches that when Jesus said “it is finished” He was not referring to His atoning death (read John 19:20). They teach that what He meant was that the Abrahamic covenant was finished, redemption was yet to be completed. Jesus at this point, a sinner, had to be dragged into hell by demonic forces and suffer being tormented by Satan and demons for three days.

To begin with, Jesus was not a sinner. How can God ever sin? If He did then He would cease to be God and Jesus never ceased being God as we examined in last month’s issue. WOF heretics misinterpret 2 Cor. 5:21. Here is what A.T. Robertson, Greek scholar has to say regarding that text:

2 Cor 5:21 – Him who knew no sin. Definite claim by Paul that Jesus did not commit sin, had no personal acquaintance with it. Jesus made this claim for himself (John 8:46). This statement occurs also in 1 Peter 2:22; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 John 3:5. Christ was and is “a moral miracle” (Bernard) and so more than mere man. He made to be sin  The words “to be” are not in the Greek. “Sin” here is the substantive, not the verb. God “treated as sin” the one “who knew no sin.” But he knew the contradiction of sinners (Heb 12:3). We may not dare to probe too far into the mystery of Christ’s suffering on the Cross, but this fact throws some light on the tragic cry of Jesus just before he died: “My God, My God, why didst thou forsake me?” (Mt. 27:46). That we might become Note “become.” This is God’s purpose in what he did and in what Christ did. Thus alone can we obtain God’s righteousness (Ro 1:17). (11)

Jesus bore our sins, God the Father poured out His wrath on the Lamb of God who took our place on the cross. When Jesus said “it is finished” He was directly referring to His atoning death for the sins of the world.

Next, we have no evidence of Satan or demons dragging this “man” whose nature was now united with Satan’s into hell to be tormented. Satan is not currently in hell, he does not rule hell nor do his demon hosts. There is not one text which shows Satan as a ruler in hell. His followers will be cast into the lake of fire (read Rev. 19:20) and he himself will be cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 19:2) but that has not yet happened. The only fallen angels/demons who are in “hell” are those who were locked up, imprisoned by God—

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. {first estate: or, principality}. Jude 1:6

The Bible teaches us that our sins were atoned for by Jesus on the cross, not in hell. There is not one scintilla of biblical evidence to support what the WOF teaching, in fact, quite the opposite is true:

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,  triumphing  over them in it. {in it: or, in himself}. Col. 2:13-15

When Kenyon cites this text he teaches that these events took place in hell by conveniently leaving out the rest of verse 15 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” A better translation of this text would be triumphing over them on it. Either way “in it” or “on it” directly refers to the work done by Jesus on the cross. Kenyon and his followers simply ignore verse 14 where it states that all our sins against God’s holy law ere taken away by Jesus on the cross. A.T. Robertson says the following about verse 14:

And he hath taken it out of the way (perfect active indicative of airw, old and common verb, to lift up, to bear, to take away. The word used by the Baptist of Jesus as “the Lamb of God that bears away (airwn) the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The perfect tense emphasizes the permanence of the removal of the bond which has been paid and cancelled and cannot be presented again. “When Christ was crucified, God nailed the Law to His cross” (Peake). Hence the “bond” is cancelled for us. (13)

The Apostle Paul further states to the Church at Galatia that it was on the cross where Jesus became a curse for us:

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Gal. 3:13.

If the work of redemption took place in hell then why don’t any of the biblical authors state this? For that matter why don’t any of their followers (the early church fathers) write about this? It really is not until E.W. Kenyon comes along with his blasphemous theory which has never been supported by the Christian Church since inception.

We do confess in the Apostles Creed that “He descended into hell,” but that does not refer to His atoning work not being finished. Let me quote Crenshaw on this matter:

There are good exegetical reasons to reject the idea that He literally went to hell. First, in Luke 22:42, 43 we read “Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you today you will be with Me in Paradise.’ “ The Lord said that the thief would be with Him that very day in heaven, not in hell. That Paradise means heaven is seen from Paul’s statement when he speaks of the “third heaven” and “Paradise” as synonymous (2 Cor. 12:2-4)….Furthermore in Luke 223:46 the Lord said: “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father into Your hands I commend My spirit.’ And having said this, He breathed His last.” He did not commit His spirit to Hades or to the devil…A correct understanding of Peter’s use of David’s words, “You will not leave my soul in Hades…(Acts 2:27), is necessary. Hades here does not mean the fire but the grave. The early church understood it to be the grave. Also, “Hades” sometimes mean the grave (1 Cor. 15:56). Peter used the word to speak of the bodily resurrection of Christ, proving from the Old Testament tht Messiah would rise from the dead (see v. 30), the dead being those who are in graves, not in hell. (14)

There is an in-house debate among genuine Christians regarding what the Apostles Creed means in this statement. Another view is that Jesus did descend into hell victorious and proclaim His victory to those “spirits in prison” (read I Peter 3:18). In this view Jesus is in Abraham’s bosom and in this upper portion proclaims that redemption is complete and at His ascension He took the waiting believers with Him to heaven. This is the position I believe, but I cite Crenshaw to give you a better understanding of what Christians believe regarding this matter.

Jesus the First “Born-Again” Man?

As I quoted from Copeland’s tape series earlier in this article it is the standard belief among the teachers of WOF that Jesus, as a born-again man defeated Satan in his own domain. Their favorite proof text they cite is found in Hebrews:

For to which of the angels did God even say, “You are my Son today I have become your Father”?  {5 Or have begotten you}  (5 Psalm 2:7) Or again, “I will be his Father and he will be my Son”? (5 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chron. 17:13} And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” {6 Deut. 32:43 (see Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint} Hebrews 1:5,6

They interpret this text to mean that at some point God the Son ceased to be God, His human nature being completely torn away from His divine nature, leaving Jesus as only a man in hell and that once Jesus was spiritually re-born (in hell) then “again” the heavenly Father say “and He will be my Son.”

Furthermore they teach that when Jesus was reborn and took the keys of death, hell and the grave from Satan (in hell) and ascends back to the earth and is physically resurrected that is when God “brings his firstborn into the world.” That is the teaching of the WOF cult regarding this text in Hebrews.

Is this the correct interpretation? The WOF preachers miss the point of this text altogether, most likely because their house of cards needs to be shored up by some biblical citation, even if it is taken out of context.

In Hebrews 1:5 His deity comes to the forefront as He is presented as the exalted Son whom the angels are to worship. He is exalted in that He came into the world as the “firstborn,” the preeminent one. Jesus is “begotten” to this relationship with the Father, that is, recognized. The Father is not making Him God or giving Him something new regarding His deity but is not making Him God or giving Him something new regarding His deity but only recognizing what He is: son, begotten firstborn, and God…The today’ has no particular reference and the “begotten” is simply recognition that Jesus is the “Son, the Begotten, the Firstborn, and God” (Heb. 1:5-8). Again the context militates against the idea that He was morally born again. (15)

Crenshaw’s statement is very clear and A.T. Robertson’s comments on these verses also shed light on their true meaning and context:

Heb 1:5 – Unto which , “To which individual angel.” As a class angels are called sons of God (Elohim) (Ps. 29:1), but no single angel is called God’s Son like the Messiah in Ps. 2:7. Dods takes “have I begotten thee”, perfect active indicative of , to refer to the resurrection and ascension while others refer it to the incarnation. And again. This quotation is from 2 Sa. 7:14. Note the use of the predicate with the sense of “as” like the Hebrew (LXX idiom), not preserved in the English. See Mt. 19:5; Lu 2:34. Like Old English “to” or “For” See 2 Co 6:18; Re 21:7 for the same passage applied to relation between God and Christians while here it is treated as Messianic.

Heb 1:6 – And when he again bringeth in. Indefinite temporal clause with , the reference is to the Second Coming as in 9:28. It merely introduces another quotation (Ps. 97:7) parallel to; in verse 5, the reference is to the incarnation when the angels did worship the Child Jesus (Lu 2:13f.). There is no way to decide certainly about it. The first-born See Ps. 89:28. For this compound adjective applied to Christ in relation to the universe see Col. 1:15, to other men, Ro 8:29; Col 1:18 to the other children of Mary, Lu 2:7; here it is used absolutely. The world  “The inhabited earth.  See Ac 17:6 Let worship Imperative first aorist active third plural of here in the full sense of worship, not mere reverence or courtesy. This quotation is from the LXX MSS. (except F) have , but the substance does occur also in Ps. 97:7

The grammar is very clear as is the obvious meaning, the author of Hebrews was not referring to God the Father giving birth or reestablishing Jesus as God the Son. The WOF stresses the two words “again” in the verse in a vain attempt to prove their blasphemous doctrine regarding the atonement.

In putting a very sharp fork into this sacred cow, because it is finished, let’s be very clear that our Lord Jesus paid for the penalty of our sins by bearing them (not becoming a sinner) on the cross and certainly not in hell as a born-again man. This is one of the most damnable of the WOF sacred cows which demands cremation and then a scattering of its ashes over the grave of E.W. Kenyon.   ♦

Copyright ©  2005  Robert S. Liichow

 ** A SPECIAL NOTE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE:

In writing about this “sacred cow” I used strong language such as “damnable heresy,” and “blasphemy.” It is important for you, the reader, to understand that when it comes to the nature of Christ and His atoning work on the cross it is essential that we have the correct biblical understanding. The WOF cult is wrong to such a degree that those believing what they teach concerning Jesus and His work on the cross cannot be considered Christians. This is no small issue. It is the center of the Gospel. You get this wrong then all that flows from that error leads one only into further darkness.

I am not saying that everyone who attends a WOF “church” is unsaved, only the Lord knows those who are truly His. Yet I do tremble with godly fear fro those who persistently teach such blasphemy even after being warned of their errors on several occasions by various ministers, including DMI.

Please pray for these teachers. They hold sway over millions of professing believers. Ask our Lord in His mercy to open their eyes and grant them repentance and the humility to publicly admit and recant their former doctrines.

________________________________________

End Notes

1. Kenyon, E.W. The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption Old Tappen, NJ 1969, pp. 165, 166,167. Bold type and underlining added for emphasis.

