Re: Re:T.D. Jakes ~ Oneness or not? was > Church
`````````````xtbc............
"Terry" <te...@desk.com> wrote in message
news:_1k1l.6755$pr6...@flpi149.ffdc.sbc.com...
>
> "`````````````xtbc................ ." <so...@23747nomail.com> wrote in
> message news:da155$49454ec0[...]
>
>>
>> Modalist, heretic, wow, ok, I'll try to explain, those in the "Oneness
>> Churches" are my brothers in Christ, same as the Baptist (those who speak
>> against my Charismatic/Pentecostal beliefs), they believe in Jesus, well
>> that's good enough for me ....
>
>
> xtbc (Greg, I think it is), I almost missed this post and looked at it
> just before deleting useless posts from my reader. I'm going to offer a
> take on this which I hope clears up some wrong conclusions you 'may' have
> about what I've said. Whether or not it represents Chuck, I do not know,
> but I think I know Chuck well enough to say it 'may be close.' These
> matters are easier seen when we are not too emotionally close to the
> issue. Obviously, Jakes has offered some things which minister to you. I
> think it was Tom in another post saying that he heard Jakes preach the
> paint of the wall. I too, have heard some insightful messages from him
> over the past 15 years. However, as I will try to point out, that is not
> the issue! I will not attempt to speak for others, but welcome them to
> either balance what I say, or correct it.
Trinity Broadcast Network, founded by Jan and Paul Crouch, (Former AoG
Pastors) have NEVER allowed "United Pentecost" or "Oneness" ministers on
their network. Paul Crouch, a staunch believer in the Trinity doctrine,
named
his network after the Holy Trinity. It was on T.B.N. that the vertualy
unknown preacher T.D. Jakes first captured national and international
attention. I personally have never heard T.D. Jakes preach "Oneness" and so
I
was utterly SHOCKED by Tom's, Chuck's, and Feather's comments but I am VERY
aware of the sheer disrespect and contempt that many on these newsgroups
have
shown towards Charismatic leaders and believer alike. I am crossposting this
reply to alt.religion.Christian.Pentecostal
where they have been ARGUING about the "Trinity" and "Oneness" for many,
many years. I suggest that Tom, Feather and Chuck have a go at the fine
people of that group seeing that I consider myself unfit to define either
position because I am neither "Trinitarian" nor "Oneness" in the purest
since of the
terms.
[sarcasm light flashing]
I belief in the Bible, the eternal Godhead,
(Colossians 2:6-10), (Acts 17:29), (Romans 1:20) and even though I've
searched a thousand times I can not find the word "Trinity" in my Bible, why
is that, I don't know. I must have a defected KJV because my beloved
brothers and sisters in the Lord seem to think that without a belief in this
word not found in my defected bible I simply can not be saved. I've decided
to fix all this so I can enjoy the warm embrace of Chuck's loving fellowship
so I have taken an ink pen and wrote the Word "Trinity" in the New Testament
in every place God had forgotten to put it. I also have purchased a brand
new pair of scissors and anointed them with holy anointing oil so I can
remove some embarrassing scriptures from my Bible.
I think I'll cut this one out first ....
I and my Father are one.
(John 10:30)
Yes this is very bad, what word did they use, oh yeah, reeks, yes, reeks of
"Oneness". (Snip-snip-gone)
Next I'll snip this verse ...
(Acts 2:38)
You see T.D. Jakes said " We believe in one God who manifest himself as
Father, Son and Holy Spirit" and everyone went wild, why, he didn't say the
word "person". But didn't anyone notice that he named the three persons of
the Godhead? For me I saw this as just another attempt to attack and smear
another TBN preacher.
>
> It is possible for us to be enlightened by truth from someone who is not
> inside the "orthodox and historic faith." This is especially true before
> we know of their heresy. However, I would never, with good conscience,
> direct or encourage someone to listen to a minister 'after' I am convinced
> they are in dangerous heresy. In fact, I am instructed by Scriptures to
> warn believers of the danger of heresy and heretics.
>
> I have met some 'oneness' believers who were brothers in Christ. I believe
> in *some areas,* men can be wrong in their head but right in their heart.
> But again, this is not the issue! A man's final judgment before God is in
> Christ's hands, however, I am instructed, by the Holy Spirit (through
> Scriptures) to refuse fellowship with heresy or heretics. The Lord uses
> our obedience to warn others as a means to either reach them with the
> gospel, or correct them from erroneous teaching.
I understand this but no one has given ANY evidence (other than
slander/libel) of T.D.Jake being a heretic.
>
> Modalism will filter through many of the major doctrines of Christianity
> and cause tremendous confusion at best, and flat out 'damnable heresy' at
> worse. Example: A oneness will believe Jesus is God. If he trusts Christ's
> atonement on Calvary 'alone' for his salvation, I believe he could be
> genuinely saved, BUT ignorant of sound theology and therefore in need of
> correction and admonishment to come out of the confusion of his theology.
> OTOH, if they are a Pentecostal Oneness (and most are) and hold to a tight
> version of it, they will teach the need to speak in tongues as a evidence
> of *Salvation* and this puts their trust in a gift and not in Christ
> *alone.* This is damnable heresy and endangers a person's soul. I do not
> know if Jakes is a *Pentecostal Oneness.* I know he is 'oneness,'
Ok, show me that he is "Oneness", that important before we continue down
this path any further and in the same loving spirit that you replied to me
let me just tell you this ....
" We believe in one God who manifest himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
No "Oneness" person would EVER say something like that!!!
>in that
> he denies the Trinity,
HE named the three persons of the Trinity in his statement, my friend that's
a far cry from denying the Trinity.
Your showing yourself propositioned by doctrinal bias (Dogma).
> and that he is Pentecostal. (Believes in the gift
> of tongues) However, I have never heard or read where he says 'speaking in
> tongues' is a necessary experience indicating one has been born again as
> promoted by 'Oneness Pentecostalism.' (Acts 2:38 will be heavily
> emphasized by Pentecostal oneness.)
>
> Modalism (ie.UPC, Apostolic Oneness, Jesus Name Only, etc..) do not accept
> Trinitarians as genuine believers. This is where Jakes plays the slippery
> eel game.
That's as far as I can go.
Sorry, you'll have to play this silly little game without me.
Show proof of T.D. Jakes preaching "Oneness" (and that all others are not
saved) or apologize.
You are wandering from the love of Christ.
xtbc
Dr. House
<so...@237e3nomail.com> wrote:
[...]
> You see T.D. Jakes said " We believe in one God who manifest himself as
> Father, Son and Holy Spirit" and everyone went wild, why, he didn't say the
> word "person". But didn't anyone notice that he named the three persons of
> the Godhead? For me I saw this as just another attempt to attack and smear
> another TBN preacher.
It's like arguing over how many angles can dance on the tip of a pin.
We can't measure a manifestation of God nor a divine person. What is
gained by splitting hairs over it?
[...]
> I understand this but no one has given ANY evidence (other than
> slander/libel) of T.D.Jake being a heretic.
I can do that. It's not possible for TDJ to be both Catholic and East
Orthodox so by definition he is a heretic. =)
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among
thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and
departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a
certain Real True Christian that way: and when he saw him, and the
Real True Christian passed by on the other side. And likewise a
Committed Christian, when he was at the place, came and looked on him,
and the Committed Christian passed by on the other side. But a
certain Heretic, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw
him, the Heretic had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up
his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and
brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when
he departed, the Heretic took out two pence, and gave them to the
host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou
spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that
fell among the thieves?
House
Terry
"`````````````xtbc............" <so...@237e3nomail.com> wrote in message
news:afcac$49466800$4ad7a5a4$29...@FUSE.NET...
So, you use Paul Crouch's stamp of approval as your discernment. Come on,
Greg! There are a plethora of heretics who have gotten public attention on
TBN. Since Crouch has 'allowed' Jakes on his program, then he has allowed a
"Oneness" to minister on his program. It is irrelevant that it is called
Trinity Broadcasting Network. You can call a buzzard 'turkey,' but that
doesn't mean I would suggest cooking and eating him on Thanksgiving.
>I personally have never heard T.D. Jakes preach "Oneness"
So, you are telling us you've heard 'every sermon he has preached,' and read
'every book he has written, and 'every interview he has given?' If not, then
just because you have not heard him preach 'Oneness' does not mean he has
not. Correct?
>and so
> I
> was utterly SHOCKED by Tom's, Chuck's, and Feather's comments but I am
> VERY
> aware of the sheer disrespect and contempt that many on these newsgroups
> have
> shown towards Charismatic leaders and believer alike.
Contempt for any Charismatic preacher who turns the gospel into foolishness
and heresy, YES! All Charismatic or Pentecostal preachers, NO! All leaders,
like Jakes, who are known heretics of the 'Oneness' persuasion, YES!
>I am crossposting this
> reply to alt.religion.Christian.Pentecostal
> where they have been ARGUING about the "Trinity" and "Oneness" for many,
> many years. I suggest that Tom, Feather and Chuck have a go at the fine
> people of that group
Good! Maybe, some of them will respond so they can be helped and called from
heresy if they reject the Trinity.
>seeing that I consider myself unfit to define either
> position
Then, why in the world are you arguing with believers 'who can define both
positions' from the historical perspective?
>because I am neither "Trinitarian" nor "Oneness" in the purest
> since of the
> terms.
Then, what are you? This is confusing, You cannot define either, but you
defend 'Oneness' heretics and criticize 'Trinity' believers.
Hmmmmm......this is fishy smelling, Greg.
>
> [sarcasm light flashing]
>
> I belief in the Bible, the eternal Godhead,
> (Colossians 2:6-10), (Acts 17:29), (Romans 1:20) and even though I've
> searched a thousand times I can not find the word "Trinity" in my Bible,
[Sarcasm flashing back!]
If you do not like the word 'Trinity' that is fine. Give us another word! As
long as it entails what the Bible does proclaim---that three eternal and
distinct persons are referred to as God! Call it, 'snufalopagus' if you
like, or maybe the 'Godhead biblical thingamaditchi.' Just as long as your
definition embraces what God says about himself! I'll help you get it
entered into Websters! So, what word would you like to start?
why
> is that, I don't know. I must have a defected KJV because my beloved
> brothers and sisters in the Lord seem to think that without a belief in
> this
> word not found in my defected bible I simply can not be saved.
It is not the word 'Trinity' which saves. It is the belief in the God of the
Bible, and through the Bible He has revealed Himself as the one true God who
eternally exists in three distinct persons.
>I've decided
> to fix all this so I can enjoy the warm embrace of Chuck's loving
> fellowship
> so I have taken an ink pen and wrote the Word "Trinity" in the New
> Testament
> in every place God had forgotten to put it.
So, you do like silly games?
>I also have purchased a brand
> new pair of scissors and anointed them with holy anointing oil so I can
> remove some embarrassing scriptures from my Bible.
>
> I think I'll cut this one out first ....
> I and my Father are one.
>
> (John 10:30)
>
> Yes this is very bad, what word did they use, oh yeah, reeks, yes, reeks
> of
> "Oneness". (Snip-snip-gone)
I would not snip that verse. It is a good one. In fact, that one verse
demonstrates 'two of the distinct persons' of the Godhead declaring a unity
of essence. Wow!!!
>
> Next I'll snip this verse ...
>
> (Acts 2:38)
>
> You see T.D. Jakes said " We believe in one God who manifest himself as
> Father, Son and Holy Spirit" and everyone went wild, why, he didn't say
> the
> word "person". But didn't anyone notice that he named the three persons of
> the Godhead? For me I saw this as just another attempt to attack and
> smear
> another TBN preacher.
The term 'manifest' is the classic word used by 'oneness' heretics instead
of the historic word 'person.' A Divine manifestation appears and then
changes. A Divine person remains the same.
>
>
>>
>> It is possible for us to be enlightened by truth from someone who is not
>> inside the "orthodox and historic faith." This is especially true before
>> we know of their heresy. However, I would never, with good conscience,
>> direct or encourage someone to listen to a minister 'after' I am
>> convinced
>> they are in dangerous heresy. In fact, I am instructed by Scriptures to
>> warn believers of the danger of heresy and heretics.
>>
>> I have met some 'oneness' believers who were brothers in Christ. I
>> believe
>> in *some areas,* men can be wrong in their head but right in their heart.
>> But again, this is not the issue! A man's final judgment before God is in
>> Christ's hands, however, I am instructed, by the Holy Spirit (through
>> Scriptures) to refuse fellowship with heresy or heretics. The Lord uses
>> our obedience to warn others as a means to either reach them with the
>> gospel, or correct them from erroneous teaching.
>
> I understand this but no one has given ANY evidence (other than
> slander/libel) of T.D.Jake being a heretic.
Before I do all the work for you I have one question. If I show you 'his
quotes with their references,' will you repent of defending him, and reject
him as a heretic?
Greg, you obviously have never seriously studied the historic position of
the Christian faith, or the beliefs of christian cults. His statement uses
the term 'manifestations' in a sense of 'modalism.' This means God pops in
and out of these modes (manifestations) at different times. That is classic
'Oneness' heresy! Just simply do a study of this and you will easily see
this. I'm not making this stuff up, as I have witnessed to, taught and seen
'Oneness' believers repent of this error and embrace the historic Christian
faith.
>
>
>> and that he is Pentecostal. (Believes in the gift
>> of tongues) However, I have never heard or read where he says 'speaking
>> in
>> tongues' is a necessary experience indicating one has been born again as
>> promoted by 'Oneness Pentecostalism.' (Acts 2:38 will be heavily
>> emphasized by Pentecostal oneness.)
>>
>> Modalism (ie.UPC, Apostolic Oneness, Jesus Name Only, etc..) do not
>> accept
>> Trinitarians as genuine believers. This is where Jakes plays the slippery
>> eel game.
>
> That's as far as I can go.
>
> Sorry, you'll have to play this silly little game without me.
>
> Show proof of T.D. Jakes preaching "Oneness" (and that all others are not
> saved) or apologize.
>
> You are wandering from the love of Christ.
>
> xtbc
>
Again, I make this offer. If you will, after I offer them, repent for giving
fellowship to Oneness heretics, including Jakes, I will provide you with
'his statements' along with the references. Deal??
So, the ball is in your court. I'll even throw in some references of the
heresy of word of faith and prosperity doctrine to boot. So, what do you
say?
In Christ,
Terry
`````````````xtbc..........
>> unknown preacher T.D. Jakes first captured national and international
>> attention.
>
>
> So, you use Paul Crouch's stamp of approval as your discernment. Come on,
> Greg! There are a plethora of heretics who have gotten public attention on
> TBN. Since Crouch has 'allowed' Jakes on his program, then he has allowed
> a "Oneness" to minister on his program. It is irrelevant that it is called
> Trinity Broadcasting Network. You can call a buzzard 'turkey,' but that
> doesn't mean I would suggest cooking and eating him on Thanksgiving.
Then it would be REAL EASY to cut and paste some proof from Jakes teachings,
hey that's all I'm saying.>
>
>
>>I personally have never heard T.D. Jakes preach "Oneness"
>
>
>
> So, you are telling us you've heard 'every sermon he has preached,' and
> read 'every book he has written, and 'every interview he has given?' If
> not, then just because you have not heard him preach 'Oneness' does not
> mean he has not. Correct?
You bring the accusation then your supposed to bring the proof, not the
other way around.
[xtbc scratches head and mumbles something under his breath!]
The Holy Ghost FLASHED something across my spirit I think yesterday, I
didn't think much of it at the time but it was like a sudden total recall of
this moment twenty years ago, talking to my old Pastor, I saw where we were
standing and everything. Basically my Pastor was trying to explain why
manifest was the wrong word when describing the Trinity. (Sort of like your
doing.) So I think you may be on to something about that statement of faith
being wrong.
Maybe he's trying to hide Oneness beliefs but I don't believe it, never seen
one try to hide it before, usually it's just the opposite, big-time! My
guess is He trying to either take a softer approach as not to offend Oneness
people in hopes of drawing them in or simply trying to use different
biblical language, I have manifest your glory ... (John 17)
> the Christian faith, or the beliefs of Christian cults. His statement uses
I believe in being sincere and honest in all things, the heresy of what your
referring to as Oneness (U.P. Churches, and the like) is denying that the
other believers in the "Trinitarian" churches are not saved.
It's pretty hard to proof that God is not one.
I'm not a big T.D. Jakes man personally, I tend to lose interest after they
become famous.
I never repent unto man and to tell you the truth that last "offer" grieved
the Holy Spirit.
Xtbc
phillipr...@gmail.com
>
> - Show quoted text -
Your mistaken I have seen Tom Tenny on TBN
he was or is UPCI!
Phillip Holmes
phillip...@yahoo.com
Terry
"`````````````xtbc.........." <so...@23a557e3nomail.com> wrote in message
news:c6666$4947244a$4ad7a5a4$18...@FUSE.NET...
Good! Keep looking!
>
> Maybe he's trying to hide Oneness beliefs but I don't believe it, never
> seen one try to hide it before, usually it's just the opposite, big-time!
> My guess is He trying to either take a softer approach as not to offend
> Oneness people in hopes of drawing them in or simply trying to use
> different biblical language, I have manifest your glory ... (John 17)
>
Three things here: First, his 'softer approach' is actually avoidance! He
does not want to discuss it and has said so. He is not looking to draw in
'Oneness,' he already has them. He's avoiding the issue to be able to draw
in 'Trinitarians.'
Second, the whole chapter of John 17 demonstrates and entails the fact that
God exists 'at least' in TWO Persons. There is no other way to read it
without being some type of schizophrenic.
Third, the 'oneness' which this heresy claims to mean 'numerically one
person' is explained in to mean the opposite in this chapter. Jesus said,
"...keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY
BE ONE, AS WE ARE ONE." (v.11) This is unity of persons and not singularity
of person. Believers are to be 'one' in the same sense as the Father and Son
are one in their essence. It is unity, not singularity!