2. Kenyon, E.W. what Happened from the Cross to the Throne, Old Tappen, NJ, 1969, pp. 63,64,65. The reason for all of the ellipses is for the sake of space. You can find Kenyon’s book in almost any ‘Christian’ bookstore and read it for yourself, but what I have cited carries his main thought regarding the atonement of Christ. Bold type and underlining added.

3. Copeland, Kenneth. What Happened from the Cross to the Throne, side two of cassette one. Underlining added.

4. Copeland, Kenneth. What Satan Saw on the Day of Pentecost, audiotape #BCC-19, side 1.

5. Osteen, Joel. Sermon, CS-002 – April 23, 2000, “The Truth of The Resurrection.”

6. Kenneth Hagin senior, considered by many to be the “father” of the Word of Faith died recently. Sadly his legacy of error continues through his son and grandson, not to mention the several thousand graduates of his legacy of error continues through his son and grandson, not to mention the several thousand graduates of Hagin’s “Bible” school, Rhema Bible Training Center.

7. Ever Increasing Faith Messenger [June 1980] 7; quoted in D.R. McConnell, A different Gospel, 1988 120.

8. Meyer, Joyce. From the Cross to the Throne. Quote obtained from http://www.myfortress.org/DidJesusPayForOurSinsInHell.html Underlining and bold type added for emphasis.

9. Meyer, Joyce. The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make. Pg. 37, 1991 edition. To DMI’s knowledge Joyce has not redacted her booklet which is given away to people who want to get “born-again.” In her mind if they do not accept the sinful man Jesus redeeming us then there can be no hope of them going to heaven! Pretty amazing when you consider that the Orthodox Christian Church has never taught such a doctrine nor accepted any aspects of what the WOF presents as the atonement.

10. Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theolgy vol. 2 pg. 564.

11. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software ver. 4.0, 1999

12. Mary K. Baxter wrote a bestselling book which alleges she visited hell on 40 occasions with Jesus. In her book “The Divine Revelation of Hell” she shows Satan and demons ruling and reigning in hell tormented the damned. It is pure nonsense and contradicts the Bible on almost every page, yet has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and now is in something like 30 different languages!

13. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software, ver. 4.0 1999

14. Crenshaw, Curtis. Man as God Foot Stool Publication, pp. 431,442, 1994.

15. Ibid. pp. 333-323. Underlining added.

16. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software, vr. 4.0, 199.

Sacred Cow Number One – Jesus Was Very Wealthy

Truth Matters Newsletter – February 2005 – Vol. 10 Issue 2 – Sacred Cow Number One – Jesus Was Very Wealthy – by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Sacred Cow Number OneJesus Was Very Wealthy

Over the next several months the Lord willing, DMI will be writing a series of articles designed to kick over several sacred cows within Charismania. (1) The term “sacred cow” has its origin from Hinduism where the cow is viewed as a sacred animal. (2)   Today it is an idiomatic term for a cherished idea that cannot be questioned or negated. One such major “sacred cow” is the doctrine that our Lord Jesus Christ was extremely wealthy. This false doctrine is accepted and taught by every major Word of Faith (WOF) teacher and televangelist.

The conviction that Jesus was very rich is not an ancillary teaching it is a central core dogma for literally hundreds of thousands of professing Christians. It is so central a concept that when it is demolished many other teachings can no longer be supported, which is why it qualifies as a sacred cow for many sign-gift extremists. After all, if Jesus was not wealthy then the rest of the various teachings on prosperity fall down like a house of card.

Through my research I cannot unequivocally say who originally came up with the wealthy Jesus idea, but it does seem to have taken root during the so-called “Healing Revival” of Post World War II. Earlier divine healers were well known for their personal wealth and riches. Aimee Semple McPherson was know for her opulent lifestyle. (3)   I personally remember Lester Sumrall commenting on how John Alexander Dowie used to have tubs of money and lived very well in his city, Zion, Illinois.

When the new batch of healers came around after WWII it seems they took their financial cues from those “giants” upon whose shoulders they humbly stood. Healers such as A.A. Alan, Jack Coe, Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, William Branham were wealthy people. Those who followed them in the early 1960’s to this day such as Kathryn Kuhlman, R.. Schambach, Benny Hinn, W.V. Grant, Peter Popoff and Robert Tilton  are (or were in the case of Kuhlman who is dead) extremely wealthy individuals. Not to mention a host of WOF teachers, as opposed to those claiming healing ministries. These people too are extremely wealthy and openly display their wealth. This list would include people such as: Paul and Jan Crouch, T.D. Jakes, Leroy Tomkins, Ken & Gloria Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Fred Price, Jerry Savelle, Norvel Hayes, John Avanzini, etc.

Where Did the Doctrine of Wealthy Jesus Come From?

I believe this false teaching came about by necessity. Somehow, these phenomenally wealthy individuals who claim to be serving Christ and His sheep had to create some form of “biblical” support for their lavish lifestyle. Ergo, the teaching that Jesus and His disciples were wealthy developed.

Once the fake-healers and false teachers could show their followers, who by-in-large were and are biblical fundamentalists, a Wealthy Jesus by twisting biblical texts, then they could explain away their wealth as a natural by-product of following the Savior! As a result of creating a wealthy Jesus an entirely new, formerly untapped vein of revenue could now be mined by these unscrupulous preachers and what is commonly called the “Prosperity Gospel” was invented. (4)

The concept that Jesus was rich and that God wants you to be rich too,  proved to be so popular every sign-gift healer/preacher/teacher/pastor has written books on the topic. Here are a few  examples from the DMI archives: Attach You Lack by Oral Roberts; Financial Prosperity by Elbert Willis; The Blessing of Obedience by Norvel Hayes; Dare to Be A Success by Robert Tilton; The Power to Create Wealth by Robert Tilton; Sowing In Famine by Jerry Savelle; God’s Answer to Insufficient Funds by Rod Parsley; The Laws of Prosperity by Kenneth Copeland; God’s Debt Free Guarantee by John Avanzini; It’s Not Working Brother John by John Avanzizi; The Miracle of Seed Faith by Oral Roberts; Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful by Fred Price.

How They Biblically “Prove” Jesus Was Rich

As the old saying goes “the best defense is a good offense” which is just what Mr. Avanzizi attempts to do in his attempt to counter the genuine version of the biblical Jesus when he stated:

“I don’t now where these goofy traditions creep in at, but one of the goofiest ones is that Jesus and His disciples were poor. Now there’s no Bible to substantiate that. (5) Let me explain from memory and my background as a former Word of Faith Pastor/Teacher how I was taught that Jesus and His followers were rich.

His Birth

We have to start with the birth of Jesus. Remember the wise men that came to worship Him and they brought Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (see Matt. 2:11) ? Forget the Christmas card images, there were not just three wise men, but a whole caravan and they brought a tremendous amount of riches with them that they gave to Jesus. Joseph was a carpenter. What we’d called a “skilled tradesman” today. He had enough money to buy a house and establish a carpentry business for two years before Herod sought to kill Jesus. Vs. 11 clearly says they were in a “house” not in the manger by the time the wise men got there. Obviously Jesus came from a fairly well off family. The only reason He was born in a manger was because Joseph could not rent a room, not because he could not afford one! When the angel appeared and warned Joseph to take his family and flee to Egypt until Jesus returned after Herod’s death many years later. After that point Jesus took up the profitable trade of being a carpenter like Joseph. Jesus was rich from His very birth, given heaps of gold and extremely valuable incense. What is more, Jesus learned a valuable trade, carpentry (ever see how much a carpenter makes per hour these days?) and He worked at this trade for several years. What do you think Jesus did with the money He made from selling His works? He tithed, gave and God blessed Him for it! “

www@simpletruths.net

Keep in mind that 99.9% of what I am writing above is a pure reading into the text The facts are 1) we do not know how many wise men came to worship Jesus, any number given is pure speculation which has no place in biblical doctrine. 2) Nor do we know the amount of treasure they gave the Christ child. 3) We have little background on Joseph apart from his genealogy (see Matt.1:1) and we know Joseph was a carpenter. 4) There is nothing that says they lived off the treasure given to them while in Egypt. 5). Yet Jesus was viewed by others as the carpenter’s son (see Matt 13:55).  In that time it was traditional for sons to follow their father’s trade, so I will accept that Jesus did probably work as a carpenter for some period of time. However, to equate what carpenter’s were paid in Jesus’ day with what a “union” carpenter makes per hour today is the height of folly. 6) Jesus fulfilled every aspect of God’s law which would have included tithing, but that does not equate with being materially wealthy. (6)

His Ministry

Jesus began His official ministry after being baptized by John, coming out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit and choosing 12 disciples. In order for Him to do all this He had to have money, and a great deal of it. Elbert Willis (7) states the WOF view very specifically in the following citation:

Many people say, ‘Well, Jesus didn’t have prosperity. He didn’t have any money. He had twelve disciples and seventy others with Him. They were not working, but they were serving Him. That equate eighty-three men. And their families? Have you ever heard a pauper having a treasure? Do you have so much money that you need a treasurer to keep up with it? (8)

To begin with the Bible does not say that Jesus was a “pauper” nor does it say He had so much money that He covered all the living expenses of eighty-three men and their families. The Bible mentions nothing about Jesus financially providing for these men’s families. The families of these chosen disciples continued to work as they had before one of their sons was called to follow the Master. Then Elbert makes mention, as do all prosperity preachers, about the fact that Jesus had a “treasurer.” Here is a statement by the grandfather of greed, Oral Roberts:

Second, we know Jesus was not poor because He needed to have a treasurer. According to John 13:29, a disciple by the name of Judas Iscariot was Jesus’ treasurer. Now a treasurer is needed by a person who must deal with large sums of money that have to be accounted for, write checks, make purchases and pay bills, taxes and debts. You ask, “Did Jesus have that kind of money? Yes, or He wouldn’t have needed a treasurer. He had so much that later Judas stole from the treasury.   (9)

The problem with their concept stems around their reading more into the word “treasurer” than should be, it is an exegetical error on their part. They carry today’s concept and read it back into the text. They had no paper currency in those days, they had coins. It is hard to imagine that Jesus was so wealthy that Judas alone could have lugged around a very heavy bag of gold, silver and copper coins all day long (gold is rather heavy, or so I am told). All that is meant by the passage is that Jesus had appointed Judas to be in charge of whatever money they had. The Greek word for “bag” , which according to strong’s Concordance is defined as “a small box for other uses, a purse to keep money in”. (10) Hardly the impression today’s prosperity preachers give their followers. They like to make such a big deal out of the fact that Judas carried the money bag that Mr. Copeland gives the following “revelation” concerning Judas and the purse:

Jesus knew the spiritual law of giving and He operated it proficiently. He gave to the poor at such an astonishing rate that when Judas left the room during the Last Supper, some people thought that he must be going to give to the poor. Do you want a hundredfold return on your money? Give and let God multiply it back to you. No bank in the world offers this kind of return! Praise the Lord!”

It is beyond the scope of this article to deal with the WOF doctrine of spiritual laws, (prosperity is just one of them) but there is nothing stated in the Gospels that our Lord manipulated spiritual laws of any sort. I am sure that our Lord gave to the poor, but there is nothing that says that “He gave to the poor as such as astonishing rate” because if this were the case, then according to Copeland Jesus would have received 100 times back on every denarii’ He gave away. As an aside: if this spiritual law is biblical then why aren’t more televangelists giving money away at an astonishing rate. The only thing that is astonishing is that people are so biblically dull that they give millions to these shysters who keep far far more than they ever give away!

His Clothing

Jesus wore designer clothing. Naturally one must realize that Jesus as a man who fulfilled the Law walked in the blessings of Abraham (see Deut. 28:1-14) would only wear the best clothing available.

John 19:23 says “He had a seamless robe’ Roman soldiers gambled for it at the foot of the cross. It was a designer original. It was valuabe enough for them to want it…And then there are Christians that have a poverty complex that says “Well, I feel guilty about having nice things.’ Jesus didn’t. (12)

I’m telling you, Jesus wasn’t poor, and He didn’t wear no rags, either. Like we march in on these Easter little plays that we do at our church, with those raggedly sheets on. Jesus didn’t have no rags on.  He wore designer clothes, honey! (13) uniquely made and different from the ordinary. But Jesus clothes were even better than that. (14)

That is all Jesus said to them is, ’Come follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men’ They went ’Wooo right!’ And they followed him! Why? The boy was dressed in  an Armani Suit! He was wearing Berlini shoes!  Come on now! Why do we know that? Because He hung on the cross at Calvary they gambled for His clothes. They tossed dice for His underwear! You think anybody here would gamble for your underwear [Laughs]? You could have some pretty fine DNKY underwear, but you ain’t got anything that I’m gambling for [Laughs]! He was dressed fine! The rich will always follow the rich. The poor will follow the rich. But the rich will never follow the poor! So, how do we get these strange notions and these strange attitudes? Where does that come from except religious attitudes that kept the body of Christ poor! Amen? (15)

The above statements would be humorous (and such teachings are usually delivered in such a fashion to the devotees) if it were not so blatantly false and misleading. This concept is mouthed by every WOF preacher and televangelist.

Because Jesus wore the best, than that gives them license to wear Armani suits and spend over $1,000+ on a pair of shoes. In fact, Bishop T.D. Jakes buys his shoes in Detroit from another Bishop who owns a very upscale haberdashery. My wife and I personally witnessed Robert Tilton raise over $1,000 for a pastor so he could go and buy some “decent shoes to preach in.”

His Message

“Not only did Jesus come from a wealthy family and He no doubt was a member of the Galilean Amalgamated Carpenters Union, but He wore only the best clothes and much of what he taught centered around financial prosperity. I realize this may be new insights to many of you but hear the revelation knowledge from today’s anointed:

“The very first thing on Jesus’ agenda was to get rid of poverty! Would you like to know why some people, including ministries, never get out of poverty? Its not because they aren’t smart. Its because they don’t have windows of opportunity. It because they’re not anointed. If you’re not anointed, poverty will follow you all the days of your life. His first objective was to get rid of poverty. (16)

What Duplantis is referring to is the first message Jesus preached in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor… Jesse goes on to say that the Gospel message to the poor is that they do not have to be financially poor any longer. He and others teach that Jesus was not addressing spiritual poverty, but financial lack. What is good news to a poor person? That they can become rich! Jesse goes as far as to say that Jesus was more interested in preaching financial prosperity than opening the eyes of the blind because He mentions it first in His message!

Markus Bishop in his book, Our Covenant of Prosperity in the section entitled “Jesus Came To Reverse the Curse” writes this about the same text:

“Not only has God anointed Jesus, but He has appointed Him. He had commissioned and commanded Him to preach the Gospel, the Good News, to the poor. And Jesus wasn’t talking here about the ‘poor in spirit.” He was talking about preaching the Good News to those who were experiencing financial difficulty, poverty and lack. He was saying, ‘God has sent Me to preach the Good News to the poor.’ What is ‘good news’ to the poor? That they would be redeemed from financial poverty. (17)

All of the prosperity pimps twist this verse and make the central theme of the Gospel message of Christ redemption from the “curse” of poverty. There is not one reputable theologian, commentary writer or scholar who agrees with their aberrant abuse of the text. John Gill’s and Mathew Henry’s commentary say the following regarding Luke 4:18:

because he hath anointed me; or “that he might anoint me”; the Ethiopic version renders it, “by whom he hath anointed me”, for it was with the Holy Ghost he was anointed, as to be king and priest, so likewise to be a prophet: hence he has the name Messiah, which signifies anointed: and this unction he had, in order to preach the Gospel to the poor: in Isaiah it is, “to the meek”, which design the same persons, and mean such as are poor in spirit, and are sensible of their spiritual poverty; have low and humble thoughts of themselves, and of their own righteousness; and seek to Christ for durable riches and true righteousness, and frankly acknowledge that all they have and are, is owing to the grace of God: and generally speaking, these are the poor of this world, and poor in their intellectuals, who have but a small degree of natural wisdom and knowledge: to these the Gospel, or glad tidings of the love, grace, and mercy of God in Christ, of peace, pardon, righteousness, life and salvation by Christ, wre preached by him, and that in so clear a manner. (18)

Thirdly,  What his work was. He was qualified and commissioned, 1. To be a geat prophet. He was now entering upon Observe, (1) To whom he was to preach; to the poor; to those that were poor in the world, whom the Jewish doctors disdained to undertake the teaching of and spoke of with contempt; to those that were poor in spirit, to the need and humble, and to those that were truly sorrowful for sin; to them the gospel and the grace of it will be welcome, and they shall have it, Mt. 11:15   (19)

No commentary I researched agrees with the interpretation given by WOF movements’ sinisters. (20)  If Jesus’ message was really one of how to become financially wealthy why did He proclaim that “blessed are the poor in spirit because theirs is the kingdom of God” in Matthew 26:11? How could there be any poverty when Jesus fully preached the Gospel and equipped His ministry term to go out and do likewise?

I can imagine my conversation with Mr. Copeland regarding prosperity. It might go something like this: “Well, Mr. Heresy-hunter” how do you explain the encounter Jesus had with the rich, not poor, but RICH young ruler?” I’ll first allow Mr. Copeland to give us his insights:

“Whenever I read something that seem contradictory to this, I immediately stop and straighten my thinking. The truth is hidden in some way and I rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal it to me…Here is how the Lord revealed the truth to me: As I read Mark 10:20, And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed FROM MY YOUTH, the Lord spoke to me and said, “See this is why he was rich”….When the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus said; ‘How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!’ Then an interesting thing happened. The next verse says, ‘And the disciples were astonished at his words.’ We have taken it for granted that Jesus and His disciples didn’t have anything. But the Bible describes Peter, James, and John as professional fisherman. They owned more than one boat and they had household servants! When Jesus spoke those words, it shook them. (21)

According to Copeland “this was the biggest financial deal that young man had ever been offered, but he walked away from it because he didn’t know God’s system of finances.  (22)   In Copeland’s warped mind Jesus was really offering this man 100 times what he currently was worth. Copeland even says that Jesus was offering this man apostleship, but the man missed it because he had many possessions. Please do not lose sight of the fact that Copland claims to have obtained his insight into this text by divine personal revelation from the Holy Spirit.

If one takes time to read the entire discourse the true meaning becomes very plain. Jesus exposed where this man’s heart was. He loved his possessions more than Jesus. Hew was unwilling to part with them and he certainly was not willing to take up his cross and follow Jesus to be crucified.

This is why Jesus goes on to make the following comment: Mark 10:23 “And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!”  He repeats Himself in the next verse by saying”…how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!”   To make His point even stronger in vs. 25 over Master says “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.”

His disciples were astonished because in those days being wealthy was a sign of God’s approval and blessing and if the rich could not make it in, even one, like the rich young ruler who seemed to keep the Law, then what hope did they have?

In and of themselves they had no hope of salvation. Their wealth (or lack thereof), and their attempts at keeping all of God’s law perfectly would not grant them entrance into the kingdom of God. Jesus knowing their anxiety and concern tells them simply in vs. 27 “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” Man cannot save himself, but with God all things are possible even the salvation of the rich! The rest of the chapter leads into the 100-fold nonsense commonly twisted by Copeland and others to mean if you give $10 then God will give you back $1,000 (talk about voodoo economics!).

The 12 Were Rich

You don’t think that Jesus would choose 12 poor men to be His representatives do you? What kind of kingdom ambassadors would penniless beggars be? Also, why would 12 rich men follow some poor guy? No, Jesus chose 12 highly successful businessmen, sort of the prototypical “Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association.” Think about it for a moment, Matthew was a tax collector, sort of like being a CPA today, a man use to handling large sums of money. Copeland just informed us that Peter, James and John were professional fishermen with several boats. Although nothing is ever actually stated about the personal wealth of any of the original 12 in the biblical text, that does not matter to these men because it bolsters their false teachings on personal financial wealth.

In summary we now understand according to the prosperity preachers that Jesus was born into a well to do family, was given a huge amount of treasure by a large caravan of wise men, that He was a professional carpenter and that he wore only the finest clothing. We see that His main message was how to break the curse of poverty off of poor people. Lastly, we also have learned that His original followers, hand-picked by Jesus, were also wealthy businessmen of various types.