This is wrong Greg. Their heresy 'is not' in them denying fellowship to
'trinitarian' believers. It is in them denying what the Scriptures reveal
about the triune nature of the Godhead!
>
> It's pretty hard to proof that God is not one.
>
> I'm not a big T.D. Jakes man personally, I tend to lose interest after
> they become famous.
>
> I never repent unto man and to tell you the truth that last "offer"
> grieved the Holy Spirit.
Come on, Greg! I did not imply repenting to me, but to God!
Sources demonstrating Jakes heresy in another post.
Terry
`````````````xtbc..........
You really should email the Oneness churches and start a dialogue with them.
I'm not Oneness, I believe in the basic principles of the Trinity doctrine
and have said so over one hundred times on this newsgroups (that's 100 +
posts not replies) That should be your first clue as to what's really going
on with these others, nough said there. This is something I went through a
long time ago and I have no desire to fight about it further. It just cause
more division.
Here's my scriptural reference ...
Jesus in the water, Father speaks from Heaven, Spirit descending as a dove!
Now I've used my calculator many times but I always come up with the same
answer, 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Now my Bible tells me God is one. On that basis I must believe it.
How does that work?
Not really sure.
One of the reasons I'm not ready to dismiss all the oneness camps as
heretics is the malice of those who believe in the Godhead Trinity, man,
this "paints" them poorly, I dare say.)
I say at this point you should write a letter to T.D. Jakes and ask him
about your concerns. As your brother in Christ that is my council to you.
Love in Christ Jesus.
xtbc
S = C + 0
Salvation equals Cavalry plus zero!
Raymond
> "`````````````xtbc.........." <so...@23a557e3nomail.com> wrote in message
> > didn't think much of it at the time but it was like a sudden total recall
> > of this moment twenty years ago, talking to my old Pastor, I saw where we
> > were standing and everything. Basically my Pastor was trying to explain
> > why manifest was the wrong word when describing the Trinity. (Sort of like
> > your doing.) So I think you may be on to something about that statement of
> > faith being wrong.
>
> Good! Keep looking!
>
>
>
> > Maybe he's trying to hide Oneness beliefs but I don't believe it, never
> > seen one try to hide it before, usually it's just the opposite, big-time!
> > My guess is He trying to either take a softer approach as not to offend
> > Oneness people in hopes of drawing them in or simply trying to use
> > different biblical language, I have manifest your glory ... (John 17)
>
> Three things here: First, his 'softer approach' is actually avoidance! He
> does not want to discuss it and has said so. He is not looking to draw in
> 'Oneness,' he already has them. He's avoiding the issue to be able to draw
> in 'Trinitarians.'
It seems like you think one that does not want to argue over the
Trinity is now avoidance, it seems you want to argue so you put that
remark in here. Which many have done over a few thousand years since
the Birth of Jesus. The Lord pointed out He wanted UNITY that His
church should be United, and it seems you are the one with selected
memory and you think it is wrong to draw in people so they can come
together and discuss these matters. Eph 4:3-6
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope
of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and
Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. NKJV
Eph 4:12-14
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of
the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; NKJV
> Second, the whole chapter of John 17 demonstrates and entails the fact that
> God exists 'at least' in TWO Persons. There is no other way to read it
> without being some type of schizophrenic.
The word "person" in the scripture all of it, only shows up as
pointing the Jesus as the Son of Man, the human body of Jesus the
Christ.
Heb 1:3
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His
person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had
by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high, NKJV
What is your idea of the meaning of the word "person"? Where does the
bible say the person of God the Father, who is a Spirit and has no
body except that in Jesus Christ? So where in the bible does it state
TWO PERSONS?
> Third, the 'oneness' which this heresy claims to mean 'numerically one
Who calls the Oneness as heresy? I understand the Oneness say the
trinity is heresy. So why do you bring this up, it is all heresay,
the opionon of one does not prove the other is correct or not. Does
the Bible show that God is numerical ONE and only One or not?
Deut 6:3-5
promised you — 'a land flowing with milk and honey.'
4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
NKJV
Mark 12:29-31
29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O
Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.
NKJV
Rom 3:29-30
He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify
the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
NKJV
1 Cor 8:5-6
, 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all
things, and through whom we live. NKJV
Now in this verse we do see ONE GOD and the name is FATHER, and Jesus
Christ who is the one that was born of Mary and whom is God because of
the Spirit because he had no human father. People been trying to
understand God and how God is made up, since we are made in the IMAGE
of God as the Bible does say, we are ONE not a group of persons. We
are Body, Soul and Spirit, what do we see when we look at another
human three or two or one?
> person' is explained in to mean the opposite in this chapter. Jesus said,
> "...keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY
> BE ONE, AS WE ARE ONE." (v.11) This is unity of persons and not singularity
> of person. Believers are to be 'one' in the same sense as the Father and Son
> are one in their essence. It is unity, not singularity!
>
So what makes the WE as not one being, Jesus did not point out the WE
is two bodies or persons. I can say we here are many that are using
the newsgroups. Does that make the WE two or a hundred? Again the
ONE is the UNITY and them that try to make it a unity of manifestation
or person or something else does not make it a absolute. I just looked
up the word "manifestation" and found this: "A manifest indication of
the existence or presence or nature of some person or thing".
Now the word person is this: "The term person in common usage means an
individual human being. In the fields of law, philosophy, medicine,
and others, the term also has specialized context-specific meanings.
In many jurisdictions, for example, a corporation is considered a
legal person with standing to sue or be sued in court. In philosophy
and medicine, person may mean only humans who are capable of certain
kinds of thought, and thus exclude embryos"
> >>>> It is possible for us to be enlightened by truth from someone who is
> >>>> not
> >>>> inside the "orthodox and historic faith." This is especially true
> >>>> before
> >>>> we know of their heresy. However, I would never, with good conscience,
> >>>> direct or encourage someone to listen to a minister 'after' I am
> >>>> convinced
> >>>> they are in dangerous heresy. In fact, I am instructed by Scriptures to
> >>>> warn believers of the danger of heresy and heretics.
>
> >>>> I have met some 'oneness' believers who were brothers in Christ. I believe
> >>>> in *some areas,* men can be wrong in their head but right in their heart.
> >>>> But again, this is not the issue! A man's final judgment before God is in
> >>>> Christ's hands, however, I am instructed, by the Holy Spirit (through
> >>>> Scriptures) to refuse fellowship with heresy or heretics.
How can one win the lost if they do not go to them or talk to them in
some form of fellowship? Such as the AAA, Lions, KOC or a bar as
Jesus Himself went to such places. Now some also told Jesus he had no
business doing such as talking to them. Then it seems mans ideas are
more important to them then what God does want. Jesus did fellowship
with them, then Jesus was called to bring the Lost to the Cross.
People that say they are instructed by the Holy Spirit and do not do
as the Holy Spirit does, and that is to bring the lost to God is in a
false teaching and have no right to tell others what is false or not
false.
Mark 16:15-16
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. NKJV
Col 1:22-23
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and
are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which
was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became
a minister. NKJV
Raymond
Terry
>
> You really should email the Oneness churches and start a dialogue with
> them.
I have talked with them in various formats. However, I always discover the
same thing. The leaders are entrenched and will not repent for fear of
losing their status and power. The only hope I've ever seen are from the
'young ones' who have never been exposed to sound theology of historic
Christianity. These camps are, IMO, some of the most uneducated and
spiritually ignorant groups around. They make JW's and Mormons look like
scientists.
> I'm not Oneness, I believe in the basic principles of the Trinity doctrine
> and have said so over one hundred times on this newsgroups (that's 100 +
> posts not replies) That should be your first clue as to what's really
> going
> on with these others, nough said there. This is something I went through a
> long time ago and I have no desire to fight about it further. It just
> cause
> more division.
Well, let's see.
>
> Here's my scriptural reference ...
>
> Jesus in the water, Father speaks from Heaven, Spirit descending as a
> dove!
>
> Now I've used my calculator many times but I always come up with the same
> answer, 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Correct!
>
> Now my Bible tells me God is one. On that basis I must believe it.
Correct!
Conclusion from the Bible and by embracing both declarations: God is three
'IN' one, and one 'IN' three. One essence, eternally existing in Three
distinct persons---Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Therefore, three does not mean
'three gods,' and one does not mean 'one person.' Mystery---you bet cha!
Truth, absolutely. Completely explainable, no! Necessary to hold if one
believes the Scriptures and has the Holy Spirit--absoutely!!!! Just because
the short legs of reason cannot sufficiently and exhaustively explain the
"one in three, and the three in one," doesn't mean we must pick either/or.
No, instead we must hold to both in proper tension in order to be within the
biblical boundaries of Christianity. Trinitarianism holds both truths in
tension. 'Oneness' attempts to hold to one side while rejecting the other,
and in doing so they pervert the nature of God.
Just as it is heresy to have three gods (polytheism), it is heresy to deny
three persons in one God. (Modalism) Both are heresies and Christians must
stand against the heresy and the heretics.
>
> How does that work?
>
> Not really sure.
Explained above.
>
> One of the reasons I'm not ready to dismiss all the oneness camps as
> heretics is the malice of those who believe in the Godhead Trinity, man,
> this "paints" them poorly, I dare say.)
Lame excuse, Greg. Someone's behavior is neither an absolute proof or
demonstration of truth or error. Truth exists objectively and independently
of men's behavior. The Trinity is a truth revealed in the Scriptures, and
that should be enough. 'Oneness' theology slaughters the Scriptures by
ripping apart God's revelation about Himself and turning the God of the
Universe into a schizophrenic lunatic.
>
> I say at this point you should write a letter to T.D. Jakes and ask him
> about your concerns. As your brother in Christ that is my council to you.
Since Jakes has already re-affirmed his 'Oneness' through his interviews the
past 10 years, and calls all attempts to define the Godhead foolish, as I
showed in the reference, my attempt to communicate with him would not amount
to sparrow in a windstorm.
Greg, you kept asking for references and here they are again:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(1)
Radio Interview:
Questioner: My first question would be, the Trinity would be defined as one
God Who's revealed Himself in three distinct Persons, each co-equal and
co-eternal. How important is it for the believing Christian to hold to this
belief?
T. D. Jakes:
I think it's very, very significant that we first of all study the Trinity
apart from salvation, and first of all that we embrace Christ and come to
Him and come to know Who He is. Having come to know Who He is, then we
begin to deal with the Trinity, which I believe is a very complex issue. The
Trinity, the term Trinity, is not a biblical term, to begin with. It's a
theological description for something that is so beyond human comprehension
that I'm not sure that we can totally hold God to a numerical system. The
Lord said, "Behold, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one, and beside Him there
is no other." When God got ready to make a man that looked like Him, He
didn't make three. He made one man. However, that one man had three parts.
He was body, soul and spirit. We have one God, but He is Father in
creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in regeneration. It's very
important that we understand that, but I think that the first thing that
every believer needs to do is to approach God by faith, and then having
approached Him by faith, then they need to sit up under good teaching so
that they can begin to understand who the God is that they have believed
upon."
Source:
"Living by the Word" radio program audio clip, KKLA 99.5 FM with host Pastor
John Coleman, 19 August 1998.
God is not three parts or manifestations, but three PERSONS, and Jakes, even
when questioned refuses to state that!
(2)
Another Interview:
T.D. Jakes:
"Don't argue with people about foolishness. Don't argue about the
Godhead--the Bible says it's a mystery. If it's a mystery that means it's a
supernatural thing and everybody who thinks they understand it--really
don't. It's impossible to explain how one God can be three persons and
three persons be one God. And you're gonna blow your computer and short
circuit your p.c. trying to explain something that you don't even
understand. You can't even explain how a brown cow eats green grass and
produces white milk. So you know you can't explain God. So just shut up
arguing about it and say it's a mystery. All we know is that He's Father in
creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Ghost in regeneration and it's all
good."
(T. D. Jakes, "Bible Answer Man Show," Hank Hanegraaff, Audio-Clip, June 3,
2005)
Note: T. D. Jakes says it's foolishness to argue about the Godhead! So when
a Jehovah's Witness tells you that Jesus is not God we should just be silent
and accept them? He tells us to shut up about it? This is outrageous!
After telling us to "Shut up about it" T. D. Jakes goes on to "Explain" the
Godhead using a oneness (Modalism) definition.
Again, Jakes reveals himself as a heretic. It is not about liking or not
liking someone. It is about truth! And Jakes is a classic 'Oneness' and
therefore, a heretic, and is not a brother. We can know truth about the
Godhead, everything the Scriptures reveal about Him is known revelation!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now, my questions are very simple:
1) Do you refuse to call 'Oneness' theology Christian?
2) Do you reject T.D. Jakes as a brother unless he repents of 'Modalism'?
In Christ,
Terry
`````````````xtbc..........
Thank you for this, these guys have worn me out, If they love God, then they
should be able to listen but I can't really explain it to them because I
know very little about it. As I study the history of the Pentecostal
Movement I see the Oneness Preachers leading the way and so it seems strange
to me to say their all a bunch of heretics and damn them to hell.
"Raymond" <rwk...@aim.com> wrote in message
news:df16dac9-fafd-4ce8...@w1g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
Chuck Stamford
"Raymond" <rwk...@aim.com> wrote in message
news:df16dac9-fafd-4ce8...@w1g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
Mark 12:29-31
Raymond
Chuck
Wonderful. Now we've got one heretic (Tbc) inviting a whole slough of new
heretics to drag their rotting corpses over here to help him out.
Raymond, come back when you realize a body isn't required for a person to
exist. You've got to have at least that much going for you to post over
here.
Raymond
> "`````````````xtbc.........." <so...@23a557e3nomail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:94808$494934de$4ad7a5a4$14...@FUSE.NET...
>
> > "Terry" <te...@desk.com> wrote in message
>
> [...]
> > You really should email the Oneness churches and start a dialogue with
> > them.
>
> I have talked with them in various formats. However, I always discover the
> same thing. The leaders are entrenched and will not repent for fear of
> losing their status and power. The only hope I've ever seen are from the
> 'young ones' who have never been exposed to sound theology of historic
> Christianity. These camps are, IMO, some of the most uneducated and
> spiritually ignorant groups around. They make JW's and Mormons look like
> scientists.
Why would the repent, why don't you repent as you are also entrenched
and think you are correct and they are false, which I have heard from
Oneness pastors that you need to do the repenting. There is no fear
and all that is in your mind to make up a reason that shows you could
be right and since they do not agree you made up this up about losing
their status, how convenent. Your theology is sound but their is
not, get a life, that is the same anyone uses when they reject that
they could be wrong. You proved nothing and made up what people think
is not facts. Then there is some of MOST EDUCATED
Dr. House
<so...@23a557e3nomail.com> wrote:
[...]
> You really should email the Oneness churches and start a dialogue with them.
> I'm not Oneness, I believe in the basic principles of the Trinity doctrine
> and have said so over one hundred times on this newsgroups (that's 100 +
> posts not replies) That should be your first clue as to what's really going
> on with these others, nough said there. This is something I went through a
> long time ago and I have no desire to fight about it further. It just cause
> more division.
Wow. You are a Trinitarian. Yet the Thought Police are after you
anyway and they won't let it go. And this leads to division.
It sounds like the real problem is with those who are trying to expose
the 'heretics' and do harm over nothing.
House
Raymond
> "Raymond" <rwkn...@aim.com> wrote in message
It seems you are able to mess up the marks that show who said what
here. Anyway you have not proved anyone is a heretic, and what you
see as rotting corpses, I wonder if you seen Jesus as a rotting corpse
also as he was in the tomb for three days, and glad no one had to drag
that corpse out of the tomb, is that the way you think?
>
> Raymond, come back when you realize a body isn't required for a person to
> exist. You've got to have at least that much going for you to post over here.
Oh yes and you come from Mars or is it the Moon? A body is one part
of a person, with a soul and a spirit and no body you have no person
and nothing would exist as you can not touch or see those parts
without the body you have nothing on earth. Now when one is dead and
his/her soul and spirit departs, that is what they do and the body is
then seen as dead and they say that person has died. You have no idea
at all of what foolishness your statements make and I never did leave
or will leave so no need to come back when at all as I never will
accept your false remarks as having variability to them. If one does
not have a body they will not post anyplace as it takes a body to do
so.
Dr. House
> "`````````````xtbc.........." <so...@23a557e3nomail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:94808$494934de$4ad7a5a4$14...@FUSE.NET...
>
> > "Terry" <te...@desk.com> wrote in message
>
> [...]
>
>
>
> > You really should email the Oneness churches and start a dialogue with
> > them.
>
> I have talked with them in various formats. However, I always discover the
> same thing. The leaders are entrenched and will not repent for fear of
> losing their status and power.
What about the non-leaders such as me? Can you explain me since I
have nothing to gain or lose either way?
>The only hope I've ever seen are from the
> 'young ones' who have never been exposed to sound theology of historic
> Christianity.
I've got 30 years of what you would call "sound theology" under my
belt.
> These camps are, IMO, some of the most uneducated and
> spiritually ignorant groups around. They make JW's and Mormons look like
> scientists.
Yes, we should not believe what the Oneness people say because their
character is flawed. They lack education, they are stupid and so on.
> > I'm not Oneness, I believe in the basic principles of the Trinity doctrine
> > and have said so over one hundred times on this newsgroups (that's 100 +
> > posts not replies) That should be your first clue as to what's really
> > going
> > on with these others, nough said there. This is something I went through a
> > long time ago and I have no desire to fight about it further. It just
> > cause
> > more division.
>
> Well, let's see.
Even Trinitarians get presecuted in this witch hunt. Why is there no
mercy offered by the likes of Chuck and Vera?