This is the Rich Jesus which is presented on a regular basis on Christian television and radio. This is the version of Jesus taught about in national and international crusades, in hundreds of books, audio and video tapes series by men and women who hold sway over the spiritual lives of literally millions of professing Christians. Now, let’s consider what the Bible actually shows us concerning the biblical Jesus.

We must always have “sola Scriptura” as the overriding principle of our spiritual understanding. Everything we know for certain is found within the Bible. Any other non-biblical source is not to be considered authoritative and where the Bible is silent we too had best keep silent or at least be honest enough to admit that we have wandered into the realm of speculation, which at times may even seem to be logical, but it is still speculation, and non-authoritative. The vast majority of what the so-called prosperity preachers proclaim is either speculative in nature, outright invention or a twisting of the biblical texts they cite.

His Birth

We know little of Joseph and his family other than he came from Nazareth up to Jerusalem for the census and to pay his taxes. The fact he paid taxes does not mean he was wealthy, poor people to this day (including yours truly) pay taxes. What it does mean is that Joseph was an honest man and obeyed both God and the civil authorities.

We are not told of how much wealth/treasure the wise men gave to Jesus and his family. Nor do we know how many of them came to worship the Christ child. They were a small enough group to effectively slip away from King Herod’s grasp (see Mat.2:12). In the next verse we are told that the angel of the Lord told Joseph to take his family to Egypt. They stayed there until Herod died, which many commentators say was approximately two years after he slaughtered the children. We have no idea where in Egypt Jesus and His family went.

From historical records we do know something of the carpentry business of that day and even a bit about the area Jesus grew up in from archeology. Carpenters were not the highly paid “skilled craftsmen” in the same vein as our union member carpenters are today. To make such comparisons is sheer folly.

Archeological excavations of Nazareth from the 1950’s show the village of Jesus’ day were occupied by poor agricultural people. As Jesus grew up he worked in the trade of a carpenter not a trade know for its wealth. How did Jesus become rich with a step-dad who was only a carpenter? There is absolutely no indication anywhere that he was wealthy from his family or from traveling with His disciples. By the way, He took no tithes. (23)

Nothing in the biblical record states that Joseph was wealthy, or that they became wealthy from the gifts given to them by the wise men. Nothing is stated about Joseph having a thriving carpentry business which was profitable or that Jesus became wealthy as a carpenter.

His Ministry

Above I cited a quote from Elbert Willis who would have us believe that Jesus was so wealthy that He supported eighty-three (83) men and their family for the duration of His ministry! Nothing in the bible even remotely suggests this. It is pure fabrication on Elbert’s part to bolster his other teachings on why it is God’s will for the rest of His children to be wealthy like Jesus was. Read what Jesus had to say concerning His cousin John:

And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. Luke 7:24-25

Doesn’t it strike you as more than a bit strange, in light of prosperity teachings, that John the cousin of Jesus would be poor? Yet by all accounts he was at best an ascetic. Didn’t Jesus give to the poor “at an astonishing rate” as Mr. Copeland teaches? The Bible says in Mark 1:6   And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey…”  This is hardly a prophetic picture of someone “wearing the best, eating the best and driving the best.”  Let’s very briefly consider the picture of the servants of God by the author of the book of Hebrews:

And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and [of] Barak, and [of] Samson, and [of] Jephthae [of] David also, and Samuel, and [of] the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy: ) they wandered in desserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: Hebrews 11:32-39   (24)

Here is the famous “hall of faith” and in reading it what do we see? That the true servants of God were mocked; scourged, imprisoned; stoned (with real rocks); cut in half; killed by the sword; and they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins {a far cry from Armani and Gucchi}. We read what God’s opinion was — “of such the world was not worthy.” These prophets were destitute, afflicted and tormented. How is this possible with the scenario that the Gospel “pimps” have put forward? If anyone walked in covenant with God it had to be these O.T. believers. Yet, what was their reward? Far from blessing, it seemed that all the weight and curse of sinful mankind fell upon them. Any in-depth study of the Hebrew and Greek will demonstrate that these faithful servants of God were anything but operating in the “blessings” of Abraham!

Regarding His ministry if Jesus taught the “100-fold” return on one’s giving as is alleged by the opines of opulence then why do they restrict the flow to 100 times ones financial giving?  Our Lord mentioned families, houses, and lands (see Mark 10:30) in the same text, PLUS persecutions. These aspects of Jesus’ teaching they blithely skip over.

In Mark 15:41 we read that women followed Jesus and “ministered” to Him, in the Greek the word is from which we get our term deacon of deaconess. Robertson gives more grammatical insights regarding their ministry to our Lord:

Followed him and ministered unto him. Two imperfects describing the long Galilean ministry of these three women and many other women in Galilee (Lu 8:1-3) who came up with him to Jerusalem. (25)

Jesus had material support from these women and others who followed Him, He was not “supporting” His disciples and their families. What about His teaching concerning wealth and poverty? Let the Master answer for Himself:

Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me Mark 10:21. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed: for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:13,14

Jesus did teach about giving and living sacrificially for the sake of others. He never taught that those who give will necessarily receive a return on their giving in this life. He did (and does) teach us to give to those who ask, (see Matt. 5:24) expecting nothing in return. He wars His followers concerning the various dangers which can creep into a life and choke the Word of God:

And these are they which are sown, among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful,. {lusts: or, inordinate desires}. Mark 4:18,19.

In Mark 10:24 again He reminds His disciples “how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” Jesus was not against the rich as some “liberation theologians” would have us believe, nor was He “pro” poverty either. He taught a balanced message that was predicated on the principle of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (see Matt. 6:33) and the things you have need of your heavenly Father will supply. If Jesus was rich then why didn’t He have enough funds in His treasury to feed the five thousand a simple meal?

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Phillip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And his he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Phillip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Jesus said, Make the men sit down. No there was much grass I Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him. There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes; but what are they among so many? And in the place so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. John 6:5-10.

Apparently they did not even have 200 pennies in their treasury to feed these hungry folks. Jesus did not rely upon money, He looked to His Father in heaven, the real “Source” of all humanities needs and gave thanks and worked a miracle.

How do the gurus of greed deal with the account of Jesus and His disciples picking the kernels of wheat from the field to eat on the Sabbath?

And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plunked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day? Luke 6:1-2

Why weren’t Jesus and His “boyz” sitting down at the Four Seasons or The Stork Club, feasting on roasted lamb with mint jelly while knocking off a few bottles Judean Roederer Cristal Rose-Limited champagne? Instead we find Him wandering through a corn field eating the gleanings which were left for the poor (see Lev. 19:9). How do these masters of money parse the following teaching of Christ?

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:19-21

This image of Jesus is never taught by those who make merchandise of God’s greedy and gullible saints:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of {pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read} And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you; whose judgment now of a long time lingered not, and their damnation slumbered not. 2 Peter 2:1-3

These false teachers exist to make the people of God nothing more than a means to provide for their very lavish lifestyles. The huge conventions, radio and television broadcasts are little more than means to sell their books, tapes, videos and of course ask for “seed-faith” gifts…all the while promising the people 100 times back on what they give or in some cases the promise divine healing, restored marriages, salvation of lost family and friends. They vary their “pitch” depending upon the audience and all of these people are MASTERS at zeroing in on precisely what hot button to push to open folks wallets.

His Clothing

I have never heard so much made out of so little. Matthew 27:35 “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.” There are several explanations why the Roman soldiers threw dice for His garments. The Bible itself gives us the main reason—to fulfill the prophecy in Psalms 22:18.

The Roman soldiers gambled for His garments because they were poor themselves, this is a historical fact and possibly they thought that since Jesus had the reputation of being a miracle worker possibly his clothes may have contained some form of magic power. They may have heard about the woman with the issue of blood who (in their minds) merely touched the hem of His garment and was healed instantly (see Mark 9:20-21).   Soldiers being poor are a well documented fact the other comments are my own mere suppositions.

This much is certain there is nothing stated about His clothing that set Him apart from others due to His fine duds, in fact, those who did not know Him could not pick Him out of a crowd (see John 18:4-5).

His 12 Disciples

Prosperity Pontificators teach that Jesus hand picked only wealthy men. What does the biblical record show us? If Peter owned a successful fishing business then why after the resurrection of our Lord did he say:

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” This does not mean they had none on them at the time; they had NO money. These are words out of their own mouths recorded by the Holy Spirit through their hands as Scripture. Acts 3:6

Or prior to Jesus’ death when it came time to pay the temple tax, did Jesus call Judas over and reach into the very deep and heavy bag of gold, silver and copper coins?

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money, that take, and give unto them for me and thee. {a piece….or a stater; it is half an ounce of silver, in value two shillings and six pence, sterling about fifty five cents}. Matthew 17:27

Not only didn’t Peter have the tax money neither did Jesus. Now if Jesus was so very wealthy, then why did this type of a miraculous provision have to be made? How do these pilfering profiteers answer James the brother of Jesus when he says:

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”   James 2:5

What about the Apostle Paul, true, he was not one of the original 12, but he was a genuine apostle and he was not wealthy. He says: as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” 2 Cor. 6:9-10

To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor working with our own hands.” 1 Cor 4:11-12 But what things were gain to me these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Paul a Pharisee was quite rich yet he gave it up for a life to follow Christ. Phil 3:7, 1:1

Paul wrote approximately two-thirds of the New Testament and yet he describes his life as a faithful servant of Christ as living with (1) hunger; (2) thirst; (3) poorly clothed; (4) beaten; (5) homeless; as (6) poor; and (7) having lost everything for the sake of gaining Christ Jesus. NONE of this matches up with the false teaching of a Rich Jesus and Wealthy Disciples.

These men and women are teaching lies either out of ignorance or out of sheer greed. In either case God’s people who buy into these lies in the end hurt themselves spiritually because they have been led further from the true Christ of the Bible. Many people end up shipwrecked in their walk, with Christ because of being taken by these religious con-men. DMI deals with people in both of these categories on a regular basis.

Like all pyramid schemes the only people the “law of prosperity” work for are those who are propagating them to an eager (and often greedy) audience who want to believe it is God’s will for them to be wealthy. How are they to arrive at that status? Simple—GIVE and GIVE and GIVE to these false teachers. Attend all their seminars, buy all their books and tapes, and “sow your biggest financial seed” into every appeal letter they have mechanically sent out to you via a huge computerized mass-mailing company. Oh yes, make sure and NEVER DOUBT the man/woman of God, if you do then you have “dug up your seed” and will have to start the whole process over again.

Now, being set free from such foolishness and darkness it amazes me that more people are not waking up to the FACT that this stuff just is not working in the lives of the rank-and-file. After 30+ years of teaching this, if it were true then the Church should be filled with thousands of multi-millionaires. Yet the only ones becoming millionaires are Benny Hinn; Kenneth Copland; Paul & Jan Crouch; Joyce Meyer; Bob Tilton; Peter Popoff; John Avanzini; Oral & Richard Roberts; Juanita Bynum; Paula White; T.D. Jakes; and Don Stewart to name just a few who teach these lies. ♦

Copyright © Rev. Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

1. “Charismania” refers to people who have given themselves over totally to the more extreme beliefs and practices on the fringe of the sign-gift/Pentecostal movement. Not all Pentecostal or Sign-gift Christians believe the sacred cows which will be dealt with over the next few months.

2. Some trace the cow’s sacred status back to Lord Krishna, one of the faith’s most important figures. He is said to have appeared 5,000 years ago as a cowhead, and is often described as bala-gopala, “the child who protects the cows” Another of Krishna’s holy names, Govinda, means “one who brings satisfaction to the cows.” Other scriptures identify the cow as the “mother” of all civilization its milk nurturing the population Obtained from http://www.uwec.edu/geography/Ivogeler/w111/articles/Hinduism’s%20Sacred%20Cow.htm  on 01-27-2005.

3. Bahr, Robert. The Least of All Saints, The Story of Aimee Semple McPherson. This is an insightful and fascinating book about one of Pentecostalism’s most prominent female evangelists and pastors.

4. I am well schooled in this particular sacred cow being a graduate from Robert Tilton’s Bible School in the mid-1980’s. Mr. Tilton, is still on television, bilking God’s ignorant and desperate sheep out of millions of dollars. Tilton has mastered this false doctrine and raised it to a literal art form of sorts.

5. Hanegraff, Hank, Christianity in Crisis, Harvest House, 1993, p. 187

6. Tithing was a law or a principle we had to follow if we wanted God to financially prosper us. 10% off the gross (not the net) was expected, along with offerings. If this law was carried out faithfully on every dime that came into our hands then and only then would the windows of heaven be opened and God would pour out so much money we would not have room enough to hold it all (see Mal. Ch. 3). Any biblical scholar will point out that there were several types of tithing required under the law and much of it had little to do with giving money.

7. A good book on this topic is entitled The Lie of the Tithe available at http://www.gotosimpletruth.com/Tithing/tithe4.html. ( added: See you tube video below)

8. Many people are not familiar with Ebert Willis. I have met him on a few occasions and have literally 100% of his tapes and books. He was one of the “purest” of the WOF teachers. He actually believes what he teaches and lives by it. Elbert was so hardcore that once he spoke at Rhema and delivered a famous sermon entitled “Wet Water Walkers or Dry Boat Sitters.” It was so tough on the Hagin crowd, he was never invited back to speak again.

9. Willis, Elbert Financial Prosperity Fill the Gap Ministries, Lafayette, La 1975, pp. 19-20

10. Oral Roberts. “How I Learned Jesus Was Not Poor, page 16 Underlinging added for emphasis.

11. Obtained from http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=1101&version=kjv on 01-27-05

12. Copeland, Kenneth The Laws of Prosperity Kenneth Copeland Publication, 1974, pp. 66-67

13. John Hagee, Praise-A-Thon, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) November 5, 2004. Bold type added for emphasis.

14. Creflo Dollar Crusade, Feb 9, 1999. Information obtained from http://www.geocities.com/Bob_Hunter/dollar.html.

15. Oral Roberts. How I Learned Jesus Was Not Poor, page 24

16. Dr. Thomas C. Anderson, Praise The Lord, “TBN, August 21, 2004 Bold type and underlining added for emphasis.

17. Jesse Duplantis, Voice of the Covenant Magazine, Pg. 5 Nov. 1997

18. Bishop, Marcus Our Covenant of Prosperity Harrison House Publishers 1997, pp. 47-48.

19. Obtained from http://www.gospelcom.net/eword/comments/luke/gill/luke4.htm Underlining added for emphasis.

20. Obtained from http://www.gospelcom.net/eword/comments/luke/mh/luke4.htm Underlining added for emphasis.

21. My research included the Geneva Commentary, Jamison Fausett Brown, Darby, Johnson, McGarvey Pendleton, Wesley and Lightfoot.

22. Copeland, Kenneth The Laws of Prosperity Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1974 pp. 63-65.

23. Ibid. p. 64

24. Obtained from http://www.letusreason.org/Wf15.htm on 02–2-05 Underlining and Bold type added for emphasis.

25. Robertson’s Word Pictures BibleWorks CD, ver. 4.0.0035p. 1998 Underlining added for emphasis.

Some Little Known Facts About the Crouches & TBN

Truth Matters Newsletter – Oct 2004  Vol. 8  Issue 10 – Some Little Known Facts About the Crouches & TBN – by Rev. Bob Liichow

Did You Know—

Paul, 70, collects a $403,700 salary  as TBN’s chairman and president. Jan, 67, is paid $361,000 as vice president  and director of programming. Those are the highest salaries paid by any of the 12 major religious nonprofits whose finances are tracked by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The Crouches travel the world in a $7.2-million, 19 seat Canadair Turbojet  owned by TBN. They drive luxury cars. They have charged expensive dinners and furniture to TBN credit cards.

Thirty ministry-owned homes  are at their disposal—including a pair of Newport Beach mansions, a mountain retreat near Lake Arrowhead and a ranch in Texas.

Their oldest son, Paul Jr., earns $90,800 a year as TBN’s vice president for administration. Another son, Matthew, has received $32 million from the network since 1999 to produce Christian-themed movies such as “The Omega Code. [Nothing like a little nepotism]

TBN airs on more than 6,000 stations in 75 countries,

The Crouches also present themselves as thrifty and budget-conscious. During one telethon, Paul said his personal $50,000 donation to TBN had wiped out the family checking account. He often says that he and his wife live in the same Newport Beach tract house they bought 33 years ago for $38,500   [This is a total lie, see Rev. 21:8 to learn what happens to all “liars”].

Kelly Whitmore, a former personal assistant to Jan Crouch, said in an interview with The Times that she used a TBN American Express card to make numerous personal purchases for Jan and Paul, including groceries, clothes, cosmetics, alcohol and a tanning bed. Whitmore, 43, who lives outside Nashville, worked at TBN from 1992 to 1997.

Whitmore said she regularly used ministry money and a network -owned van to stock the bars in Paul’s and Jan’s separate condominiums at Trinity Music City.  Whitmore said the Crouches directed her to make the purchases at a store called Frugal McDougal, hoping it would not be recognizable on credit-card statements as a liquor store.  [Kelly may be writing a book, stay turned for the real inside story on the Crouches].

A former top TBN official described heavy consumption of wine and liquor at a dozen such dinners.  The ex-official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing a fear of retaliation. [Again more insider proof that the Crouches seem to be “booze hounds” which makes sense considering they have to use something to dull their already hardened consciences].

The above statement were obtained from [Trinity Broadcasting Network] Pastor’s Empire Built on Acts of Faith, and Cash” Item 8716 Posted: Sun, Sep. 19, 2004, Los Angeles Times (USA) Sept, 19, 2004 http://www.latimes.com  By William Lobdell, Times Staff Writer. The entire article is found in the TBN compilation book. The bold type was added for emphasis.

Mt 7:21-23

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to be in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  (KJV)

All those who are trusting in their working of signs & wonders or their other works of piety have much to be concerned about! May God grant them genuine repentance and bring them to trust in Jesus Christ and His work alone. Selah.    ♦

 The following information and much more are contained in our compilation Everything You Always Wanted to Know About TBN but Were Afraid to Ask. Again, this is the only book in print devoted specifically to TBN and the Crouches, it is over 175 pages and it is in 8.5 x 11 inch format, which would make ti well over 200 pages as a regular pocketbook sized book. It has glossy cover and color plates on the inside and makes a perfect coffee table book or gift. This expanded and revised edition can be yours for a donation of $25.00 (please let us know it is for the TBN book). Please allow 4 weeks shipping time because each edition is professionally handmade. My editorial comments are in the brackets and are not part of the original article.

copyright © 2004  Robert Liichow

Jan Crouch, Co-Founder of TBN Admitted to Hospital

Truth Matters Newsletter – Oct 2004 – Vol. 8 Issue 10 – Jan Crouch, Co-Founder of TBN Admitted to Hospital

I had just finished the article on Paul’s Perils and checked my e-mail to receive the following story. I add it to this issue because in last month’s issue towards the end of Jan’s mystical “uplifting” account she stated emphatically that “Then, the absolute knowledge in my heart and mind, flooded me: “that my body was healed.” I felt assured that the miracle was complete, and PEACE, JOY, TEARS, HOPE, COMFORT overwhelmed me.”    (1)

It seems that Jan’s “absolute knowledge” of heart and mind was at best a bit faulty. Her body, sadly, is not “healed.” She is suffering from acute pancreatitis.

I admit I am not a physician but it is my understanding that the major cause of pancreatitis is due to alcohol or substance abuse in most cases (see the following article on the Crouches concerning their drinking.) Gall stones are fairly common, but considering her battle with colon cancer last year it may be possible that she is facing more of the same battle. Time will tell. We certainly ask you to pray for Mrs. Crouch.

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 24, 2004–TBN officials confirmed that Mrs. Jan Crouch, wife of Pastor Paul Crouch, founder of Trinity Broadcasting Network, has been admitted to an undisclosed California hospital, after being taken to the emergency room for severe abdominal pain.