> > Here's my scriptural reference ...
>
> > Jesus in the water, Father speaks from Heaven, Spirit descending as a
> > dove!
>
> > Now I've used my calculator many times but I always come up with the same
> > answer, 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
>
> Correct!
>
>
>
> > Now my Bible tells me God is one. On that basis I must believe it.
>
> Correct!
>
> Conclusion from the Bible and by embracing both declarations: God is three
> 'IN' one, and one 'IN' three.
How do you get that from the contradiction?
> One essence, eternally existing in Three
> distinct persons---Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
This explanation was invented later. It's not in the Bible.
> Therefore, three does not mean
> 'three gods,' and one does not mean 'one person.' Mystery---you bet cha!
This is the same as calling it magic.
> Truth, absolutely. Completely explainable, no! Necessary to hold if one
> believes the Scriptures and has the Holy Spirit--absoutely!!!!
How can it be necessary if we can't understand it or explain it?
More importantly how can it be necessary when the Bible says it isn't?
> Just because
> the short legs of reason cannot sufficiently and exhaustively explain the
> "one in three, and the three in one," doesn't mean we must pick either/or.
But that is a very good reason to not persecute or mistreat those who
don't go for it.
> No, instead we must hold to both in proper tension in order to be within the
> biblical boundaries of Christianity.
Yet the Bible doesn't mention this in any of the places where it
states specificly what we must do to be saved. So you are saying the
Bible is wrong. Ths Fundamentalist flavor of Trinity is unbiblical.
> Trinitarianism holds both truths in
> tension. 'Oneness' attempts to hold to one side while rejecting the other,
> and in doing so they pervert the nature of God.
Oneness attempts to match what is actually written in the Bible. Did
God forget something? Why should we need to add things to the Bible?
> Just as it is heresy to have three gods (polytheism), it is heresy to deny
> three persons in one God. (Modalism) Both are heresies and Christians must
> stand against the heresy and the heretics.
No doubt Trinity was heresy to the Church Trinitarians exterminated.
Magical polytheism that has special redefined words to make it not
polytheism is double talk. We are all heretics. Maybe we should
spend less time worring about Church division and more time on doing
the work of Christ.
> > One of the reasons I'm not ready to dismiss all the oneness camps as
> > heretics is the malice of those who believe in the Godhead Trinity, man,
> > this "paints" them poorly, I dare say.)
>
> Lame excuse, Greg. Someone's behavior is neither an absolute proof or
> demonstration of truth or error.
Does a tree give both good and bad fruit? Again you ignore what the
Bible says for what the pre-Catholics added later as they consolidated
their power.
>Truth exists objectively and independently
> of men's behavior. The Trinity is a truth revealed in the Scriptures, and
> that should be enough.
Not a single verse says God is three persons. Not one.
>'Oneness' theology slaughters the Scriptures by
> ripping apart God's revelation about Himself and turning the God of the
> Universe into a schizophrenic lunatic.
It's just the little boy shouting that the emperor is neked.
Alternatives to Trinity were dangerous for the Catholic Church back
when it first took over. They challenged the Roman authority the same
way the moons of Jupiter did. What Oneness proponent claims God is a
schizophrenic lunatic? This sounds like something made up to
discredit them.
> > I say at this point you should write a letter to T.D. Jakes and ask him
> > about your concerns. As your brother in Christ that is my council to you.
>
> Since Jakes has already re-affirmed his 'Oneness' through his interviews the
> past 10 years, and calls all attempts to define the Godhead foolish, as I
> showed in the reference, my attempt to communicate with him would not amount
> to sparrow in a windstorm.
Yet you admit that you can't explain the Godhead. Why blame Jakes for
being just like you?
> Greg, you kept asking for references and here they are again:
Well it is nice that somebody provided some evidence. I think it was
wrong for poeple to pounce on Twice Born for merely asking to see the
evidence.
[snip of Jakes being Oneness since I don't have a dog in that hunt]
> Now, my questions are very simple:
>
> 1) Do you refuse to call 'Oneness' theology Christian?
Of course he is Christian.
> 2) Do you reject T.D. Jakes as a brother unless he repents of 'Modalism'?
Burning Modalists at the stake wasn't enough to change them. Maybe
it's time that we give up on this silly war against other Christians.
House
Chuck Stamford
Chuck:
Yeah, and I do it simply using a newsreader that automatically places the
conversation markers in my posts to others who post in some way that
doesn't.
Raymond the heretic:
Anyway you have not proved anyone is a heretic...
Chuck:
Right again. You did that yourself in your reply to Terry. Now would you
kindly stay in your own group as a favor to those of us who don't like
talking to heretics, and who definitely don't need anymore in this group?
Thanks in advance, and I will be praying for your immortal soul that you may
escape the coming judgment.
Dr. House
[...]
> Right again. You did that yourself in your reply to Terry. Now would you
> kindly stay in your own group as a favor to those of us who don't like
> talking to heretics, and who definitely don't need anymore in this group?
That is the wrong way to treat someone Jesus died to save. Why drive
people away from Christ? Don't work against the Cross.
House
Chuck Stamford
"Dr. House" <hso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b6e5233c-3c9d-4e79...@v5g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
On Dec 17, 3:37 pm, "Chuck Stamford" <shellstamf...@cox.net> wrote:
[...]
> Right again. You did that yourself in your reply to Terry. Now would you
> kindly stay in your own group as a favor to those of us who don't like
> talking to heretics, and who definitely don't need anymore in this group?
House, in the midst of his latest fugue, managed to type:
That is the wrong way to treat someone Jesus died to save. Why drive
people away from Christ?
Chuck:
House, I know you don't know Christ, and that you're not exactly a student
of the Bible, and that you like to pose as a Christian, but mistaking ACC
for Christ is a poor showing, even for you.
Dr. House
> "Dr. House" <hsot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:b6e5233c-3c9d-4e79...@v5g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
> On Dec 17, 3:37 pm, "Chuck Stamford" <shellstamf...@cox.net> wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > Right again. You did that yourself in your reply to Terry. Now would you
> > kindly stay in your own group as a favor to those of us who don't like
> > talking to heretics, and who definitely don't need anymore in this group?
>
> House, in the midst of his latest fugue, managed to type:
>
> That is the wrong way to treat someone Jesus died to save. Why drive
> people away from Christ?
>
> Chuck:
>
> House, I know you don't know Christ,
Proof? You just have an unfounded opinion.
> . . . and that you're not exactly a student
> of the Bible,
As much as the average 30 year Trinitarian.
> . . . and that you like to pose as a Christian,
Nope, I prefer to live as one.
> . . . but mistaking ACC
> for Christ is a poor showing, even for you.
I have come to expect you to lie. It doesn't surprise me at all.
John 3:16 was not talking about ACC.
House
ff9...@gmail.com
> aware of the sheer disrespect and contempt that many on these newsgroups
> have
> shown towards Charismatic leaders and believer alike. I am crossposting this
> reply to alt.religion.Christian.Pentecostal
> where they have been ARGUING about the "Trinity" and "Oneness" for many,
> people of that group seeing that I consider myself unfit to define either
> position because I am neither "Trinitarian" nor "Oneness" in the purest
> since of the
> terms.
TBC, I don't like fighting or arguing. I believe Scripture and when
Jesus said "I AM," which is a direct reference to His being GOD
(incarnate), then that was actually good enough for me.
The Holman version has an excellent translation of this from the Greek
and Aramaic:
John 8:23-25 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
"You are from below," He told them, "I am from above. You are of this
world; I am not of this world. Therefore I told you that you will
die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am [He], you will
die in your sins."
"Who are You?" they questioned.
"Precisely what I've been telling you from the very beginning,"
Jesus told them.
>
> [sarcasm light flashing]
Which part? Above or below this point?
>
> I belief in the Bible, the eternal Godhead,
> (Colossians 2:6-10), (Acts 17:29), (Romans 1:20) and even though I've
> searched a thousand times I can not find the word "Trinity" in my Bible, why
> is that, I don't know. I must have a defected KJV because my beloved
> brothers and sisters in the Lord seem to think that without a belief in this
> word not found in my defected bible I simply can not be saved. I've decided
> to fix all this so I can enjoy the warm embrace of Chuck's loving fellowship
> so I have taken an ink pen and wrote the Word "Trinity" in the New Testament
> in every place God had forgotten to put it. I also have purchased a brand
> new pair of scissors and anointed them with holy anointing oil so I can
> remove some embarrassing scriptures from my Bible.
>
> I think I'll cut this one out first ....
> I and my Father are one.
>
> (John 10:30)
>
> Yes this is very bad, what word did they use, oh yeah, reeks, yes, reeks of
> "Oneness". (Snip-snip-gone)
>
> Next I'll snip this verse ...
>
> (Acts 2:38)
>
> You see T.D. Jakes said " We believe in one God who manifest himself as
> Father, Son and Holy Spirit" and everyone went wild, why, he didn't say the
> word "person". But didn't anyone notice that he named the three persons of
> the Godhead? For me I saw this as just another attempt to attack and smear
> another TBN preacher.
The word 'manifest' simply suggests that he might be a modalist, Greg.
Nothing more. I am sorry if I hurt you by saying or agreeing with
someone else about it, but it's true, and modalism in its worst form
denies the deity of Christ.
Feather
Chuck Stamford
<ff9...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:6202e899-46e1-4bba...@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com...
>
> [sarcasm light flashing]
Feather
Chuck:
I would only remove the qualification "in its worst form" before saying
amen. All forms of modalism deny the triune Godhead, and are thus equally
bad.
The real problem in all of this is, however, the source of Greg's outrage.
It doesn't come from Scripture, as I'm sure you're aware, and it doesn't
come from lack of evidence that Jakes is, in fact, a modalist (there seems
to be more than enough of that floating around, and plenty of personal
testimony to the fact). It also doesn't come from any bitterness or calumny
leveled against the Charismatic Movement in general, as nothing of the sort
appears in the conversation from anyone taking part in it except for Greg's
sweeping accusations. What does that leave as it's source? Anything in
line with biblical truth come to mind?
***xtbc....................
>
> [sarcasm light flashing]
Feather
>>>>>-------->
After further research I now believe as I FIRST suspected that T. D. Jakes
had taken a doctrine stance to express his belief in the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit and to try to avoid the arguing between (I have to use two made
up words here) Trinitarians and Modalist.
Oneness do NOT believe the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead,
and when they say "manifest" they usually say "God manifest Himself as
Jehovah in the Old Testament". Jakes said nothing like this. As always there
are those who HATE TBN and will look for any little thing to try to
discredit Charismatic.
These divisions in the body of Christ are sad, in an attempt to strive for
doctrinal purity most times the little wheat are yanked up by the roots.
xtbc
EOD
Carl
THE VELCRO BISHOP WITH ANOTHER GOSPEL
by G. Richard Fisher
If nothing else, Thomas D. Jakes appears to be very successful. Called a
"Bishop" by Charisma magazine, this prolific writer, recently purchased
sizable land holdings from the crippled ministry of jailed evangelist W.V.
Grant. The Dallas Morning News reported the sale of three of Grant's
properties to Jakes, with an estimated tax value of over $4 million.1
The Bookstore Journal lists three of Jakes' books, from a variety of
publishers, on its best seller chart for several months running. Its
December 1996 issue said Jakes has a gift for writing, indicating that the
bishop "does almost all his own writing" and that he "attributes his
engaging prose to divine inspiration."2
The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and the Black Entertainment Network
(BET) both air various programs by Jakes up to three times weekly. In
addition, the highly popular Promise Keepers organization enlisted Jakes as
a member of its "Men's Conferences Speaker Team" in 1995 at its Seattle and
St. Petersburg conferences and has invited him as a speaker for its 1997
lineup.3
In its November 1996 issue, Charisma also labels Jakes as "one of the nation's
most popular preachers"4 and quotes New Orleans pastor Paul Morton, who
labels Jakes a "black Billy Graham."5 Jakes' publications and the
conferences where he is a keynote speaker are regularly advertised in
Charisma.
But the real question is not his popularity, but his commitment to the truth
of Scripture. Is Jakes doctrinally sound? Does he teach the Gospel in its
purity? Is this "popular preacher" staying within historical orthodoxy or is
he (and those he influences) moving away from the mainstream?
Jakes catches attention as he struts, prances and preens across the stage.
While he may be a bombastic and entertaining speaker, is he a good
instructor?
Jakes is part of the Higher Ground Always Abounding Assembly, a Pentecostal
fellowship of more than 200 churches begun in the late 1980s. He promotes
his books and videotapes through Jakes Ministries, now based in Dallas. His
orientation is decidedly Pentecostal and clearly Word-Faith. The vast
majority of his messages are definitely motivational and all about
empowerment. They are weighted with psychological jargon.
Yet, there are troubling things about Jakes. For instance, did he misspeak
to Charisma in the above-mentioned November issue or was he simply misquoted
when he spoke of people who have "failed to appreciate their divinity."6
Divinity means that you are divine and it is a word that only fits with God.
The word is derived from Latin (divinitatem) and means "godhead" or "the
quality of being divine."7
More importantly, man is never addressed anywhere in Scripture as having
divinity or being divine. Is Jakes, by virtue of his statement, associating
himself with the god-man errors of the Word-Faith Movement? If not, and at
the very least, he owes the credulous readership of Charisma a
clarification. To even suggest that man is divine takes empowerment too far.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER...
Jakes gives deference to the ministries of Marilyn Hickey and Joyce Meyer.8
Both these "celebrated ministers" are heretical and promote Word-Faith
doctrine without apology. How many erroneous camps can you occupy and still
be considered a good example? In 2 John 9-11, we are commanded not to
endorse heretical teachers in any way.
Jakes has also shared the platform at a September 1996 conference with
Roberts Liardon.9 Any discerning Christian should want to stay as far away
as possible from Liardon who claims he was transported to heaven and there
met Jesus face to face and that he and Jesus had a water fight in the River
of Life! Liardon further claims he was shown a building filled with
unclaimed body parts (hair, eyes, skin, legs, etc.). This heavenly warehouse
of unclaimed body parts is overstocked, according to Liardon, simply because
here on earth believers have failed to appropriate them by faith.10 Liardon's
charade is either lunacy or sheer deception and should be given public
rebuke, not public relations.
Jakes patronizes and clearly finds himself among the celebrities of the
Charismatic camps. A full-color advertisement on the inside cover of the
January Charisma announced that Jakes would appear at the August "Victory
Word Explosion" in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Benny Hinn, Richard Roberts, Rod
Parsley, Joyce Meyer and Jerry Savelle. With this roster, it might better be
called "Heresy Explosion."
And why invite Jim Bakker to speak, as Jakes did in April 1996, before
Bakker has even had a chance to demonstrate some long-term repentance since
leaving prison. Placing Bakker back into the limelight and ministry too
quickly may create the same dynamics that brought him down before. First
Timothy 5:22 suggests that Jakes should have done just the opposite.
RIDING IN FIRST CLASS
When questioned for his opulent lifestyle, including an expensive home and a
Mercedes-Benz automobile, Jakes merely refers to himself as an investor and
an author. The Apostle Peter, however, said, "silver and gold have I none"
(Acts 3:6).
It is obvious that the religion business is very lucrative for some. The
Dallas Observer magazine reports:
"His conferences draw tens of thousands. His television show, broadcast on
both the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment Television,
reaches hundreds of thousands. He has spawned his own industry, T.D. Jakes
Ministries, which sells his books - 10 in all, with five best-sellers - and
videotapes, the income from which allowed him to spend nearly $1 million
last year on a residence in his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia."11
The Dallas Observer goes on to report:
"He says he is not embarrassed by this, even though his extravagant
lifestyle has caused controversy in his hometown that will likely follow him
to Dallas. His suits are tailored. He drives a brand new Mercedes. Both he
and his wife Serita are routinely decked out in stunning jewelry. His West
Virginia residence - two homes side by side - includes an indoor swimming
pool and a bowling alley. These homes particularly caused the ire of the
local folks. One paper wrote at length about the purchase and made much of
their unusual features. A columnist dubbed Jakes 'a huckster.'"12
Yet, what is most disturbing about Jakes' prosperity is not the wealth
itself, but his false teaching about Jesus to justify his fortune. The
Dallas Observer shares further:
"Besides, Jakes says - during an interview and in his sermons - Jesus was a
rich man. He had to have been, in order to have supported his disciples and
their families during his ministry."13
To add to his false and mythical Christ, Jakes brazenly says:
"The myth of the poor Jesus needs to be destroyed, because it's holding
people back."14
Jakes obviously perverts the true biblical picture of Jesus in an effort to
advocate his own lifestyle. The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports:
"Jakes, who drives a Mercedes, has moved with his wife and their five
children to a luxurious seven-bedroom home with swimming pool in the White
Rock Lake area of Dallas. He said the home cost more than $1 million. 'I do
think we need some Christians who are in first class as well as coach,'
Jakes said."15
Sadly, in the case of so many prosperity teachers, they are the ones flying
in "first class" by way of the donations of their impoverished flock while
the latter fly in "coach" - or miss the flight altogether because they lack
the money to even buy a ticket.
All this when the Scripture is so very clear: "For you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became
poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Our spiritual riches came only because he stripped and divested Himself of
all earthly goods (Ephesians 1:3).
Archaeological excavations of Nazareth in the 1950s demonstrates the little
village to have been occupied in Jesus' day by poor agricultural people.16
As we've seen Scripture clearly shows the poverty of Jesus.
A WOUNDED VIEW OF SIN
In Jakes' writings, he introduces so much in psychological terms that it is
hard to cut through the thicket. It becomes hard to distinguish Freud from
fact. He refers to immoral, lustful and sinful thinking as merely "little
boy thoughts."17 The Bible takes a stronger view and approach to mental sins
and calls us to confession and renewal of mind. A lustful thought is as
sinful as a lustful act in God's view (Matthew 5:28-30).