Mrs. Crouch has been diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and gall stones. There is no word on how long she will be in the hospital. Jan Crouch is well known for her humanitarian relief efforts and work with children on the island of Haiti. Paul Crouch, Jr. eldest son of the Crouches, requested prayer for his mother on TBN. Contacts: WDC Media: 800-736-1702. (2)  ♦

 

1. (Obtained directly from TBN web site at http://www.tbn.org/about/newsletter/index.php/454.html

2 Email verified at http://www.headlinenews.com/cgi-bin/news/searchnews.plx?keywords=Jan+Crouch&db=news   on September 28, 2004

 copyright © 2004 by Robert S. Liichow

Paul Crouch’s Possible Peccadillo

 

Truth Matters Newsletter – Oct 2004 – Vol 8 Issue 10 – Paul Crouch’s Possible Peccadillo by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

To my knowledge our ministry is the only one to have put together a book on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and their founders Paul and Jan Crouch. DMI has been keeping our eyes peeled on the Crouches and the goings on at TBN and so it came as no big shock to me when we began to receive reports about Mr. Crouch’s possible homosexual activities. The reason I was not shocked by the reports was because I remember years ago when Paul used to come out from behind the curtain dressed in clothing that must have been purchased from the same tailor Liberace used. This combined with the sad fact that the other “Christian” superstars of the cathode ray tube all fell into some form of immorality or another. The Church has had to suffer the shame of the sexual escapades of Jimmy Baker and Jessica Hahn, if you will remember men came forward and spoke that Mr. Bakker had also made homosexual advances to them as well. (see http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fridaynews/fridaynews030606.html ). Who can forget the saga of Jimmy Swaggart with the prostitute Desiree Dupree. America watched Jimmy’s tearful confession (only later to be caught again soliciting) and the Church saw another megastar bite the dust. Of Course before Swaggart was forced to confess his sin, it was not voluntary, he expose a fellow minister, Martin Gorman:

Swaggart that Marvin Gorman had been having extramarital affairs. Swaggart saw Gorman’s small but growing ministry as a threat to his own and made Gorman’s indiscretions public. This led to Gorman’s downfall and subsequent defrocking by the Assemblies of God… Swaggart, who initiated the complaints against Gorman, had the favor returned when Gorman hired a private detective to follow Swaggart and caught him on film leaving a cheap motel with a prostitute outside of New Orleans. Although the Assemblies of God voted to put him in therapy and relieve him of his ministry for one year, Swaggart refused this directive and demonstrated his staying power by continuing his ministry, claiming to retain his international audiences as well.

Robert Tilton’s  fall from grace occurred at about the same time as these other highly anointed men of faith & power began to fall. Currently Mr. Tilton is on wife number three. Time does not permit us to delve into Mr. W. V. Grant’s jail time or Larry Lea’s downfall all three of which were exposed nationally on Prime Time hosted by Diane Sawyer. When we consider the sordid past of charismatic religious leaders with great wealth, large viewing audiences, multitudes of devoted followers and little or no personal accountability we see the old adage coming true “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

It seems that history may be repeating itself in the life of Paul Crouch, the “last-man-standing” in the fight for televised glory. The following is taken from the Los Angles Times:

Televangelist Paul Crouch Attempts to Keep Accuser Quiet-

By William Lobdell LA Times Staff Writer

Televangelist Paul Crouch, founder of the world’s largest Christian Televangelist Paul Crouch, founder of the world’s largest Christian broadcasting network, has waged a fierce legal battle to prevent a former employee from publicizing allegations that he and Crouch had a sexual encounter eight years ago.

Crouch, 70 is the president of Trinity Broadcasting Network, based in Orange County, whose Christian programming reaches millions of viewers around the world via satellite, cable and broadcast stations. The source of the allegations against him is Enoch Lonnie Ford, who met Crouch at a TBN-affiliated drug treatment center in 1091 and later went to work for the ministry.

After Ford threatened to sue TBN in 1998, claiming that he had been unjustly fired, Crouch reached a $425,000 settlement with him. In return, Ford agreed, among other things, not to discuss his claim about a sexual encounter with the TV preacher.

But in the last year, Ford has threatened to go public with his story, prompting a flurry of legal maneuvers–conducted in closed court hearings, sealed pleadings and private arbitration.

In court pagers, Crouch has denied the allegations, and ministry officials have described Ford–who has a history of drug problems and has served time for a sex offense–as a liar and an extortionist. At stake are the public image of one of the world’s most successful televangelists and, potentially, the fortunes of the broadcasting empire that Crouch and his wife, Jan, built over the last 31 years. TBN and Crouch went on the legal offensive after they learned that Ford had written a book manuscript that included an account of the alleged sexual encounter.

In a dramatic flourish, Ford had appeared at a TBN broadcast studio in Costa Mesa, minutes before the start of a “Praise-a-thon” fundraiser, and without comment, handed Crouch a copy of the manuscript.

Ford’s lawyer later told ministry officials that they could keep the work out of public view by buying the rights. After some discussion, he suggested that $10 million might be a reasonable price.

While negotiations continued, Crouch sued to enforce the 1998 secrecy agreement and obtained a restraining order barring Ford from seeking a publisher for his book.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John M. Watson also granted Crouch’s request to conduct the case in secret, sealing all documents and expunging any mention of the suit from public court records. Both side eventually agreed to let a private arbitrator decide the matter. In June, the arbitrator ruled that Ford could not publish the manuscript without violating the 1998 settlement – an act that could subject him to monetary damages.

This account of the controversy is drawn from interviews with friends of Ford’s unsealed court records, correspondence among TBN lawyers and a copy of the arbitrator’s confidential ruling. The arbitrator’s decision contains details about the 1998 settlement and Ford’s manuscript – both of which are under seal. Records and interviews show that even as they battled to keep Ford’s story from leaking, TBN lawyers worried that details would eventually come out.

I am absolutely amazed that Lonnie hasn’t gone to Penthouse or Dianne [sic] Sawyer with his manuscript, notwithstanding the [judge’s] injunction, “TBN attorney Dennis G. Brewer Sr. wrote in a March letter to the network’s other lawyers.

In a subsequent letter in May, Brewer mentioned the anguish that Ford’s accusations had caused Crouch’s youngest son, Matt, when he learned of them in 1998. Brewer wrote that the younger Crouch had told his then-law partner, David Middlebrook: “I am devastated; I am confronted with having to face the fact that my father is a homosexual.” Middlebrook and Matt Crouch have denied that there was such a conversation.

Millions of Viewers

Paul and Jan Crouch started TBN in 1973, using a rented studio in Santa Ana. Over the next three decades, they built a worldwide broadcasting network by buying TV stations and negotiating deals with cable systems and satelite companies. Today, TBN’s 24-hour-a-day menu of sermons, faith healing, inspirational moves and other Christian fare reaches millions of viewers from Spain to the Solomon Islands.

Paul Crouch is the driving entrepreneurial force behind the network and one of its most popular on-air personalities. He and Jan, his wife of 46 years, have cultivated a folksy on-screen image as a devoted couple. TBN officials have long been concerned about how Ford’s allegations could affect the network, which relies heavily on donations from viewers. Officials said they were particularly worried about possible comparisons to the scandal that brought down televangelist Jim Bakker in 1987.

Bakker resigned from his PTL Ministries in 1987 after admitting to paying a secretary $265.000 in ministry funds to be silent about an earlier affair. Bakker later went to prison for bilking donors.

TBN officials said they were careful not to pay Ford with ministry funds in 1998. They declined to say whether the money came from an insurer, Crouch personally or some other source.  Ford 41, said he could not discuss his manuscript or his allegations against Crouch but he did provide basic facts about his background and his time at TBN.

Ford, whose father and grandfather were ministers, grew up in Fairfax County, VA., moved to California in 1989 and worked in a string of jobs that included jewelry salesman, produce clerk and gas station attendant. For years, he struggled to kick a cocaine habit.

In 1991, he checked into a Christian drug treatment program in Colleyville, Texas, on a TBN-owned ranch. It was there that Ford met Crouch. In 1992 the network hired him to work on a phone bank in Orange County. Ford said he also ran errands for the Crouches and drove Paul Crouch to appointments.

Ford repeatedly ran into trouble with the law, but TBN stood behind him. In 1994, he pleaded no contest in San Bernardino County to having sex with a 17-year-old boy and served six months in jail, according to court records. TBN took him back after his release. In 1995, he pleaded guilty in Orange County to possession of cocaine and served about 30 days in County Jail. Again, TBN took him back.

Lake Arrowhead Cabin

The Alleged sexual encounter between Ford and Crouch occurred in the fall of 1996, according to Sandi Mahlow, a Tustin housewife who met Ford in a Fullerton church 10 years ago and became a close friend. Mahlow, 50, who helped Ford write his manuscript, said he broke down in tears after returning from a weekend spent alone with Crouch at a TBN-owned cabin near Lake Arrowhead. Mahlow said Ford told her that he and Crouch had engaged in sexual acts.

Lonnie had a lot of bad traits; one thing he isn’t, and that’s a liar,” Mahlow said. She said she helped Ford with his manuscript for no pay, as a favor to a friend, and has no financial interest in the book. After the alleged encounter, Ford continued to work at TBN. For a time, he lived rent-free in an apartment at the network’s Tustin headquarters, according to Mahlow and another friend of Ford’s, Diane Benson, who met him at an Anaheim church 14 years ago.

A third friend of Ford’s said that in October 1996, about the time of the alleged Arrowhead encounter, ministry officials gave her a $12,000 check to pay back money Ford owned her. The woman spoke on condition that she not be named, saying she feared retaliation.

TBN officials acknowledged that the ministry paid some of Ford’s debts. They said the network commonly extends such generosity to employees in financial trouble. Within weeks of the Arrowhead trip, Ford tested positive for drug use and was arrested for violating terms of his probation. While Ford awaited sentencing, the ministry again came to his support, urging the judge not to impose more prison time.

Ford “has continuously shown a very positive attitude regarding whatever we have asked him to do,” wrote Ruth M. Brown, Paul Crouch’s sister and TBN’s director of personnel. “He carried out his duties cheerfully and always tries to do more than asked.”

The judge sent Ford to the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, a drug treatment facility in the state prison system.

In August 1997, Jay Jones, TBN’s director of telephone ministry, wrote prison officials that Ford would have a job with the network after he got out, despite his “extended leave of absence.” But Ford said that after he was released in February 1998, he was told he no longer had a position at TBN. “There comes a point in time when you have to say, ’Enough is enough,” said John Casoria, a TBN layer who is a nephew of the Crouches.

Ford responded with his threat to sue. The settlement followed.

Despite TBN’s efforts to keep Ford’s charges secret, they surfaced in an unrelated 1998 lawsuit. A former bodyguard for TBN personality Benny Hinn testified in a deposition that during a European bus tour that year, Hinn had told a group of associates about a sexual relationship that Paul Crouch had with his chauffeur.”

The witness, Mario C. Licciardello, quoted Hinn as saying: “Paul’s defense was that he was drunk.” Hinn and six others mentioned by Licciardello, who died in 2000, told The Times that Hinn never made such remarks. However, Rick Jones, a retired police officer and ordained minister who worked for Hinn, said he heard Hinn talk about Crouch’s alleged homosexual relationship on that bus.  Jones said he was disgusted by the talk and “got up and walked away. I didn’t want to hear gossip.”

Asking $10 Million

Meanwhile, Ford began to have second thoughts about keeping silent. Last year, with Mahlow’s help, he wrote his manuscript, titled “Arrowhead.” Friends said Ford wanted to expose what he viewed as Crouch’s hypocrisy.  They said he also needed money and hoped to earn some by selling the manuscript. It’s unclear how Ford spent his 1998 settlement, but today he leads a modest existence, living in a room of a Lake Forest home and working as a mortgage salesman.

Ministry officials learned of the book in April 2003, when Ford walked onto the set of TBN’s Costa Mesa, broadcast studio and handed a copy of the manuscript to Crouch.

Ford’s attorney, Eugene Zech, said that Brewer, the TBN lawyer, called him the next business day. In court papers, Zech said that Brewer asked “if Ford might be willing to accept $1 million in exchange for the manuscript.”

Zech said in the court filing that he suggested $10 million. When the parties went to arbitration, Crouch’s lawyers argued that publication would violate the 1998 settlement and cause irreparable damage to Crouch’s reputation. Ford’s lawyers argued that the secrecy agreement was overly broad and violated his free-speech rights. Arbitrator Robert J. Neill ruled that Ford’s right to make his allegations public “was sold to [Crouch] for $425,000.” Ford “bargained away his right to speak on certain matters and now suggests that his right to free speech trumps that bargain…[His] right to discuss these matters was bought and paid for. He relinquished that right.” Paul Crouch Jr. , a TBN executive and the televangelist’s oldest son, said that despite the favorable ruling, he wished his father had never entered into the settlement with Ford. Crouch said advisors persuaded his father that it would be cheaper to settle than to litigate. He said TBN was particularly anxious to avoid negative publicity because the ministry was celebrating its 25th anniversary that year. “In hindsight, we should have fought Lonnie tooth and nail, “the son said in an interview. “We should have drawn the battle lines right there.”

Upon receiving this article I contacted TBN with some questions. I wanted a clearer explanation as to why TBN would pay $425,000 to “a liar.”? I have trouble accepting the TBN version that it was their 25th anniversary and they did not want any bad publicity. If Mr. Ford is lying then TBN has a whole team of lawyers with which to nail his blackmailing behind to the door, so to speak, so why didn’t they do it? After all, Paul merely has to tell his devoted fans that this is just another of a series of attacks by the devil against the mightiest tool in God’s arsenal, i.e. TBN and himself as the captain of the ship. Also, why did TBN continue to rehire Mr. Ford who in the words of the TBN ministry officials have described Ford–who has a history of drug problems and has served time for a sex offense–”as a liar and an extortionist.” Also, why did TBN pay off a $12,000 debt that Ford owed? TBN responded that it “commonly extends such generosity to its employees.”  Oh really?  I have read every written article about the Crouches and TBN and I have never come across anyone else who has experienced this largess TBN!

In my letter to TBN I also asked them about the comments attributed to Mr. Hinn, First, I wanted to know how Benny leaned of the incident. Did Paul “confess” his fault to him? If so, then why did Hinn break his oath as a pastor and tell others what was confessed to him? Or were Paul’s homosexual dalliances common knowledge among the upper echelon at TBN? Worse yet how do they answer Mr. Hinn’s charge of Crouch being “drunk,” as if it was an acceptable excuse for this moral slip? It is well documented that the latest and biggest of the 30 homes owned by TBN comes complete with a temperature controlled wine cellar. Why would any self-respecting Pentecostal have a wine cellar? There is no known Pentecostal denomination that approves of the use of alcohol even when celebrating the Lord’s Support!

Lastly, I find it curious indeed that the TBN lawyer offers Ford a million dollars for the manuscript, his attorney seemed to think it was worth closer to 10 million and off to court they went.

In all fairness to Mr. Crouch, he is innocent until proven guilty and the burden of proof is on the accuser. Yet if I were in his shoes, which I thank God I am not, I would have never agreed to pay a blackmailer. I’d demand my day in court and turn around and sue the accuser for slander. The fact that Crouch did not respond in this manner makes me believe there is more than a modicum of truth to Mr. Ford’s story. It has long been rumored that the Crouches do not sleep in the same bed and often not in the same house. In the September issue of  Truth Matters  you might have wondered why Paul was not awakened when Jan was being mystically levitated in her bed. She did not even make mention of Paul being there in bed asleep next to her.

We heard a saying in seminary “bad theology makes for a bad doxology,” which simply means bad doctrine leads to bad lifestyle and even worse endings. I end this article by directing you to http://www.google.com  where you can find and read the TBN response. You are free to come to your own conclusions regarding Mr. Crouch. For me and my house, we would not trust Crouch as far as we could throw him.  ♦

The YouTube video has been removed, but you can still see the video here:  http://www.archive.org/details/Fox4InvestigatesTrinityBroadcastNetworksPaulCrouch

See YouTube video report on the Scandal here:

End Notes

1. Obtained from http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthis/hi/dates/stories/february/21/newsid/_2565000/2565197.stm

2. Obtained from http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Televangelism.htm

3. Obtained from http://www.wchstv.com/abc/primetimethursday/dianesawyer.shtml

4. Taken from the Yahoo News at http://www.yahoo.com  Bold type and underlining added for emphasis.

  

The Tall Tales of Jan Crouch

Truth Matters Newsletter – September 2004 Vol. 8 No. 6 – The Tale Tales of Jan Crouch – by Rev. Bob Liichow

The following article is taken verbatim (underlining and bold type added for emphasis) from the Trinity Broadcasting Networks (TBN) web site. It is a very bizarre statement made by Jan Crouch, the wife and co-host of TBN.

As you read this story please keep in mind that this is coming from a woman who claimed that Jesus raised her pet chicken from the dead  (1)  and who claimed a recent miraculous healing from cancer {Truth Matters dealt at length with the fact that she received medical treatment and not a genuine miracle from God or even Benny Hinn}.

The following account is given by a woman who has been telling her global TBN audience on several occasions how God recently and miraculously multiplied the 2,000 toys she sent to starving children in Haiti to 6,000 toys! Frankly, I would have been more impressed by her tale if “God” had multiplied antibiotics, food or even clothing instead of the Caucasian Barbie® dolls, which look frighteningly like Jan herself. Lastly, do not forget this is a woman who claims to have seen our risen Lord who appeared to her with long blond hair and blue eyes (not too Semitic looking if you ask me).

** Jan Crouch’s comments will be (indented in quotes)

“Dear precious TBN Family, It happened last Wednesday. “Jan” I heard a voice say. “Yes”, I responded, looking around…. “Hello” I heard nothing. “Hello, is someone there? Did someone call me?” Working in my office about 4.00 p.m., I heard it again from down the hall: “Jan.” I answered, “Yes, I heard you…hello? Did someone call me?”

Twice Jan hears a voice so real as to be assumed by the reader to be audible, she certainly thought it was. It seems the voice calls her name close by her, she responds and receives no response. Then she hears this disembodied entity call out her name again, this time from down the hall. She cries out ‘Yes, I hear you…hello? Did some one call me?”

“With people coming and going during the day, I didn’t think that much about it. “

Hold the presses! The Crouch offices are private and completely set apart from the other minor players in the TBN empire. People, even those who work there do not have access to Paul & Jan’s offices. Obviously if someone had gotten close enough to audibly call her name, it was something she surely “thought” about.

“But, when it was 10:30 p.m. — and I was still in my office finishing up late faxes—I heard it again. “Jan” I froze in my chair. I said, “Is someone there?” and got up quickly and went to the back door. I called out, “Pinky, Baby, Jazzie, come in here and sit with mommy while I finish working.” The dogs gladly came running in and smelled everything in the house. With an 80 pound German shepherd by my side and her two side kicks, two toy poodles, I felt safe and sound and forgot about the voice calling. I quickly finished up and got everyone ready for a wonderful night’s sleep. “

I’m a little confused at this point of her story. It seems that Jan begins in her office at TBN headquarters, but maybe it is a home office (which makes the presence of ’people coming and going” even less likely). She makes a point to let us know she is still hard at work for another 6.5 hours when she hears this ethereal voice cry out her name yet again! She froze in her chair (a reaction of fear, which any Word of Faith practitioner knows is the opposite of faith) and asks “is someone there?” I say Jan was afraid because of her next actions, she gets up and calls her three dogs into the office and tells them to “come in here and sit with mommy.” With the security of two poodles and a German Shepherd she finishes her work quickly and got everyone ready for a wonderful night’s sleep. From this part of her story it seems she is at home, but she starts out in her office, oh those pesky details!

“I’m getting Holy Ghost goose bumps now just writing about this, because what was to happen in a few hours was truly heavenly! I suppose it was about three in the morning—I’ve been awakened a lot in the past year and when it happens I just talk to Jesus a while and usually fall back asleep—but this was different. I felt as if I was lifted up off my bed—not far, maybe one foot or so–but I felt as if I were floating and hands were holding me.  I had no fear whatsoever—only peace, only joy—and all I could do was “listen with my heart…and in my mind.”