In fact, very little is called sin in the above referenced book but there is
much about wounding and being wounded, dysfunction and "the child within."18
This is peppered throughout this book.
The above is stock and trade with the New Age-self help guru John Bradshaw.
One of Bradshaw's workshops is called "healing your inner child." It is
obvious that, whether knowingly or unknowingly, Jakes has digested large
portions of Bradshaw's esoteric psychobabble, including the terminology.19
No doubt, a study of the extent of Jakes' borrowing from Bradshaw could be
the topic of an entire paper. It appears that Jakes has absorbed many of the
psychological trends of the age.
The Charisma article also mentions Jakes having courses in psychology before
dropping out of college.20 Jakes, like Velcro, has had much of this
influence stick with him. Velcro can have good things and things not so good
(like lint and dirt) stuck to it. Such is the case with Jakes. He is tainted
by some very questionable associations and endorsements and some very
questionable borrowings, beliefs and teachings.
Jakes refers to an adulterous man as a "frightened little boy" and a wife
beater as a "terrified little boy."21 The Scriptures never speak of such
heinous things in such a cavalier way. If a doctor misdiagnosed a disease
and called it by a different name there would be very little possibility
that the cure or medication would address the issue at all. A wrong
diagnosis would lead to wrong treatment and malpractice. Again Jakes has
succumbed to questionable and changing psychological theory.
Lutheran pastor and radio host Don Matzat warns against the wholesale
acceptance of very questionable psychological theory:
"Modern psychology is not an innocent helping-discipline that we can
carelessly borrow from the kingdom of the left-hand and merge with our
pastoral theology. There are theories and techniques in psychology, such as
self-esteem, the encounter dynamic, and psychological mysticism, that can
grossly distort Christian truth and inflict grave spiritual damage upon
Christian people. ... We must carefully discern the theories and practices
of modern psychology before we visit them upon the people of God."22
In his excellent and perceptive book, The Biblical View Of Self-Esteem,
Self-Love, Self-Image, Dr. Jay Adams points out that:
"The self-love movement that was begun by humanistic psychologists has
already had a significant impact on the church. ... You cannot simply 'add'
the insights of this new teaching to your set of existing Christian beliefs;
if you add them, you must modify or subtract many of the beliefs you already
hold. ... You are choosing between two divergent views of man, his problem,
and how to solve it."23
Jesus, in John 17:17, did not say, "Sanctify them by building up their self
image," but rather "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
ANOTHER JESUS
It has been shown above that as far as money and riches are concerned, Jakes'
view of Jesus is not hard to determine. His "rich Jesus" is merely a figment
of his imagination, or perhaps he is merely regurgitating the false
teachings of Fred Price, Paul Crouch and John Avanzini.24
Jakes seems just as confused when it comes to the human nature of Jesus. He
states that because the teachers in Jesus' day listened to Him as a child it
boosted His self-esteem.25 Here again we have Jakes' psychological jargon
but now, even worse, it is being dumped on Jesus. At the very least it is
erroneous and irreverent to speak of Jesus in those terms. To suggest that
Jesus needed a boost in self-esteem and that it took some Jewish teachers to
do it is to really miss the point of who Jesus really is.
Jesus may have opted to allow His sinless manhood to progress in a normal
course (Luke 2:51-52) but His Deity and perfection put Him outside mundane
false human categories. Again we see the pop psychology dominating with
Jakes and a different Jesus being constructed out of the paper mache of
human ideas. What Jakes suggests now puts Jesus into the category of a
flawed rich man needing an ego boost!
Because the incarnation is such a great mystery, we must always be careful
to say about Jesus only what the Scriptures actually say. If not, we can
fall into extreme and heretical views on either side. As others have
suggested there must be a "reverent agnosticism" about some aspects of the
Godhead incarnate.
In the fifth century, the Eutychians so deified Christ's humanity that He
was no longer truly human. On another extreme, the Nestorians at the same
time so separated the two natures of Jesus as to suggest two distinct
personalities.26
Jakes appears to tilt toward the Nestorian error. The Orthodox view was
promulgated at the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451 and stated:
"In the one person Jesus Christ there are two natures, a human nature and a
divine nature, each in its completeness and integrity, and these two natures
are organically and indissolubly united, yet so that no third nature is
formed thereby. In brief, to use the antiquated dictum, orthodox doctrine
forbids us either to divide the person or to confound the natures."27
The Church has always held that Christ's human nature was complete as
Chalcedon taught. Therefore to suggest a boost was needed in Christ's
self-esteem is a definite move away from orthodoxy.
In chapters 13 and 15 of Loose That Man, Jakes spends 30 pages developing
applications from the Lazarus story as how to live like a "loosed man." That
may be all well and good, but not once does Jakes state the Apostle John's
objective of clearly showing Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life - Jesus
as the one who conquers death for us and offers us resurrection hope for the
future.
As well, this tremendous miracle confirmed Jesus as the Messiah and caused
some to believe (John 11:45). John's expressed purpose for recording any of
the miracles of Christ was to confirm Jesus as Messiah and engender
commitment to Him: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His
name" (John 20:31). Jakes seems to miss the primary interpretation to spin
out many secondary, subjective applications to boost our esteem.
LOOKING FOR MANHOOD IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES
Jakes mentions that he purchased (for all the men in his organization)
subscriptions to the secular GQ Magazine to help them learn about manhood.28
Any Christian need only briefly scan the contents of a recent issue of
Gentlemen's Quarterly - GQ Magazine - to be shocked and even appalled at its
contents, some of which is nearly pornographic. Consider, for example, the
November 1996 issue where there is an advertisement for the "Better Sex
Videos." The photograph accompanying this ad left little to the imagination.
This same issue's table of contents listed articles on "Nightlife at the
Viper Room," a crime story about a crossdressing heiress, the cigar clubs of
Beverly Hills, and things even worse.
This writer cannot imagine a minister endorsing a publication with such
questionable contents as this for any reason. On the cover of the February
1997 issue, controversial basketball star Dennis Rodman and supermodel
Rebecca Romijn were both featured in skimpy bathing suits. I am still trying
to figure what any of this has to do with Christianity. How far we've come.
Jakes expresses love for his children but is this the kind of material they
would find around the house?
Instructions in biblical texts and biblical manhood would be far safer and
far more sane, as well as more profitable and lasting. God's Word has
incredible things to say about manhood and godliness. The male leadership of
the Church is given in specific, practical guidelines in 1 Timothy 3:1-13
and Titus 1:5-9. The Bible presents ideal manhood. It may not be as trendy
as GQ, but it is far more life changing and God honoring.
A STROLL DOWN MYSTIC LANE
In Jakes' book, Why? Because You Are Anointed, he teaches a personal
guidance system that is not only strange but misleading and fraught with
problems of self-deception and outright manipulation of others.
Instead of telling people to follow the clear dictates and details of God's
Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), he leads people to follow confusing detours of
inner impressions and guess work by others. Listen to his advice:
"God imparts to you a revelation of His plans for your life. That is how the
vision begins. Then in some cases, God confirms that word he spoke
personally to you through a prophecy given to you by another man or woman of
God."29
Jakes does not seem to have even an elementary idea of the basic doctrines
and distinctions between revelation, inspiration and illumination. Yet he
purports to give direction and guidance to thousands.
In the same book he says that the guidance will be proven later by the
Scripture.30 That certainly puts the cart before the horse. Suppose by that
time you have created an unmitigated disaster. We must always start with the
Scripture and not use God's Word as an addendum.31
At this point some may say that all the above is unimportant and to express
concern about these things is simply nit picking. Certainly the good Jakes
does out weighs minor differences.
A lavish materialistic lifestyle, a vastly different Jesus, the
psychologizing of Christianity, crude magazines, an unsafe guidance system
may be good and acceptable to some, but not to those that take the Bible
seriously and see Scripture as the sole court of appeal when it comes to
religious claims and teachings.
However it get worse, especially Jakes' teaching on the Gospel and
salvation.
DYING TO GET SAVED
In his 1996 work, The Harvest, Jakes sends confusing signals as to whether
or not he believes in salvation by grace through faith. He says he is
"called to preach the message of the cross" and that we must "preach the
Gospel as sincerely and effectively as possible,"32 which sounds good. And
then he also warns of false gospels,33 which sounds even better. But as he
elaborates he sounds totally confused and contradictory and leads one to
wonder if he really understands the simplicity of the Gospel.
We find a heavily conditional, or works, salvation being developed and
described by Jakes. His comments could also be called salvation by struggle:
"Unless the believer is willing to lose his life for Christ's sake, he
cannot ever attain everlasting life. If the Master must suffer to the point
of death, so likewise must the servant."34
Taken at face value, it appears that only martyrs or near martyrs qualify
for heaven. Try to interpose this concept into the 16th chapter of Acts. You
would have to say to the jailer in response to his question, "What must I do
to be saved?": "You have to make sure you have a martyr's mind set or its no
good."
There is not a shred of biblical evidence for Jakes' condition. Given his
lifestyle, Jakes fails the test himself. He surely is no martyr and has very
little to worry about on the material plane.
To confuse things even further Jakes declares that we must: "Die! Die and
keep on dying daily until all of you is dead and only Christ lives. Death is
the key to life and life more abundantly."35 This certainly begs the
question: What has Bishop Jakes died to? Surely not materialism. He needs to
show us, not preach at us.
It is obvious that Jakes is uncertain as to salvation being a free gift from
God as Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5 and Romans 6:23 teach. He warns about
false gospels and is even so bold to say that ministers propagating false
beliefs are probably greed-oriented.36 He then goes on to propose the
strangest Gospel to come down the pike in a while.
Jakes' view can be called a two-tiered salvation or a two-step salvation or
perhaps a progressive graduated salvation. His imaginary salvation is based
on a distortion of John 1:12-13. It goes as follow:
"Scripture teaches that receiving Christ as your personal Savior does not
necessarily make you a son of God, but if you choose to do so, the power
(authority) and right to do so is present. ... Just being saved does not
make you a son of God, ...only those who are willing to be led by the Spirit
actually realize and manifest the sonship of God."37
So in Jakes' view being a son is not something you are, it is only something
you can opt to manifest. His teaching is more at home with that of the late
cult leader Herbert W. Armstrong, than with orthodoxy.38
Jakes does not realize how nonsensical he sounds when he says one can be
saved and not be a son of God. Does he not realize that the terms are
interchangeable and that one really means the other? Being "saved" and
"being a son of God" are one in the same. The moment we exercise faith in
Jesus and accept Him, we are sons. "For you are all sons of God through
faith in Jesus Christ," Galatians 3:26 declares.
Jakes confounds and distorts the salvation process by making a distinction
between accepting Jesus as Savior and being a son of God. He says that these
are different states arrived at in different ways. The Bible does not
recognize Jakes' false dichotomy.
The truth of Scripture regarding the riches of our salvation is summarized
by Thomas R. Edgar:
"Every person who believes in Jesus Christ has their sins forgiven and is
immediately justified. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer immediately
upon salvation. Every believer has access to God in prayer and has other
believers available for fellowship, edification, and counsel. Every
Christian has all of this immediately upon justification."39
If we were to believe Jakes, we would have to believe that receiving Christ
and being saved are one thing (doing very little if anything for you, except
for being a first step) and being a son of God is something entirely
different that you can choose or not choose to become. So you can be "saved"
but not really saved. When you decide to be led by the Spirit you then
manifest son-ship.
Romans 8:1 indicates, however, that walking in the Spirit is something you
can and will do because you are already a son of God. Walking in the Spirit
is a privilege and the manifestation of sons. Jakes totally misunderstands
and confuses salvation and sanctification.
Jakes' other obvious mistake is that he teaches that the authority, right or
power, in John 1:12, is the authority and right of the believer to do
something for himself. He misses entirely the clear thrust of John's passage
which is talking about God's authority.
We can say we are saved, we can say we are sons of God if we've received
Christ as John 1:12 indicates based on God's right, God's power, God's
authority to declare that of us. It is clear from this passage that God
gives the right to every believer to be named as His sons and children.
The word "become" in the verse is not to be seen as tentative in any way but
as declarative as to what we become by receiving Jesus as Savior. God's
prerogative, in John 1:12, does not become man's prerogative no matter what
Jakes says. Griffith Thomas, known throughout the Anglo-Saxon world as one
of the great English scholars of modern times, conveys the thrust of verse
12: "Having received Christ as 'Word' and 'Light,' we become sons of God."40
First John 5:12 assures us, "He that has the Son has life." Romans 10:17
reminds us, "Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved." Being
saved, being sons, being a child of God, being born again, having received
Christ, having faith in Christ, and being in Christ are really nuances of
the same experience and standing. Receiving Christ puts us eternally "in
Christ" as children and joint heirs. This privilege in Romans 8 is a
position that has no condemnation, no amputation and no separation. Christ
in us is the hope of glory as Colossians 1:27 announces.
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible lays out the simple
Biblical truth that seems to elude Jakes:
"In the three Johannine epistles the figure of the child is brought to its
fulfillment with the repetition of the apostolic love for the Church in
terms of family endearment (1 John 3:10, et. al.). The legal proposition of
children, inheritance, adoption, illegitimacy and naming are all used as
figures of the application of the Atonement in the epistles (Gal 4:5; Eph
1:5; Phil 4:3; Heb 12:8; 1 Pet 1:4; et. al.)"41
Thus there are two "BVs" to choose from. The first, Bishop Velcro with his
earthly mansions, his wealthy Rolex Jesus, his psychological trappings, the
pep rallies, the questionable reading material and the truncated Gospel. Or
the second BV, the old trustworthy BV - Bible verses - that tell us of
mansions in glory, the man of sorrows, the provision of free grace with
immediate and eternal sonship for desperate needy sinners who will in faith
repent and receive Christ.
We must choose - the stakes are enormous - and eternal. Put away the Jakes
materials and revisit the Bible. It will tell you the truth minus the
velcro.
Endnotes:
1. Tim Wyatt, "Televangelist reportedly to plead guilty," The Dallas
Morning News, April 14, 1996.
2. The Bookstore Journal, December 1996, pg. 59.
3. Phone conversation between Jim Levy, conference speaker spokesman for
Promise Keepers, and M. Kurt Goedelman, Jan. 29, 1997.
4. Ken Walker, "Thunder From Heaven," Charisma magazine, November 1996, pg.
37.
5. Ibid., pg. 42.
6. Ibid., pg. 43.
7. Daniel G. Reid, Robert D. Linder, Bruce L. Shelley and Harry S. Stout,
Editors, Dictionary of Christianity in America. Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 1990, pg. 359.
8. Walker, op. cit., pg. 39.
9. "East Coast Church Conference - Run with the Vision" advertisement,
Charisma magazine, July 96, pg. 70.
10. See further, John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos, Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1992, pp. 28-31 and The Glory Of Heaven, Wheaton, Ill.:
Crossway Books, 1996, pp. 44-45.
11. Kaylois Henry, "Bishop Jakes Is Ready. Are You?," The Dallas Observer
magazine, June 20-26, 1996, pg. 19.
12. Ibid., pg. 22.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid., pg. 31.
15. Jim Jones, "Rising-star evangelist ministers to interracial
congregation," The Fort Worth Star Telegram, Aug. 11, 1996.
16. Jack Finegan, The Archaeology of The New Testament. Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1972, pp. 27-33.
17. T.D. Jakes, Loose That Man and Let Him Go. Tulsa: Albury Press, 1995,
pg. 5.
18. Ibid., pp. 8-16.
19. See further, Tal Brooke, "A Brief Look At John Bradshaw," Spiritual
Counterfeits Project Journal, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 4-11.
20. Walker, op. cit., pg. 41.
21. Jakes, Loose That Man, op. cit., pp. 123-124.
22. Don Matzat, "The Intrusion of Psychology into Christian Theology,"
Issues, Etc. Journal, Sept. 1996, Vol. 1, No. 9, pp. 16-17, emphasis in
original. This excellent article should be read in its entirety.
23. Dr. Jay E. Adams, The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love,
Self-Image. Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House Publishers, 1986, pp. 39-40.
24. See further, Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis. Eugene, Ore.:
Harvest House Publishers, 1993, pp. 187-190.
25. Jakes, Loose That Man, op. cit., pg. 3.
26. See further, Henry Thiessen, Introductory Lectures In Systematic
Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1952, pp. 285.
27. Ibid., pg. 286.
28. Jakes, Loose That Man, op. cit., pg. 42.
29. T.D. Jakes, Why? Because You Are Anointed. Bakersfield, Calif.: Pneuma
Life Publishing, 1994, pg. 43.
30. Ibid.
31. For a sane, biblical, and far safer approach to guidance and God's will
see pages 23-37 of Jay E. Adams' More Than Redemption.
32. T.D. Jakes, The Harvest. Bakersfield, Calif.: Pneuma Life Publishing,
1996, pg. 10.
33. Ibid., pg. 36.
34. Ibid., pg. 28.
35. Ibid., pg. 29.
36. Ibid., pg. 37.
37. Ibid., pp. 46-47.
38. See further the PFO tract, The Plain Truth of Herbert W. Armstrong,
under the heading "Salvation."
39. Thomas R. Edgar, Satisfied by the Promise of the Spirit. Grand Rapids:
Kregal Resources, 1996, pg. 11.
40. Griffith Thomas, The Apostle John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1965, pg. 154.
41. Merrill Tenney, Editor, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the
Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975, Vol. 2, pg. 500,
emphasis added.
Carl
D. Jakes
by Jerry L. Buckner
[1999]
SYNOPSIS
The appeal of T.D. Jakes crosses racial, cultural, and economic lines. He
boldly addresses deep-felt needs in the American population that are either
neglected or avoided by many churches. His charismatic style has drawn as
many as 85,000 people to his conferences dealing with women's and men's
issues. Many people see Jakes as a compassionate man who understands their
deepest problems. He is able to get to the core issues of pain people
experience from abuse, whether emotional, physical, or sexual in nature. He
not only addresses these issues but gives people ways to deal with their
pain and move on with their lives. In addition, he has transferred this
knowledge into several best-selling books. Another aspect of Jakes's
ministry is the Potter's House in Dallas, a multiracial, nondenominational
church with 17,000 members. The church has developed ministries that address
many issues ranging from homelessness to mentoring young people.
Jesus commands us not to judge externally but to judge rightly (John
7:24). T.D. Jakes appeals to people externally by addressing their physical
and emotional needs. At the same time, many people are asking for help in
discerning the right and wrong in his teachings. Several aspects of Jakes's
teaching are problematic. For example, he emphasizes the issue of
victimization without also emphasizing our sin problem and need for a
Savior. He teachings and endorses Word of Faith concepts relating to
guaranteed health and wealth. Although he claims to believe in the Trinity,
the major problem with T. D. Jakes's teaching centers on Trinitarian
theology, which he defines in modalistic or Oneness Pentecostal terms (i.e.,
there is one God who exists in three manifestations or modes-not three
eternal Persons). The definition according to historical Christianity is
that there is one God who exists in three co-equal, co-eternal, and
co-existent Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In just six years or so, he has taken the church by storm. Charismatic.
Dynamic. Compassionate. Successful. Thomas Dexter (T. D.) Jakes is surely
all this - he's even been touted as the black Billy Graham. He identifies
with your pain, and in this identification he helps you turn your heartache
into hope.
Jakes seems to be the ultimate American success story of one who has gone
from rags to riches. His influence across the Pentecostal, charismatic, and
evangelical world is staggering. His television program, The Potter's House,
is beamed into more than 500 prisons and viewed by three million people in
the United States, England, the Caribbean, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and South
Africa. He has twice been a featured speaker at Promise Keepers stadium
events and has co-hosted both the 700 Club and Praise The Lord. He appeared
on Larry King Live with Pat Robertson, Chuck Colson, and Jerry Falwell on 2
September 1998 to discuss morality and forgiveness issues pertaining to
President Clinton. He pastors a church less than three years old that has
17,000 members, with extensive outreach programs to the poor and
disadvantaged. His Woman Thou Art Loosed (WTAL) conference during 29-31 July
1999 drew 85,000 women to Atlanta's Georgia Dome and had 100 satellite
transmissions to prisons and detention centers. Presidential front-runner
George W. Bush, who has endorsed The Potter's House's outreach programs,
spoke at the WTAL conference in Atlanta. Jakes has authored 18 books and
eight have appeared on national Christian best-seller lists. His 1998 book,
The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord, was number one on Publishers Weekly's
Religion Bestsellers list for four months.
Yet, with his personal success and positive impact on others, Jakes's
ministry has not been without controversy. This article will explore his
successes and contributions, and whether there is any substance to the
criticism he has received.
HIS BACKGROUND: THE "BIBLE BOY" MAKES GOOD
T. D. Jakes was born on 9 June 1957 and grew up as the youngest son in a
South Charleston, West Virginia family. His mother, Odith, was a home
economics teacher who taught all of her children to cook, clean, and sew.
His father, Ernest, was an entrepreneur who had 42 employees working in his
janitorial business. As a young boy, Jakes reflected his parents' work ethic
by having a newspaper route, selling Avon products, and selling vegetables
from his mother's garden. He was known in his neighborhood as the "Bible
Boy" because he had the habit of preaching to imaginary congregations while
always carrying a Bible.1
When Jakes was 10, his father developed kidney disease, and the boy spent
the next few years helping to care for his father. When his mother became
ill two months before his graduation, he dropped out of high school to help
care for her. He also dropped out of West Virginia State University after a
year in order to take a job. He later earned a GED certificate and
eventually received bachelor's and master's degrees and a doctorate in
ministry through correspondence courses.2
Jakes felt called to the ministry at age 17 and began preaching part-time
while he was a student at West Virginia State University and while working
at a chemical plant. He eventually became part-time music director at the
Baptist church in which he grew up. As a part-time pastor, Jakes helped
found Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith in 1980 in a storefront in Montgomery,
West Virginia with only 10 members. In 1982, he began full-time ministry
after the chemical plant where he worked closed and his father died of
kidney disease.3 In 1983, he held his first conference (now called "The
Bible Conference") with 80 attendees. In 1990, he moved his ministry to
South Charleston. The congregation then grew from 100 members to more than
300.4
In 1992, he preached the sermon "Woman Thou Art Loosed" in Sunday school.5
This message became his trademark.6 One year later, Jakes wrote his first
book, also titled Woman Thou Art Loosed. In 1993, he also began his weekly
television program, Get Ready with T. D. Jakes, a program that is now called
The Potter's House and airs four times a week. Later that year, he moved his
ministry to Cross Lanes, West Virginia. The congregation grew to nearly
1,000 members of all races, including 40 percent Caucasian.7 In 1994, Jakes
established T. D. Jakes Ministries, the nonprofit organization with
currently 150 employees that produces his conferences and television
programs, distributes his tapes and videos, and manages his crusades.8
T. D. Jakes met his wife, Serita Ann Jamison, while he was a guest speaker
at her church. They have been married since 1981 and have five children.
HIS MINISTRY: TRANSFORMING LIVES
In May 1996, Jakes moved his family and 50 other families from West Virginia
to establish the Potter's House in Dallas. The present church is on the
28-acre site where the old Eagle's Nest Church of television evangelist W.
V. Grant had been. This site cost $3.2 million. The Potter's House is a
multiracial, nondenominational church with membership rapidly approaching
20,000. As many as 5,000 people attend each of the four three-hour services
every weekend.9 Many others watch the service on closed-circuit television.
A crew tapes and edits the sermon, which is played on cable television and
sold after the service. Paul Jones, the ministry's marketing director, told
The Wall Street Journal that T. D. Jakes Ministries sells about two million
videotapes a year, not including conference sales.10
The church's name comes from Jeremiah 18, where the broken vessel is
repaired: "Our ministry is called The Potter's House because we are geared
toward mending broken lives, regardless of what color they are."11 The
church's congregation is 50 percent male, a high percentage.12
The Potter's House's programs include "Ravens Refuge, a homeless ministry;
Operation Rehab, an outreach to prostitutes; a GED literacy program; the
Transformation Treatment Program for drug and alcohol abusers; an AIDS
outreach; and a prison outreach."13 It provides bilingual services,
translation and interpretation. Even sign language is done bilingually.
"Early every Sunday morning, ministers from The Potter's House drive
downtown to pick up the homeless people; before church, the homeless get
showers and clean clothes, the women, hair-styling and makeup."14
On 1 March 1998, T. D. Jakes and the Potter's House dedicated Project 2000,
a 231-acre tract of land, which will be transformed into the City of Refuge
to meet transgenerational needs for rehabilitation, education, and training.
The multiethnic character of Jakes's ministry is certainly praiseworthy.
Martin Luther King, Jr., observed that the church is the most segregated
major institution in American society.15 Jakes would like to see racism
obliterated: "It's not the color of your skin that will bring deliverance
and help from God; it's the contents of your heart."16 Other churches can
learn from this message.
CONFERENCES ON MALE AND FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS
The power of Jakes's impact is particularly evident in his conferences. He
gives the yearly "WTAL" and "Manpower" conferences, which attract 70 percent
black, 20 percent white, and 10 percent Hispanic.17 Jakes appeals to women
because he addresses their felt needs. He speaks to the pain women are
experiencing, whether that pain is a marriage that is falling apart, the
loneliness of being a single mother, physical abuse, or any mistreatment. He
started the WTAL conferences because he saw this pain while counseling women
individually. He sees the conferences as mass counseling sessions. The WTAL
conferences and several of his books appeal to the emotions of women. "As he
puts it, 25% of women in America have been sexually assaulted in some way
before the age of 15, the phenomenon, hardly mentioned in most churches,
creates a huge reservoir of pain."18
Controversial issues have been kept off-limits in most churches. Jakes comes
out and addresses sexism as a sin. This is the message women want to hear.
The issues that Jakes deals with - rape, battered women, and how to find
healing make the difference. He has answers that a lot of people don't find
in church.19
In his books, Jakes explicitly addresses issues with which women struggle.
Not only does he speak to struggles that may date back to childhood
experiences, but he also offers solutions. He speaks in a compassionate way
that convinces women he cares. He points out that some women are victims
without being molested. "They were not the direct victims, just the
witnesses of a nightmare...They are sad casualties of a cold war. A war that
we are losing."20 Jakes goes a step further by telling women to rise above
their attitudes: "Until your attitude is corrected, you can't be
corrected....You cannot expect the whole human race to move over because you
had a bad childhood."21 Jakes attributes his success in dealing with women
as coming from his own experiences with pain, such as coping with his father's
illness and death. In regard to pain, Jakes says, "It will either make you
bitter or it will make you better. I wanted to be made better, not bitter."22
T. D. Jakes appeals to men as well as women. The yearly Manpower conferences
teach men how to be men. He mentors men regarding their responsibility
toward their families. He teaches that a real man provides for and protects
his family. He says there are just as many abused men as women. He tells men
to respect women as God's gift to them. Jakes even purchased subscriptions
to GQ magazine for the men in his organization to help them learn about
manhood.23 The contents of this magazine would shock Christians, however. In
the April-June 1997 issue of Quarterly Journal, G. Richard Fisher describes
some of the magazine's inappropriateness.24 As Fisher notes, the Bible gives
many more and better practical guidelines than GQ on manhood and being a
godly man (see, e.g., 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).
CONCERNS ABOUT THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE
The apostle John measures our relationship with God by whether we follow or
deviate from Christ's doctrine (2 John 9). We are warned not to allow false
teachers to teach in our churches nor give them any encouragement (v. 10).
And if we do, we share in their evil deeds (v. 11).
T. D. Jakes has shared the platform at times with Benny Hinn, Richard
Roberts, Rod Parsley, Joyce Meyer, Rodney Howard-Browne, and Roberts
Liardon. Fisher comments concerning Liardon, "Any discerning Christian
should want to stay as far away as possible from Liardon who claims he was
transported to heaven and there he met Jesus face to face and that he and
Jesus had a water fight in the River of Life! Liardon further claims he was
shown a building filled with unclaimed body parts (hair, eyes, skin, legs,
etc.). This heavenly warehouse of unclaimed body parts is overstocked
according to Liardon simply because here on earth believers fail to
appropriate them by faith."25
On 28 September 1998 Jakes spoke on Praise The Lord, hosted by Paul and Jan
Crouch, regarding Kenneth Copeland: "Kenneth Copeland sent a prophecy to me
and shared that God was going to send me to the White House. And I was so
busy in the Potter's House that the idea of going to the White House was
totally absurd to me. But I respected him as a man of God and we just prayed
over it and received it."26 The association of T. D. Jakes with such
well-known Word of Faith and Counterfeit Revival teachers raises troubling
questions about him.
Christian Research Institute (CRI) has been swamped with letters raising
questions and concerns about T. D. Jakes. One minister wrote that he shared
a Rev. Jakes tape with college and professional athletes. Yet he said he
knows very little about the man and asked for help in discerning the right
and wrong in his teaching. Jesus commands us to inspect the fruit of leaders'
lives and doctrine in order to discern between truth and error (Matt.
7:15-23).
TRINITARIAN OR MODALIST?
A Protestant state corrections chaplain told CRI that "one of the most
popular TV evangelists at our institution is T. D. Jakes." He concluded by
asking for clarification of Jakes's position on the Trinity. CRI has
received two e-mails sent by T. D. Jakes Ministries to people inquiring
about that subject. One e-mail response is that "Bishop T. D. Jakes and The
Potter's House of Dallas believe there is one God who manifest [sic] Himself
in the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have never denied the
Trinity, and we are disappointed that anyone would misunderstand or
misrepresent us."27
The meaning of the term Trinity, according to historic Christianity, is that
within the nature of the one God co-exist three equal and eternal persons -
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. T. D. Jakes Ministries and historic
Christianity both use the word Trinity, but the meaning of the word appears
to be different. Walter Martin taught us that we must scale the language
barrier of the cults. We must recognize the reality that unless terms are
defined, a semantic jungle will envelope us, making it difficult, if not
impossible, to properly contrast orthodox Christianity with teachings
outside it.28
On the T. D. Jakes Ministries Web site, an older but still accessible
version of their Statement of Faith reads, "There is one God, creator of all
things, infinitely perfect, and existing in three Manifestations: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit."29 Their current doctrinal statement has been altered
somewhat to read: "THREE DIMENSIONS OF ONE GOD (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19, 1
Tim. 3:16)" - "We believe in one God, who is eternal in His existence,
Triune in His Manifestations, being both Father, Son and Holy Ghost AND that
He is Sovereign and Absolute in His authority."30
The position taken by T. D. Jakes Ministries remains problematic. The
problem lies in the word "manifestation." Manifestation is a modalistic term
often used by Oneness Pentecostals. Modalism views Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit as different modes of God's activity rather than three separate
persons.31
Jakes was interviewed in August 1998 by Living by the Word (LBTW) ministry.
This interview was aired on KKLA 99.5 FM in Los Angeles. During this
interview, Jakes said, "We have one God, but He is Father in creation, Son
in redemption, and Holy Spirit in regeneration."32 This wording is identical
to the Oneness Pentecostal view as described by David K. Bernard, pastor of
New Life United Pentecostal Church (UPC), in his book The Oneness of God: "A
popular explanation of Father, Son and Holy Ghost is that there is one God
who has revealed [i.e., manifested] Himself as Father in Creation, Son in
redemption and Holy Ghost in regeneration."33
In his interview with LBTW, Jakes also describes the Trinity as a complex
issue, saying, "I'm not sure we can totally hold God to a numerical system."34
This statement is consistent with his book Anointing Fall on Me: "The
concept of the Godhead is a mystery that has baffled Christians for years.
With our limited minds we try to comprehend a limitless God. How can we
explain one God but three distinct manifestations?"35 This idea also
reflects Bernard's Oneness Pentecostal views: "We cannot confine God to
three or any other number of specific roles and titles."36
CRI Coordinator of Research Sam Wall spoke over the telephone with Pastor
Lawrence Robinson, Director of Ministry Affairs at the Potter's House,
inquiring about their view of the Trinity. Robinson affirmed that Jakes
denies the biblical position of the Trinity, at one point saying that the
Roman Catholic Church introduced the concept of three gods. Robinson gave
some modalistic illustrations of the Trinity and said that Jakes has always
held this position.37 Twice after that, Wall e-mailed Pastor Robinson to
confirm the content of their discussion. Robinson never responded. Wall
noted in his e-mail, "Should I not hear from you by e-mail, I will assume
that these statements by you are correct."38
In the 1998 Wall Street Journal article on Jakes, Lawrence Robinson speaks
of knowing T. D. Jakes since he was a young man.39 According to T. D. Jakes
Ministries Web site, Elder Lawrence Robinson has been attached to the heart
of T. D. Jakes Ministries since 1985 as a faithful partner.40
Jakes's denial of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is further betrayed
by his association with the Higher Ground Always Abounding Assembly. He is a
leader and elected bishop of this group.41 CRI spoke with Elder Mike
Pearson, an instructor at the Higher Ground Bible Institute. He confirmed
that the Assembly has a Oneness view of the Trinity and that T. D. Jakes has
been part of this association for about seven years.42
In order to appropriately discern and respond to modalism, it is vital for
Christians to understand the Trinity as it is presented in the Bible. James
R. White offers three suggestions:
First we need to do some major league education on what the doctrine
actually teaches....In the second place, we have to impress on every
believer the vital importance of understanding, accepting, and experiencing
the truth that God has revealed Himself to be Triune: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit....Finally, we have to educate, NOT with arrogance or pride, but with
a passion and fervor born of love for the truth....Concerned Christians need
to voice their disapproval of television networks, ministries, or publishers
who tolerate poor theology just to mollify a larger 'audience.'43
The Trinity is the primary truth of New Testament theology. In his book
Oneness Pentecostals and The Trinity, former Oneness teacher Gregory A. Boyd
convincingly argues that "the denial that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
are eternally distinct 'persons' in the Godhead indirectly undermines the
Christian view of God's character, God's revelation, and God's salvation by
grace."44
Oneness believers beg to differ. As noted earlier, modalists, including T.
D. Jakes, maintain the view of "one" God revealing Himself in three
manifestations. This view has been known throughout history by several
different names. One of them is modalistic monarchianism: "A movement which
interpreted the Trinity as successive revelations of God - first as Father,
then as Son, and finally as Holy Spirit. It began in the third century."45
Modalistic monarchianism emphasized the unqualified intrinsic oneness of God
and the full deity of Christ.46
Denver Seminary's Dr. Gordon Lewis offered this response to T. D. Jakes's
statement about God being Triune in His manifestation: "The revised
statement on God revives Sabellian Modalism. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
not merely three manifestations of one God in history, three different hats
he wears."47
Whether it is called modalism, Sabellianism, Oneness, or "Jesus only," this
view of the Trinity is heretical. As White observes, "Whatever its name
might be, it is a denial of the Trinity based upon the denial of the
distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It accepts the truth
that there is only one true God, and that the Father, Son, and Spirit are
fully God, but it denies that the Bible differentiates between the persons."48
OTHER DOCTRINAL CONCERNS
While the biggest concern with Jakes's teaching is the modalistic language
he uses in regard to the Trinity, several aspects of his message and
ministry are problematic. In a Wall Street Journal article, which described
Jakes as a country preacher with a multimillion-dollar religious empire, he
was quoted as saying, "I am the power and the kingdom and the glory, and I
think I kind of like it that way."49 Even if he spoke these words in jest,
he mocks God, who will not share His glory with another (Isa. 42:8).