Jan awakes; she is not asleep or dreaming according to her own words. She is awake and felt unseen hands holding her about a foot above the bed, i.e. she was levitated in some form or fashion. During this alleged encounter of the paranormal kind. Jan says (if words mean anything) that she was virtually paralyzed because “all” she could do was listen with her heart and in her mind. As an aside–I am curious where her husband Paul was during this event? I assume they share the same bed, well, perhaps not.

“I suddenly had a knowing” that it was the Father and He was holding me in His arms just to remind me of things He had asked me to do, and of things I had promised Him I would do for Him.”

In the midst of her elevating experience she had a revelation that it was no less than the Father Himself holding Janny up in His arms. Why? (1) Just to remind her of things He had asked her to do and (2) of things Jan had promised she would do for Him. I guess  Jan is incapable of hearing God through His Word and He had to levitate her and place her in some form of suspended animation to get her attention. She would have her devotees believe the God deals with her in a special way, a way so special that it has no real comparison in the whole of Scripture. Secondly, she is reminded by the “Father” of what she had promised to do for Him.  Since when does Almighty God have need of anyone doing anything for Him? This is a very common charismatic misconception concerning the nature of God— we were taught that we could either “tie” or “loose” the hands of God by our prayers or lack thereof. That God actually needed us in order to accomplish His plan. Let me assure you God does not need our help, we on the other had are totally dependent upon Him (please read John 15:51).

“It was not audible. I did not open my eyes. In His arms, I was reminded of Haiti: I saw peace, joy everyone happy, parks, bicycles, Jesus on everyone’s lips—the GLORY of the LORD radiating from everyone everywhere—in every home, every building. I saw the hospital “alive,” with the people being ministered to, and I saw myself there leaning over beautiful people doing all I could do. I saw Jesus everywhere—in faces, on the walls, in hearts.”

This portion of the encounter was not audible, but she in her trance state “sees” the nation of Haiti totally converted to faith in Jesus Christ. Everyone is happy, there are parks, and bicycles and the name of Jesus is on everyone’s lips. God’s glory (whom He shares with no other, see Isa 42:8) is radiating from everyone everywhere. Jan is busy doing “all I could” (for God) and she saw Jesus everywhere”. This certainly must be some time in the far, far distant future. Haiti’s national religion is voodoo. It is the poorest nation in our hemisphere. The vast majority of the people are far from happy, healthy and do not own bikes. Haiti is one of the darkest most demonic areas in the Caribbean. In defense one might say her vision was of the millennium. If so, then why the hospital? If Jesus was everywhere, what work did Jan have to “do” for Him, He is all powerful and all sufficient.

During Christ’s millennial reign there will be nothing to harm nor hurt (see Isa 11:6-9) us. Ergo her vision must take place some time before Christ’s visible return and the establishing of His earthly kingdom.

“Then, the absolute knowledge in my heart and mind flooded me “that my body was healed” I felt assured that the miracle was complete, and PEACE, JOY, TEARS, HOPE, COMFORT overwhelmed me. I don’t know how long this lasted.  I just know the next morning there was a NEW SONG in my heart, a new joy on my face—that my vision my purpose, my Kingdom destiny had been renewed in my heart and I now still feel the uplifting in my spirit.”

Jan switches gears and goes from telling us a picture of a paradisiacal Haiti back to her own condition. She comes to an “absolute knowledge” in both her heart and mind (how can one tell the difference?) that “my body was healed.” She felt assured that the miracle was complete. Ask yourself this question– is there such a thing as partial miracle? Biblical miracles were always complete works, and they usually had to do with the economy of God toward Israel or the Church. In four sentences Jan refers thirteen (13) times to herself. You see from start to finish this whole alleged encounter is all about Jan and not Jesus. Her vision, her purpose, her Kingdom destiny had been renewed in her heart!

It was just about a year ago when she was medically treated for cancer and it either went into remission or was destroyed via medical science, and we thank God for His mercy on Jan make no mistakes about this. Yet I find it incredible that within a year Jan has forgotten her pledge to God and her Kingdom purpose of her “Smile of a Child” mission which she said was why God healed her! It beggars the imagination that she so quickly let this divine intervention that kept her from the grave and allowed her to remain in the glow of the cathode ray tube of television:

“There is a place right around your middle that lifts, when you draw a breath—that is where the joy, the peace radiates from–I believe this is where the precious Holy Spirit abides. You can just be lifted in your sweet precious spirit now. Breathe in His love. Breathe in His peace. Breathe in His joy. Put your sweet hands over your tummy and breathe and lift. “Jesus, Oh Sweet Precious Jesus, FILL that emptiness” Let Him lift your heavy burdens away. Let Him love you the way He wants to every single moment. Breath in His Life.

Now Jan reveals to the Church that our diaphragms are the exact location where the joy and peace of Christ radiate from. This is where the precious Holy Spirit abides. I guess getting “the wind knocked out of you” can have some very serious spiritual implications if Jan is right. Where in the Bible are we ever told to “breathe” in His love, peace and joy? Jan is misguiding people based on her paranormal experience and telling them things that are simply not true and make no logical sense if rationally considered.

For example, if the Holy Spirit resides in our diaphragms (as if the omnipresent God can be localized) then what “emptiness” is Jesus supposed to be filling, if we must ‘let Him’ love us the way He wants to, see, we can hinder the grace of God by not allowing Him to love us. Lastly, how do we breathe in His life? Jesus never said that anywhere, nor did the Apostles. Jesus did say in John 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.  I do believe spiritual life and renewal can and does come from the sacrament of the Lord’s Table (along with the Apostle Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin and others).

“Tears are in my eyes just writing this I hope you are feeling His presence NOW.  He loves you. He wants to renew that dream you had as a teen to do something soooo special for Jesus—but the dream was snatched away” by the burdens of this world. But, that was a Jesus dream and He picked you especially to do that wonderful Kingdom thing for Him. Think about that dream—it would tickle your heart and spirit when you were young. You would see the dream finished and flourishing–you knew that it was a Jesus thing. He’s renewing your mind and your dream now as you read—you see yourself again at 12,15, 18, years old, dreaming BIG for Jesus, and you will this moment declare it “out loud” to Jesus: “Lord, I know that was your dream for me and I declare now I will begin TODAY to renew your Kingdom purpose for my life and I will start TODAY—LIVING MY DREAM.  Do you feel the joy? Are tears in your eyes?   Are you seeing Jesus? Are you two getting the job started? This is your moment, sweet Partner.”   (2)

It seems one of the purposes of this experience was to propel Jan into the role of an exhorter (she uses the pronoun “you” and “yours” 17 times) now that her kingdom vision and the work she must do for Jesus is rekindled she believes that by reading her account her devotees “dream” and kingdom purpose is also being renewed. She tells them to confess (declare in an audible voice) that they will begin today to renew His kingdom purpose and that they will start today living their dreams. Apparently if one follows Jan’s commands and believes her account then they will feel the joy, tears will fill their eyes and they will see Jesus! In other words, an emotional response is proof that one has received the message to begin living their dream.

A Quick Review of This “Experience” of Jan’s

Is it just me, or does it strike anyone else as strange that Jan begins her tale by mentioning hearing her name called three times by some unseen being and then never refers to it again? There is only one biblical text she might strain to cite as support, and is the calling of the Prophet Samuel as a young child under Eli’s care (please read 1 Sam. 3:4-9) That was God’s call to Samuel regarding his future ministry as a prophet to the nation. Is Jan attempting in a very indirect way to imply that she too is being called into some form of prophetic ministry?

Were these calls a “test” to see if she would respond to them, or in some way preparatory to her later more exceptional levitation experience? We don’t know because she does not give us any further details about them. It seems that the “Father” who she assumes was upholding her chose not to reveal the source or reason for these voices either.

According to her own testimony these voices were so real to her she even got up and looked around to see who was calling out her name and yet, saw no one! A psychiatrist might be rightly concerned about a person who hears disembodied voices and claims to awakened from sleep only to be levitated and while in this catatonic state is shown a picture of Haiti which is so far from reality that it can only be considered a delusion at best and the beginning of schizophrenia at worst.

One thing is certain within the world of televangelism and the charismatic fringe (which is becoming the charismatic mainstream today) to stay on top one has to continually “up-the ante” of supernatural encounters, divine revelations, new moves of the Holy Spirit, higher levels of the anointing etc.  Think about it for a few moments. From the onset of Pentecostalism there was the speaking in tongues   (3), then came along dancing in the spirit, writing in other tongues and the old standby of being slain in the spirit.   (4)   Various levels or types of baptisms were touted. When that became passé presto along a wide variety of divine healers. Some claimed to heal by their right hand, others claim to reveal peoples thoughts, some claimed to heal by their left hand. Time passes and along comes holy laughter, then prophetic animal noises, then spiritual drunkenness. (5) That started to frow old then reports about anointing oil covering peoples hands, then onto the gold dust hoax, after that came the claims of  gold teeth miracles  (6)  which lead to claims of jewels being manifested in their revivals. So Jan saying she hears voices or was levitated is really not all that special…except that it happened to someone proclaiming to represent Christian womanhood globally.  ♦

Copyright © 2004  Bob Liichow

End Notes

1. MacArthur, John, Charismatic Chaos. Grand Rapids, MI “Zondervan Publishing 1992 p. 16.

2.(Obtained directly from the TBN website at http://www.tbn.org/about/newsletter/index.php/454.html   on August 21, 2004.

3. All of the original Azusa newsletters are on 2 CD rom’s DMI offers, the latest edition is offered this month. These newsletters are fascinating to read and prove many unbiblcvial and occult practices in the Azusa “revival”.

4. DMI also offers a book entitled “Does the Bible Support A Doctrine of Being Slain in the Spirit?

5. Our book “Blessing or Judgment” covers the origins of all these manifestations and biblically refutes them.

6. DMI has the only book in print biblically refuting the claims of gold teeth too!