Jakes's teaching on sin leaves much to be desired. In a three-hour video
broadcast on TBN of his July 1999 WTAL conference in Atlanta, he addressed
the women's immediate emotional and social needs, but nothing was said on
the issue of sin and the need for a Savior, nor on the atoning death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.50 In Loose That Man and Let Him
Go! Jakes describes men who have extramarital affairs as doing what they do
because they fear confronting unresolved issues with their spouses.51 He
depicts men who carry weapons as living in fear that others will see the
frightened little boy hiding behind the big gun.52 He characterizes men who
beat their wives as little boys having a temper tantrum.53
Jesus goes straight to the heart when He describes adultery (Matt. 5:28) and
evil thoughts, murder, fornication, stealing, lying, and blasphemy (Matt.
15:19) for what they are. Jakes teaches that we have problems because we are
victims of our environment or circumstances and minimizes the concept of
personal sin. Along with victimization, he emphasizes self-empowerment; we
can find the power to pull ourselves out of our problems. Yet Paul taught
that all have sinned and come up short before God (Rom. 3:23). The way out
of our sins is Christ-empowerment, not self-empowerment (Phil. 4:13).
Prosperity teachings stand out more than other Word of Faith teachings in T.
D. Jakes's ministry. Jakes is a very wealthy man and enjoys it. The 19
November 1998 People magazine describes his $1.7 million Dallas home, his
blue BMW convertible, and his colorful expensive clothing.54 (He also drives
a Mercedes.) He feels his financial success is a sign of growing economic
empowerment for African-Americans. The Charleston Gazette published a story
that focused on his $600,000, 16-room Charlotte mansion with its bowling
alley and indoor swimming pool. The story didn't accuse him of any
wrongdoing, but Jakes felt betrayed, saying that if he couldn't get better
press coverage, he'd take his wealth elsewhere.55 This may be one reason
Jakes moved from Charleston to Dallas.
It's not disturbing that Jakes is wealthy and has this lifestyle, but it's
very disturbing that he portrays Jesus as being rich in order to justify his
wealth. He describes Jesus as having been rich in order to support His
disciples and their families during His ministry. Jakes says the myth of the
poor Jesus has to be destroyed because it's holding people back.56 Indeed,
Jesus Christ owns everything and possesses all power, authority, glory,
honor, and majesty. In His earthly life, however, He became poor for our
sakes (2 Cor. 8:9; Matt. 8:20). He laid aside His divine prerogatives and
died on the cross, owning nothing, like a common criminal.57 In fact,
archaeological excavations of Nazareth in the 1950s demonstrate that poor
agricultural people occupied the village in Jesus' day.58
The ministry's doctrinal statement makes it clear that Jakes adheres not
only to the doctrine of guaranteed wealth for the believer but also
guaranteed health: "We believe that it is God's will to heal and deliver His
people today as He did in the days of the first Apostles. It is by the
stripes of Jesus that we are healed, delivered and made whole. We have
authority over sickness, disease, demons, curses, and every circumstance in
life."59 This belief is reflected in Woman Thou Art Loosed! "Jesus has
promised to set you free from every curse of the past. If you have suffered
abuse, please know that He will bring you complete healing."60 Biblically,
however, our faith does not dictate God's will; God's sovereign will
dictates our faith (1 John 5:13-14). Healing in the New Testament is not a
guarantee, but a benefit of the Atonement. God sometimes answers our prayers
with a yes and sometimes with a no. He always answers our prayers according
to His will and for our best. Paul's thorn in the flesh was never removed,
even after he asked God three times to remove it (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
In addition to teaching the unbiblical (1 Cor. 12:27-30) classical
Pentecostal doctrine that the gift of tongues is the necessary sign of being
baptized in the Holy Spirit,61 T. D. Jakes has been observed "slaying people
in the Spirit" on a TBN program that was aired on 6 August 1998. Hank
Hanegraaff, in his Counterfeit Revival, has written about being "slain in
the Spirit": "Despite the pious attribution of this phenomenon to the Holy
Spirit as well as the pragmatic addition of 'catchers,' multitudes continue
to suffer spiritual, emotional and physical damage from this practice. Some
have even died."62
THE NEXT BILLY GRAHAM?
Even well discipled and discerning Christians find it challenging to
differentiate between the truth and error found in Jakes's teachings - let
alone the watching secular world. The New York Times published an article on
1 January 1999 regarding how America has always had a national evangelist.
"Ever since the colonial era, America has had a pre-eminent preacher who
played an unofficial role as national evangelist, preaching a simple message
of repentance and salvation and drawing vast crowds in the process. For the
last 50 years that role has been filled by the Rev. Billy Graham. But at the
turn of the century with Mr. Graham now 80, the question arises, Who if
anyone can take his place?"63 It is sobering that of the five possible
successors to Billy Graham listed, one of them is T. D. Jakes.
There is no denying that T. D. Jakes has many fine leadership qualities, and
the social outreaches of his Potter's House church appear quite commendable.
But, while sound doctrine is not the only criterion for leadership among
Christians (1 Tim. 3:1-13), it is certainly a necessary criterion (Tit.
1:9-11). Do we really want a non-Trinitarian to be the spiritual leader of
our country? If the answer to this question is anything but an unequivocal
no, the future looks dark indeed for the American church.
NOTES
1. David Tarrant, "T. D. Jakes - With a Message of Healing, He's
Gaining a National Following," The Dallas Morning News, 24 January 1999.
2. Ibid.
3. T. D. Jakes Ministries, "A Bishop's Journey - From the Hills of
West Virginia to the Streets of Dallas, Texas," 10 October 1999
(http://www.tdjakes.net/tdjakes/biography).
4. T. D. Jakes Ministries, "Who Is T. D. Jakes?"
(http://www.tdjakes.net/tdjakes/index.html).
5. Ibid.
6. Lisa Miller, "Prophet Motives: Grammy Nomination, Book Deal, TV
Spots - A Holy Empire Is Born," The Wall Street Journal, 21 August 1998.
7. "Who Is T. D. Jakes?"
8. Ibid.
9. "Church Services Enlighten Thousands," Las Vegas Review-Journal,
12 April 1998.
10. Miller.
11. Adele M. Banks, "Thus Speaks Jakes," The Kansas City Star, Faith
sect., 6 September 1997.
12. Julia Duin, "Provocative Pentecostal," Insight, 14 September 1998,
41.
13. "Who Is T. D. Jakes?"
14. Miller.
15. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love (Cleveland: William
Collins and World, 1963), 101-2.
16. T. D. Jakes, Woman Thou Art Loosed! (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny
Image, 1993), 133.
17. Duin.
18. Ibid.
19. Mary Rourke, "Preacher, Writer and Woman's Best Friend," Los Angeles
Times, 20 August 1998.
20. T. D. Jakes, The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord (New York: G. P.
Putnam's Sons, 1998), 34.
21. Jakes, Woman Thou Art Loosed! 137.
22. "When the Bishop Speaks, People Listen," Charisma, November 1996,
39.
23. T. D. Jakes, Loose That Man and Let Him Go! (Tulsa: Albury Press,
1995), 42.
24. G. Richard Fisher, "Get Ready for T. D. Jakes: The Velcro Bishop
with Another Gospel," The Quarterly Journal, April-June 1997, 9.
25. Ibid., 4, 7.
26. T. D. Jakes discussing Kenneth Copeland, Praise the Lord, TBN, 28
September 1998.
27. 8 October 1998 e-mail from Calvin Milner, T. D. Jakes Ministries, to
Bob Hunter of CRI.
28. Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, anniversary ed.
(Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997), 28.
29. T. D. Jakes Ministries, "Ministry Beliefs," 27 April 1998
(http://www.tdjakes.net/ministry/believe.html). In late 1997, CRI
Coordinator of Research, Sam Wall, printed out from the T. D. Jakes
Ministries Web site an undated doctrinal statement that states, "There is
one God...eternally existing in three Persons..." (on file at CRI). A few
months later Wall noticed that the statement was changed to "three
Manifestations."
30. T. D. Jakes Ministries, "Doctrinal Statement for T. D. Jakes/Potter's
House Ministries," 18 March 1999
(http://www.tdjakes.net/ministry/doctrine.html).
31. For background on modalism see Louis Berkhof, The History of
Christian Doctrines (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1937).
32. Living by The Word, radio interview with T. D. Jakes, KKLA 99.5, Los
Angeles, 23 and 30 August 1998.
33. David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God (Hazelwood, MO: Word Aflame
Press, 1983), 142.
34. Living by the Word, radio interview.
35. T. D. Jakes, Anointing Fall on Me (Landham, MD: Pneuma Life, 1997),
7.
36. Bernard, 143.
37. Telephone conversation between CRI's Sam Wall and Pastor Lawrence
Robinson, 29 April 1998. Charisma magazine in a sympathetic treatment of
Oneness Pentecostals noted that Jakes has "Oneness roots." (J. Lee Grady,
"The Other Pentecostals," Charisma, June 1997
[http://www.charisma.net/strang/cm/stories/cu197105.html].)
38. E-mail sent to Pastor Lawrence Robinson by CRI, 1 May 1998 and 12
May 1998.
39. Miller.
40. T. D. Jakes Ministries Web site, "Ministry Staff."
41. Christianity Today, 12 January 1998, 56, and The Quarterly Journal,
Editorial, January-March 1999, 2.
42. Telephone conversation between CRI's Sam Wall and Elder Mike
Pearson, 16 October 1998.
43. James R. White, "Loving the Trinity," Christian Research Journal 21,
no. 4 (1999): 23.
44. Gregory A. Boyd, Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1992), 12.
45. Millard J. Erickson, Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1986), 106.
46. See J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (San Francisco:
HarperSan Francisco, 1960), 119.
47. E-mail from Gordon Lewis posted on the Apologetics Resources list
(AR-talk), 19 March 1999.
48. James R. White, The Forgotten Trinity (Minneapolis: Bethany House,
1998), 153.
49. Miller.
50. Woman Thou Art Loosed Conference, 29 July 1999, broadcast the same
day on TBN.
51. Jakes, Loose That Man and Let Him Go! 123.
52. Ibid., 123-24.
53. Ibid., 124.
54. Pam Lambert and Michelle McCalope, "Soul Support," People, 9
November 1998.
55. Miller.
56. Kaylois Henry, "Bishop Jakes Is Ready, Are You?" The Dallas Observer
Magazine, 20 June 1996, 31.
57. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Word, 1997),
1776.
58. Jack Finnegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1972), 27-33.
59. "Doctrinal Statement."
60. Jakes, Woman Thou Art Loosed! 52.
61. "Doctrinal Statement."
62. Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Dallas: Word, 1997), 16.
63. Gustav Niebuhr and Laurie Goodstein, "The Preachers: A Special
Report - New Wave of Evangelists Vying for National Pulpit," The New York
Times Archives, 1 January 1999 (http://archives.nytimes.com).
Chuck Stamford
news:JOudnXE1dN_A583U...@giganews.com...
Carl, I'm pasting something out of the above that is questionable according
to the body of evidence I've looked at on this man, Jakes.
"Jakes, who drives a Mercedes, has moved with his wife and their five
children to a luxurious seven-bedroom home with swimming pool in the White
Rock Lake area of Dallas. He said the home cost more than $1 million. 'I do
think we need some Christians who are in first class as well as coach,'
Jakes said."15
According to the notes at the end of the above article, this is a quote from
Jim Jones, "Rising-star evangelist ministers to interracial congregation,"
The Fort Worth Star Telegram, Aug. 11, 1996. It also may well be incorrect
in its statement that Jakes gets his money for his house and his Mercedes
from his congregation. I saw elsewhere (I can't remember the source now,
and don't feel like digging back through the 20 or so webpages I looked at)
that he says his money comes from his book sales and speaking fees, not out
of the collection plate.
The guy is wrong without any embellishment or sloppy reporting by anyone.
God bless
Chuck
>
>
Carl
>
> Carl, I'm pasting something out of the above that is questionable according
> to the body of evidence I've looked at on this man, Jakes.
>
> "Jakes, who drives a Mercedes, has moved with his wife and their five
> children to a luxurious seven-bedroom home with swimming pool in the White
> Rock Lake area of Dallas. He said the home cost more than $1 million. 'I do
> think we need some Christians who are in first class as well as coach,'
> Jakes said."15
>
> According to the notes at the end of the above article, this is a quote from
> Jim Jones, "Rising-star evangelist ministers to interracial congregation,"
> The Fort Worth Star Telegram, Aug. 11, 1996. It also may well be incorrect
> in its statement that Jakes gets his money for his house and his Mercedes
> from his congregation. I saw elsewhere (I can't remember the source now,
> and don't feel like digging back through the 20 or so webpages I looked at)
> that he says his money comes from his book sales and speaking fees, not out
> of the collection plate.
>
> The guy is wrong without any embellishment or sloppy reporting by anyone.
>
The source may be incorrect and yet Jakes may be misrepresenting his
income sources. The Word-Faith group of preachers driving the
expensive cars and living in multiple large homes have shown
themselves to be fairly consistently vague (at best) or deceptive (at
worst) when it comes to how they came about their money. T.D. Jakes
does have a history of not being forthright and has been caught not
telling the truth on various items so I have a hard time trusting what
he claims. With that said, I also have not clue as to this "Jim Jones"
reporter from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram and how accurate his
reporting is so I cannot say one way or the other if it is absolutely
true or not, however I will not rule out the possibility that his
article could be true and accurate. I presented the two articles "as
is" just to show what some have found about Jakes. There are other
investigative articles about him out there. From a Biblical
standpoint, it has been determined that he has strayed from sound
Biblical doctrine. From a personal standpoint, there are enough
unanswered questions about his business practices and income sources
to make me wary. With those two areas in mind, I, in good conscience,
recommend or endorse Jakes as a reliable, Biblical preacher. There are
other issues I have with Jakes but those two general points are two
rather large general ones that stand out.
With that said, let me also state that I have issues with the whole
Word-Faith movement. In a nutshell the WF movement is a "love of
money" theology run amok. There is a whole slew of preachers (the late
Kenneth Hagin {considered the "father" of the modern word-faith
movement}, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Peter
Popoff, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo
and of course, Paul and Jan Crouch) in that category who are clearly
unBiblical in their prosperity message. Now some of them may have
started out sincere and soundly Biblical but somewhere along the way
money became their focus and those individuals have trained other
money-hungry "preachers" wrapping greed in a skin of Scripture
(wrongly divided Scripture). The said thing is that when some of them
get caught outright (Peter Popoff for example), they eventually come
back and con more people out of their money. I don't know how many
scams these hucksters perpetrate. "Miracle oil," "prayer cloths
(actually cheap paper towels)," "miracle prayer rugs (actually a
picture of a rug)," "miracle mannah," "miracle spring water," etc.
These are just some of the example of scams put out by the word-faith
"preachers" trying to get people to send them money. And don't get me
started on the so-called "healings" that are anything but. I have a
very low opinion of the word-faith (e.g. - "name-it-and-claim-it")
movement based upon years of personal research. These individuals,
IMHO, are examples of false teachers trying to deceive even the elect.
So much has been written about the word-faith movement documenting the
false teachings and abhorant believes held and taught by these
individuals that it would take a lengthy post to list all the ones I
know of. One book that I can and do recommend that gives a good
overview from a Biblical standpoint is "The Word-Faith Controversy" by
Robert M. Bowman, Jr. (unfortunately it's out of print).
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
dolf
or woman', he said. It came from the 'language of creation, despising
which would mean self-destruction for humans'. Gender theories, he said,
led to man's 'auto-emancipation' from creation and Creator." [Pope
Benedict's media statements on 'Saving humanity from homosexual or
transsexual behaviour was as important as protecting the environment'
Courtesy BBC News 23 December 2008]
- http://www.grapple.id.au/Chronicles/images/enneadgrapple.gif
Guardian Snow (aka phoenix...@yahoo.com.au /
snowp...@eck.net.au): "Death by Grace: Most of the Christians I know,
speak of faith without works. They do this because they do not
understand the nature of sin. They have subscribed to a lie that says
that sin and death are a law. Yehoshua Messiah spoke clearly about the
errors of the Christian church but because they have no desire to truly
follow the Messiah, the Christian church is a church of pure Pharisees
doctrine.
If you continue to disobey believing in infinite grace, it only gets
worse. Sin is death to your soul like a car accident, you might walk
away being hit by a car but the damage stays with you and it takes a
long time to heal.
"Elohim is a righteous judge. And El is enraged every day, If one does
not repent! He sharpens His sword, He bends His bow and makes it ready,
and He has prepared for Himself instruments of death, He makes His
arrows hot for pursuers. See, he who is bound with wickedness, and has
conceived trouble and brought forth falsehood, He has made a pit and dug
it out, and falls into the ditch he made!" [Psalm 7:11-15]
If you continue to sin, you are just another accident waiting to happen
and one of these times, you will have dug a ditch to deep to climb out
of... so stop digging your own grave. Just a like a car accident can
change your life and scar you forever, so it’s the same with sin... I’ll
bet many of you already have a lot of scars and you’ve become so
apathetic you look for people to hate and people that tell you truth are
a good target because we don’t hold mans tradition that says, “Love
believes all things”.. No it doesn’t... you love your children but you
know when they tell lies and you don’t love it... it breaks your heart
to hear a lie from the mouths of babes but why do we lie to them first
and teach them Santa/Satan Clause?
Nous: 15
Time: 20:45 (24 hrs)
Date: 01 February, 2008
Torah: #40 #2 #5 %81 = #47
Tao: Mastering Guiding Discourse/ Revealers of Virtue
I-Ching: H61 - Inner Truth
Tetra: #1 - Centre
Myth: Latin: Solus {Alone; Eternal God} Alt: Lakbel {Journey in the
Circuit of God} {
1. HELPS IN CONSOLATION AND THOSE WHO WISH TO HAVE CHILDREN
2. MORALS
3. RELIGION & PIETY
4. Smat
} Partial Solar Eclipse 25 December 2000
- http://www.grapple.id.au/angels.html?date=2008.2.1
***xtbc...............
. There is a whole slew of preachers (the late
Kenneth Hagin {considered the "father" of the modern word-faith
movement}, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Peter
Popoff, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo
>>>>>>---------->
Positive proof you can not descern.
xtbc
Terry
"***xtbc..............." <Coffee_is_...@caffine.com> wrote in message
news:c2b82$49518335$4ad7a5a4$16...@FUSE.NET...
Greg, I would like to as you a couple of questions:
1) Is there any individual listed in Carl's list which you think is a false
teacher?
2) How do you make the determination as to who is, and who is not a false
teacher?
In Christ,
Terry
***xtbc...............
"Terry" <tw...@REMOVEatt.net> wrote in message
news:7Cg4l.15388$ZP4....@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com...
>
> "***xtbc..............." <Coffee_is_...@caffine.com> wrote in
> message news:c2b82$49518335$4ad7a5a4$16...@FUSE.NET...
>>
>> "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
>> news:91a9ad83-61d6-438c...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
>> . There is a whole slew of preachers (the late
>> Kenneth Hagin {considered the "father" of the modern word-faith
>> movement}, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
>> Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Peter
>> Popoff, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo
>> and of course, Paul and Jan Crouch) in that category who are ....
>>
>>>>>>>>---------->
>>
>> Positive proof you can not descern.
>>
>> xtbc
>>
>
> Greg, I would like to as you a couple of questions:
>
> 1) Is there any individual listed in Carl's list which you think is a
> false teacher?
Yes
>
> 2) How do you make the determination as to who is, and who is not a false
> teacher?
The word of God and the Holy Ghost.
>
>
> In Christ,
> Terry
One prophet, one charlatan, every Charismatic on earth cringed as they read
this list.
Merry Christmas Terry
In my thought and prayers this Christmas Season.
Carl
"***xtbc..............." <Coffee_is_...@caffine.com> wrote in message
news:c2b82$49518335$4ad7a5a4$16...@FUSE.NET...
>
Positive proof I have shows what I have claimed to be true.
Carl
by Tricia Tillin
The Errors of the Word-of-Faith Movement (Part One of Four)
This four-part study is designed to demonstrate, using verbatim transcripts
of the tapes of Kenneth Copeland, some of the errors in the "Positive
Confession" movement.
You may find it hard to believe some of the things Copeland is reported
as saying! But trust me, there has been NO tampering with the tapes. Not
only did Copeland say these things in the 1980's when this study was first
created (as a tape set called "Wells Without Water" on the Banner Ministries
tape list) but he continues to reiterate them up to this very moment. So do
many, many others in the Word of Faith leadership.
These teachers are totally unrepentant of their heresies, despite having
been approached by countless brethren who tried to point out their
unscriptural teachings. They continue to teach doctrines that are dishonest
in their scriptural content, deceptive in their outcome, and destructive to
the genuine faith of a Christian.
Part One: FORCES OR FRUIT?
Below are a number of statements by Kenneth Copeland taken from
recordings of his messages. Kenneth Copeland has been chosen because he is
the most well-known Positive Confession minister in this country, [England]
but the teachings are common to them all.
Ministers like Kenneth Hagin, Ray MacCauley, Oral Roberts, Jerry
Savelle, and many others, all teach word-for-word the same doctrines you are
going to read in this article so the same reasoning applies to them all. All
the Word of Faith teachers have these doctrines with very little variation.
Now to begin with, some of you may be questioning why anyone sees the
need to expose false doctrines in ministries which seem to be so good, so
fruitful. After all, the work done around the world by these Word of Faith
ministries is enormous. Hundreds of thousands (so they say) are being
reached with the gospel, and not only that, but many claim to have been
healed and delivered and had their lives totally changed as a result of the
Copelands' ministries.
It is not my intention to condemn every one of these works as false. If
someone has been truly saved or healed, then I thank God for it.
As well as that, I myself have benefited from some of the teaching of
the Word of Faith movement. We do need to be positive in our attitude to
Scripture. We do need to resist the Devil. We do need to praise God and
boldly pray and have faith in God. All that is good. But whatever is good
must also be holy and doctrinally correct if it is a Christian ministry.
It's not good enough just to be productive or positive or fruitful. We
have to be scripturally orthodox. We have to avoid heresy or sooner or later
we'll be going down the path of the devil and leading many others by the
nose along with us.
I can't rejoice that someone is saved simply to be dragged into heresy.
God forbid. So I believe where error exists we ought to expose it. If, after
reading this article, you are not convinced, I beg you to keep an open mind
and to go to God in earnest prayer about it. Ask Him to show you the truth.
So, first of all, we're going to review a few quotes from a tape called
"The Forces of the Recreated Human Spirit" by Ken Copeland. This is a
message that has appeared numerous times in his teachings and in his
magazine.
Copeland: ".and the power of God toward you provided certain things.Now,
we're going to be talking about the major forces that are alive inside the
re-born human spirit. We're going to find out what these forces are, and
then find out how to release each one of them. Each one of these forces is
alive on the inside of the human heart that has been reborn of God."
Now, notice the subtle change here. Copeland rightly says that the
power of God brings us alive in our spirit, but then he says the result is
that some forces are imparted there which we need to learn to release.
Right away we've stopped depending on the Holy Spirit for power, and we've
started looking for a technique to use what WE now possess. But, as a
Christian, we have nothing that we have not been given by God.
Our spirits DO have powers of course, but Adam proved that those powers, if
he used them himself, only led him AWAY from God and into sin. Some witches
and satanists have learned how to release supernatural forces in their
spirit, but it's done nothing but damage to themselves and to others.
Copeland: "These forces that are residing in there are there for a purpose.
We find the force of the Faith, we'll find the force of Righteousness, we'll
find the force of Wisdom, and we'll find the force of the Love of God. Now,
there is something that I want to say right here.Eternal life is imparted to
a human spirit when a man makes Jesus Christ the Lord of his life. "Eternal
Life" - that's what the Bible calls this power force, that causes a miracle.
Actually, it works a good deal.the.the way it's formed up in my mind, the
illustration, the picture, the Lord's pictures that are in my mind about it,
would be just like injecting a life force of some kind into a man's heart."
This again is a subtle change. It takes us away from God and toward our
own "godhood".
Life is certainly given to man when he's born again. When you receive
Jesus, you receive LIFE; that's why. Because HE HIMSELF is Life.
The Bible says, in 1 John 5:11, "The life is in the Son; he who has the
Son has life; he who has not the Son has not life".
And, in John 17:3, we read "and this is eternal life: that they know
Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent".
What IS eternal life then? IS it a power force that's "injected into
us" when we accept God, like electricity? No. Eternal life, ALL true life is
God. God is life. There IS no true life apart from God.
We come alive only because God Himself takes up residence in our
spirit. As He promises in John 16:23, "If a man love me, my Father will love
him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him".
And listen to THIS word of God: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine, neither can
you unless you abide in me. Apart from me you can do nothing." (John
15:4,5.)
We HAVE nothing, we ARE nothing, and we can DO nothing. We are DEAD
unless God comes by His Holy Spirit to take up residence within. And THEN do
we have something? No! All we have, actually, is a privileged relationship
to the One who has everything. We can boast of NOTHING.
We have no power, except the power of the Holy Spirit - and that
doesn't belong to us at all.
Copeland: "And, what I'd like to really get into is some of these areas
about how this force of eternal life (that includes these forces that I've
named off here to you - the major forces) how this can be used in our daily
lives."
As an example of the importance of these forces that exist in the human
spirit, and their practical use in daily life, Copeland says that he was
asked to pray for a brain-damaged little girl:
Copeland: "And they asked us to pray and so we did. And I laid hands on her
and the Lord spoke to me, just as I laid my hands on her, and I never would
have thought of this, I wouldn't have thought of it in a hundred years. It's
just something, you know, some of those things of God, they just never enter
our thinking unless He puts them there, because we think so low. We think so
carnally.think on such a low level, you see, compared to the way God thinks,
and actually the way He intended MAN to think.
And just as I laid hands on her, I started to pray and pray this: I started
to say 'God - I want You to use Your healing power and I want You to heal my
little sister's mind, and heal her brain'. See, actually, (and now think
with me just a little bit).you are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live
in a body. Now your mind, you see, the mind is in that spirit-man, and the
brain is the housing. The brain is the physical housing of the mind. Can you
see that? The brain is the physical housing, that's where the mind lives.
That's the physical organ that the mind operates in, that's where the mind
and the body come together. All right?
I was going to pray.see she had brain damage - wasn't anything wrong with
her MIND. But she was having a hard time making it function, her brain
wasn't working right.it had been damaged you see. And, so I said. I started
to pray that. I said, 'Lord', you know, 'I want You to heal the physical
organ of her brain - use Your power', and then He said this to me.why, I
nearly came plumb off the floor when I realised the possibilities that have
been opened to us in the spirit world by Jesus Christ and by sending His
Holy Spirit - you see - to bring us over into getting to operate like He
operates. [my emphasis]
He said this to me, He said 'There's no use to you even praying that!'.
I said 'Well, huh! Why?'.
He said 'Coz you don't NEED that kind of a miracle.'
I said 'Well WHY don't I need that kind of a miracle?!'.
He said 'Isn't she born again?'.
I said 'Yes sir, she is.' (Little old girl filled with the Holy
Spirit.lovely little girl.)
He said 'Don't your own statistics prove that the finest minds in the World
today are only operating on about 10 to 12 percent of their mental
capacity?'
I said 'Yes sir', you know, that's what the book says. [Implication: that
the Bible says this, which of course it DOES NOT! - my note]
He said 'She's GOT 90% of it there that she's not even USING!' And I saw it!
I saw it! He said 'You pray, and you believe God', and He said 'I will rise
up on the inside of her'. He said 'Tell her parents to feed her with the
Word, and to teach her the Word, and feed her the Word and indoctrinate her
on the Word of God - the living Word of Faith - and cause her to live and
operate the Faith and let that eternal life that is residing in her open up
the 90% of her brain, her mind.' and so forth, '.and mental capacities that
are not even being used yet', He said, 'and she'll be smarter than anybody
'coz they're still only operating on about 10 percent'."
Now, there are several points here. He says some alarming things. For
instance, that if we learn to use these spirit forces, we can operate in the
spirit world just as God does. Presumably, we could create new worlds! And
if THAT isn't becoming gods, I don't know what is.
And then he says "the mind is the spirit and it lives in the physical
housing of the brain". Now that's seriously wrong, and it's surprising how
many Christians make this mistake.
We have physical brains, and the mind is the result of its thinking
processes, and so are emotions, intellect, reasoning, will-power, perception
and so on. Animals also have minds and they also think and feel things - but
they DON'T have spirits (or else Jesus would have to die for the animal
world as well as for men and women, and to kill ANY creature at all would be
a sin worthy of death.)
No, the mind IS NOT the human spirit, as Copeland claims. Put a mind to
sleep, and rational thought stops - but the spirit of man is still alive and
active!
There's something FAR deeper than a mind in a man. Somebody can lay in
a coma - brain dead to all outward appearances, but something in them is
alive, and it's sometimes revived. That deeper being is the spirit of man,
and it's MUCH deeper than your mind. Haven't you ever sensed that? Your mind
told you one thing, but something deeper told you otherwise.
The mind, actually, is part of the soul of man. The Greek word for the
soul is the "psyche". That's where we get "psychic powers" from - from the
mind, from the soul. The soul is a mysterious thing but it could be defined
as that self-conscious living part of the human being that provides the
"humanity" of our race. It is the sum total of our personality, perceptions,
education, thoughts, feelings, experiences, desires, loves and hatreds. Adam
was made "a living soul" but not a born-again spirit. It was Jesus who
opened the Way to spiritual unity with God:
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last
Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from
heaven. 1 Cor 15:45-47
The soul and mind are NATURAL. They are allied to the EARTH, and not to
heavenly things. They are not the spirit. (There's certainly powerful forces
in our minds, but they're nothing to do with God's Spirit.)
[NOTE: The soul is ever-living, and this is why unrepentant sinners, without
the Spirit of God in their spirits, must continue to exist after physical
death. For scriptures about the mind, soul and spirit, please see the notes
at the end of this file.]
God wants us to be SPIRITUAL, not psychic. What's the difference? Well,
if all you've got to rely on is your mind then you're in trouble. But God
commands us to be ruled by the Holy Spirit. To walk with Him. To be alive in
the Spirit to His guidance.
Let's look at just one Scripture that shows this difference. 1
Corinthians 14:14&15. Paul says "If I pray in a tongue my spirit prays, but
my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit, and I
will pray with the mind ALSO".
There's a difference there, isn't there - between the spirit and the
mind? Our minds are to do with the earthly life, but our SPIRITS are to do
with heavenly things. The powers of the mind are soulish, psychic. But
SPIRITUAL power comes from God the Holy Spirit. That's the only way we can
have power - in union with the Holy Spirit.moving in HIS will, under HIS
direction. Not just as WE think or imagine.
Also, I want you to consider what Copeland said about the capacity of
our brains. Isn't it curious that what the LORD told him is in fact nothing
less than New Age propaganda? As far as I've been able to discover, there's
been NO real, reliable scientific experiment to discover how much of our
brain we use. How could you ever measure it? As far as doctors know, we use
MANY different parts of our brain all at the same time.
God gave us our brains, and we use them. Is God so inefficient that,
after thousands upon thousands of years of human history, we are still only
utilising a very small portion of our brains? If you have ever watched
medical documentaries on TV, showing brain scans, you will have noticed how
many different areas of the brain are active.
I'm sure we COULD stretch our intellects more than we do, but as for
having 90 percent of our brain capacity still vacant.that's unscientific.
And it's one of those so-called "facts" put about by New-Agers to induce us
to develop mind powers. They want us to get into all sorts of mental
exercises, like meditation, to try and "tap" the hidden resources of our
minds. They're asking us to unleash psychic forces - the hidden powers of
the mind.
But is Kenneth Copeland teaching the same thing, when he locates the
mind in the reborn spirit? Is he actually asking us to learn how to use the
forces of the MIND, and not walk in the Spirit - as the Scripture commands.
And secondly, isn't it wicked, really, that here is this little girl
(three or four or five - that's all) and she's denied the healing of God
because God (supposedly) is asking her, at that age, to confess the Word and
live in the Spirit sufficiently to develop the hidden resources of her
brain.
If her brain is damaged in one area, there's NO WAY that she'll restore
that area by confessing scriptures - even if she could be trained somehow to
do that.. She needs a miracle of healing. But, according to Copeland, she
DOESN'T need one, and she's denied it - on the basis of what HE hears from
God.
Copeland: "Then, in Galatians 5:16 'This I say then: walk in the Spirit and
you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh'. Now we're talking about the
spirit and the flesh; we're NOT talking about the Holy Spirit.He doesn't
HAVE any flesh. You see that? We're talking about the recreated HUMAN
spirit.
Now, actually you see, in the Greek text there are not any capital letters -
and that's where the problem comes in. The translator's put capitals in the
English text at their own discretion. It's not in the Greek text. You can't
read the Greek Bible and tell the difference between your spirit and the
Holy Spirit unless you know what you're reading. Because there are not any
capitals there to do that. Now that was capitalized at the privilege of the
translators. Now notice what He says.for in the 17th verse: "For the flesh
lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. These are
contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you
would." Well the Holy Ghost's not lusting against your flesh! Is he? He's
not. The Bible didn't say 'When the Spirit of Lust comes".
Now we see result of the previous teaching, because now he's
re-translated Galatians 5:16 to mean that we walk by the desires, or forces,
of our own spirit, instead of God's spirit. "Walk by the Spirit" now means,
according to Copeland - walk BY YOUR OWN HUMAN SPIRIT!
And he misunderstands the word translated "lust". It simply means
"desires". God's Spirit certainly has lusts in THAT sense. He has MANY
desires: for you to walk righteously, and so on. But our flesh RESISTS those
intentions. That's what Galatians 5:17 means.we resist God.
And verse 22: "But the fruit of the Spirit" - contrasts with the flesh.
Is this the fruit produced by YOUR human spirit, or is it the fruit of the
Spirit of God?
And see verse 25: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the
Spirit" - it's the same as verse 16, which Kenneth Copeland said was your
human spirit. But did we really come alive by our human spirit? Or was it by
the Spirit of God?
You see, he's WRONG when he says it's OUR spirit; he's trying to prove
that these forces belong to US, not to God.
God doesn't seem to figure much in Copeland's philosophy. God is simply
the Agency who makes it POSSIBLE for us to have power.THEN we go out and use
it. But, really, Christian living is ALL ABOUT God, because without God's
leading we don't know what to do, what to say, where to go - without the
direction of God's Holy Spirit we are totally sunk because we will only
fulfil (as the scripture says) the desires of our FLESH, which as opposed to
God's Holy Spirit.
Copeland: "Now let's go down to the 22nd verse and talk about the "Fruit of
the Spirit". Now, you remember last night we talked about the Vine and the
Branches? Well, you see, the fruit is borne by the BRANCH, isn't it? The
fruit doesn't grow out of that vine, the branch grows out of the vine and
then the fruit grows off of the branch. So you can see we're not talking
primarily about the HOLY Spirit; this is not the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
(You have to understand, folks, we're not dogmatic about this sort of
thing - I mean the Holy Spirit IS all these things; we are borne of Him
that's the reason these things are IN there.)
But what He is pointing out is, that, in the reborn human spirit, these
forces are ALIVE. As we begin to learn these things, we begin to find out
that these forces are in there. If we learn what produces them, what feeds
them, and what releases them, then you don't have any excuse for not USING
them. And they are more powerful than ANY force that can bind any part of
your spirit, any part of your mind, any part of your body, any part of your
social life, any part of your eternity. Hallelujah! There's no demon in
Hell, there's no law that ANY devil can pull on you and operate on you
that's bigger than these forces. Against these there IS no law. Praise God!
Amen? Oh listen, that thrilled me, when I began to see what was behind
this.that if I would see these forces that are inside my spirit-man, if I
would begin to operate, you know, with these, that there was no devil in
Hell big enough to stop me. All I had to do was make the decision to do it,
and then follow the Word of God and do what it said do, and I would
INEVITABLY come out victoriously." [My emphasis throughout]
Copeland is speaking here of forces that WE have and that WE learn to
use. Who's in control here? Is it God? Or is it man? Who's ruling the
body.is it God, or is it man? Who is making the decisions? Is it God, or
man?
And can we REALLY assume that God wants us to utterly victorious in
EVERY circumstance according to OUR way of thinking?
Was Paul victorious, according to human reasoning, when he was being
beaten and imprisoned? It didn't seem so. He should have used these forces
to escape persecution. And was Jesus always victorious according to man's
way of thinking? It didn't seem so. But He was following a higher way than
man's way.
God's direction doesn't always get us out of trouble or suffering. Sometimes
we're called to endure suffering, in order to grow as Christians.
Copeland: "For the law of the Spirit of Life, in Christ Jesus, has made me
FREE from the law of sin and death." Now that is the major heading title of
these forces: The Law of the Spirit of Life. That's the head law. Down under
that we have these sub-titles: The Force of Faith, the Force of
Righteousness, the Force of Wisdom, and the Force of Love. Now these things
that we have read here in the fifth chapter of Galatians, all of these
forces come under one or the other of those major four. [.] It's impossible
to please God without faith. And so what we need to do, see, is learn how to
operate the Faith one, then we can put that one into operation, by faith we
will learn how to activate the other three! [my emphasis] Now, faith is born
in a human heart at the time of conversion.ALL these forces are. Let's turn
over to the Book of Ephesians. Now, from the Book of Ephesians, in the 2nd
chapter and the 8th verse, look at this: 'For, by grace are ye saved.', in
other words, the force of faith did it. '.that not of yourselves." - now
that force wasn't IN there when you got saved. The grace of God had to PUT
it in there - as a gift. I'll read the rest of the verse: '.and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God'. Hallelujah! What? Just the grace? No!
That faith! The force of faith that God had done."
In Romans 4:2, we read "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto
him as righteousness". And verse 5 says "To him that worketh not but
believeth on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as
righteousness". So it's clear then, that saving faith is BELIEVING GOD.
Abraham was given certain promises by God, and he believed them. It
wasn't a force, or an injection of power. He exercised faith in believing
what God had said. When we hear the gospel, and believe the Word of God,
we're doing the same thing. We're exercising faith.
Abraham was not a New Testament believer, yet the Bible says he had
faith in God. Other passages also prove this. The centurion who begged Jesus
to heal his servant was not born again as we understand it, yet Jesus
testified that he had "great faith"(Matt 8:8-10)
How did these people, not converted in the classic New Testament way
(for Jesus had not yet died) come to have faith? Copeland says this "force"
is not given until a man is converted! He says: "now that force wasn't IN
there when you got saved. The grace of God had to PUT it in there - as a
gift."
How then does a man get saved? Copeland says the force of faith does
it. But is that correct? Is what he says even LOGICAL? Think about it - he
says above that "it's impossible to please God without faith" but then that
God does not give us "the force of faith" until we are converted! Logically,
if that "force" doesn't enter into us until we're converted, how in the
world is anyone to be saved?! It's as if I said to you "You can have my
house as soon as you live in it, but you can't come in until you own my
house". it's that ridiculous.
Romans 10 shows us how we're saved: Verse 9 says "we confess with our
mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart God has raised Him from the
dead". Verse 10 says "with the heart man believeth". With the MIND? No! With
the HEART.
We believe in God's salvation, and so we're saved. This is not an
impersonal power or force at work but an activity of the human heart - a
decision, a commitment, a turning around and a change of heart. Faith means
trusting wholly and unreservedly, and we are saved when we put our faith in
Jesus Christ alone for redemption, believing on Him. (I don't mean to deny
God's activity in our redemption, but my real intention is to refute
Copeland's error here.)
Some will argue that there is saving faith that is given to us to bring
us to God - we are drawn by the Holy Spirit for no one can come to Jesus for
salvation unless the Father draws him.( John 6:44) They will say that
Copeland is referring to the gift of faith for salvation in Eph 2:8 "For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God"
Yet even this is WRONG! The Greek construction of the scripture does not
allow for it. The GIFT is not FAITH - but SALVATION.
I quote from Adam Clarke's commentary:
"By grace are ye saved, through faith in Christ. This is a true doctrine,
and continues to be essential to the salvation of man to the end of the
world. But whether are we to understand, faith or salvation as being the
gift of God? This question is answered by the Greek text: tee gar chariti
este sesoosmenoi dia tees pisteoos; kai touto ouk ex humoon; Theou to
dooron, ouk ex ergoon; hina mee tis kaucheeseetai. By this grace ye are
saved through faith; and THIS (touto (grk 5124), this salvation) not of you;
it is the gift of God, not of works: so that no one can boast."
"The relative touto (grk 5124), this, which is in the neuter gender, cannot
stand for pistis (grk 4102), faith, which is the feminine; but it has the
whole sentence that goes before for its antecedent."
But it may be asked: Is not faith the gift of God? Yes, as to the grace by
which it is produced; but the grace or power to believe, and the act of
believing, are two different things.
Without the grace or power to believe no man ever did or can believe; but
with that power the act of faith is a man's own. God never believes for any
man, no more than he repents for him; the penitent, through this grace
enabling him, believes for himself---; the power to believe may be present
long before it is exercised, else, why the solemn warnings with which we
meet everywhere in the word of God, and threatenings against those who do
not believe? Is not this a proof that such persons have the power but do not
use it? They believe not, and therefore are not established. This,
therefore, is the true state of the case: God gives the power, man uses the
power thus given, and brings glory to God: without the power no one can
believe; with it, any one may."
If only Kenneth Copeland were as wise as he pretends. God supposedly
gives Copeland great revelations which are a contradiction of His own
written Word! Copeland says the force of faith is not present in a man's
heart before he is saved, and that God injects it as a free gift at that
moment. On the contrary, the BIBLE says that:
" faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom 10:17
The Bible does speak of a spiritual GIFT of faith, but that is
something else again. In 1 Corinthians 12:9 for example it's speaking of a
specific work of God in a believer, a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in a
mature Christian leading to works of God. The gift of faith in that sense is
a gift or administration of the Holy Spirit.
But saving faith is our response to the promises of God in Christ. It
isn't a power or a force.
Copeland: "Now watch this; 'And what is the exceeding greatness of His power
to us-ward who believe?', 'what is the exceeding greatness of His power to
us-ward who believe?' - now here's what power He's talking about -
'according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in
heavenly places far above every all principality, power, and right
dominion, ., not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and
has put all things under His feet'.
Now, He has said here, you see, 'What is that power to us', what is it? The
power of the cross to us-ward who believe - that's what he wrote over in 1
Corinthians you see. And he said 'that power that He worked when he raised
Jesus from the dead' (you see, that started in Hell didn't it? Jesus was in
Hell when God raised Him up, He wasn't in that tomb, He was in Hell. That
started there.) The power which He wrought in Christ.He was made to be sin
for us. Something had to be done about that. That great and mighty power
that God worked; He wrought it, He worked it, in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead, and made Him alive, and raised Him up into a heavenly place.
(Now that's from the bottom to the top. The very bottom to the very top.)
And made Him sit in heavenly places, far above ALL dominion, far above ALL
principality, over ALL power, and made what?
Then He says 'What is that power which He worked in Christ, when He did
that, what does it do toward us who believe?' It's the SAME power which he
wrought in Him, see? He worked THAT power in Him. 'What is that power.', he
says, '.that was worked in us'? What he says: it did us the same way."
Copeland asks "What IS this power, this force? And how did it get into
us? And what does it do?"
That leads us almost into our next subject, which is the spiritual death of
Jesus, and the result of that death. The Copelands and the other Word of
Faith ministers believe that Jesus took the very sin-nature of the Devil,
and died spiritually, so that the Father had to bring Him alive in Hell.
We'll go into that teaching next. But you can see that he's saying here that
these forces which God gave to us are the same ones He gave to Jesus. Just
as God raised Jesus, and He became the first born-again man Copeland says,
just in the same way, God raises US and gives us the same power to live. So
Jesus is a sort of prototype, (they call this The Pattern Son - an old
Latter Rain term) and now we can all be the same as Him, because, when WE
believe the Word of God, we get the same injection of power as Jesus.
But what the Bible actually teaches, is that Jesus, because of His
perfection and sinlessness, defeated Death on our behalf, and consequently
He rose again to be our Lord and Saviour. Nobody else has done that. Nobody
else will EVER do that again. Salvation is in JESUS; Jesus only.
You're not saved in your own right, just because you believed the gospel.
You're saved because you've RECEIVED JESUS, and Jesus IS salvation.
You've got what He has, only because you're united with Him. One Spirit with
Him. Salvation doesn't really belong to you. God is in charge of the powers
of life and death, not you. You can't go out and start using power
indiscriminately. that's why Paul told us: if we've become alive by the
Spirit, then we must WALK in Him. Let your daily walk be controlled by God,
not by your own desires.
Copeland: "Well if it's the same power, and did the same job on you, when
you were dead in your sin trespasses, why would it have gotten weaker in
you? It's still there! The force, then, of Faith is the major life-force
residing on the inside of the reborn, recreated, human spirit. God put it
there, by His grace. And it is still there.
The Bible says that Jesus is "the Author" of our faith. He offered it; you
have enough. There's enough faith on the inside of you right now to do
anything you'll ever need on this earth.
Now, I want to go ahead and share this with you; it won't take but about a
minute. I got this coming to the class today. I was driving along there,
thinking about this, you know, the force of faith.the power of God. Did you
know Heaven operates on that force? That IS the predominant force that
Heaven operates on. OUR predominant force is the force of electricity. The
centre of all of our atoms and so forth are electronically controlled. You
know, if you studied physics at school you know that. The neutrons, and the
proteins [sic] and all that, you know, and there's electrical field, and
that even your physical body, you see, functions and operates on
electricity. And you can tell it too; you can build a lot of it up and then
get it static charged across the floor and then 'Zap!' - there's some
electricity in there. That's the predominant force in the natural world, and
faith is akin to it in the spirit world. That's the predominant force there.
And it originally came out of the heart of God. And it's predominant there.
And the Bible says that the light of His glory will light the whole Heavenly
City. Can you imagine a city lit by the force of faith?! I can - if you get
out of this scene that we're in, and get out of the carnal and get into the
spirit and begin to realise it. It's generated spiritually, praise God! And
lights the whole place. And actually you and I were supposed to function
that way. We weren't supposed to have old, smoky, automobiles and stuff like
that; why the thing ought to run on faith. There's enough cars that. think
about this a little bit.Jesus said that there's just a bit of it the size of
a mustard seed. That's bigger than a mustard seed; I don't even have
anything that little. A mustard seed.let's see. You've gotta.I tell you what
I've got; look here. The END of that little fingernail knife - just that
little end of it is about the size of a mustard seed. Now you can't even see
that from where you're sitting, it's just too tiny. Jesus said just that
much of it would blow a mountain into the ocean. Wooooh.what do you suppose
a quart jar full of it would do?! Glory be to God! What do you suspect about
a 428gallon tank of it would do? It'd light the Holy City - that's what it'd
do. How'd you like to have a gas tank full of that? Ain't no pollution come
from it. Every physical energy that we use is gone. You can't get it back
and use it again - there is an element of it gone, because it's consumed.
But what is the force that we were using, came from the inner heart, and was
produced by God's Words? There's no end to that, we can re-use it, re-feed
on it, re-operate on it, eternally. And that's just exactly what you're
gonna have to learn to do." [My emphasis throughout]
I find this part just amazing. Not only do we have some kind of power
source inside us which seems to have very little to do with God, and which
WE must learn to feed and release. Not only that, but now we learn that this
energy source is a kind of "superior electricity" that's used in Heaven. And
it's going to power the Holy City during the Millennium.
Copeland makes it quite plain that it's an energy source, not Jesus
living is us, that gives us life and power. He says this force of faith can
run cars and power cities. And where does it come from? Out of the heart of
God.
Now, God's power and love DO flow from His heart, but they're not
impersonal energy sources. God IS love, God IS life. His love is an
expression of Himself, just as Jesus is the Word of God - God's Word visibly
expressed. Well, even MORE so, we can't say that faith originally came out
of the heart of God, because faith requires an object of belief. you have to
believe IN something. What did God believe in?! Himself? Creation? Mankind?
No. Faith was born when it became necessary for us to believe in God,
for support and love, and protection and guidance and so on. Faith is man's
response to God's promises, not an impersonal energy source.
What is it that will light the City of God? It's God's glory. It will
be lit by the glory of God, simply because Jesus is there. God's power
belongs to God.
There may, perhaps, be spiritual powers that operate in a way similar
to electricity, but mankind has no business using them. Satan would LOVE for
us to discover spiritual power, and he'd turn it against God just as he did
long ago.
It is satan that is teaching man to develop power outside of God. He
wants mankind to be able to overthrow God's throne, and set HIM up - satan -
as the King. Copeland is treading a very dangerous path here.
Well, in part two, we'll look at this teaching of "Jesus died spiritually",
and we'll see just how central this teaching is to the Word of Faith
doctrine. We've seen how man supposedly has spirit forces inside him, but
next we're going to find out just how they got there, and why Copeland
believes that you can do anything you want with the power of faith.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
Scriptures that distinguish mind, soul and spirit:
Job 12:7-10 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls
of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall
teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth
not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand
is the soul of every living thing, and the breath (= wind, spirit) of all
mankind. (Beasts have souls, but human beings have spirits as well.)
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
1Thes 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart.
1 Cor 14:14-15 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit,
and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit,
and I will sing with the understanding also.
Man has his own spirit, not just the Holy Spirit of God:
Rom 8:16 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of God:
2 Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God.
1 Cor 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man
which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God.
The eternal nature of the man's soul:
Job 33:27-30 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and
perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his
soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all
these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from
the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
Job 33:21-22 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his
bones that were not seen stick out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the
grave, and his life to the destroyers.
Ps 16:10-11 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Matt 10:28 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy (not eliminate,
but ruin) both soul and body in hell (Compare Luke 4:34 Saying, Let us
alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come
to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God - demons cannot
be eliminated, but punished and bound.)
The separate nature of the spirit, as opposed to the soul or the flesh
(containing the mind):
:1 Cor 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
works is dead also. (A body without a mind is not necessarily dead, but
deranged or comatose.)
Col 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the
spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith
in Christ.
1 Cor 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered
together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Carl
by Tricia Tillin
The Errors of the Word-of-Faith Movement (Part TWO [a] of Four)
This four-part study is designed to demonstrate, using verbatim transcripts
of the tapes of Kenneth Copeland, some of the errors in the "Positive
Confession" movement.
You may find it hard to believe some of the things Copeland is reported
as saying! But trust me, there has been NO tampering with the tapes. Not
only did Copeland say these things in the 1980's when this study was first
created (as a tape set called "Wells Without Water" on the Banner Ministries
tape list) but he continues to reiterate them up to this very moment. So do
many, many others in the Word of Faith leadership.
These teachers are totally unrepentant of their heresies, despite having
been approached by countless brethren who tried to point out their
unscriptural teachings. They continue to teach doctrines that are dishonest
in their scriptural content, deceptive in their outcome, and destructive to
the genuine faith of a Christian.
Part Two(a): RE-BORN OR RAISED?
In part two, we are going to look at the Word of Faith doctrine called,
'JDS' or 'Jesus Died Spiritually'.
Most of the Positive Confession ministers teach this and it has
implications for us that go way beyond any of their other teachings. You may
not have come across this doctrine yet, but I believe that it is important
to grasp what is being said and to see what it means for believers, because
it is a most subtle and serious heresy and we need to be prepared to refute
it.
To understand how JDS doctrine has come about and why it would affect
our entire Christian walk, we have to start at the beginning and see how
faith ministers interpret the creation and fall of man. (Have your Bible
handy for this message because you will want to look up some of the readings
yourself, just to see what the Bible actually says.)
First of all then, we have to see the absolute priority of right
thinking and right speaking in faith ministries. What Copeland calls "the
principle of the inner image" is the first stage. This is forming an image
(visualising) the desired result or condition beforehand. Then the image is
created in reality by speaking forth words that accord to the inner image.
While Copeland does urge believers to make the Word of God (not new-age
positive self-image) the basis for forming the right inner image, his
methodology still follows the same trend as new-age philosophies.
He says, in the article "The Image of God in You" (Voice of Victory
March 1987) that "the Word has supernatural power. If you fill that Word
with faith and speak it out, it will work for you and change your
life...words are powerful... They are containers that carry faith...words
are so important that they can determine our eternal destiny...words can
destroy or they can create. They take an inner image and project it onto the
outside world..."
It is the word that has the power, Copeland says, rather than God. You
need to grasp this aspect of the Word-of-Faith movement or you will miss the
importance of the JDS doctrine.
Copeland states "God's word (the Bible) is a living thing. It has the
inherent power to cause itself to come to pass... God's word has within
itself the power to bring itself to pass..." (VOV March 1987)
This is apparently because God, in speaking his word, utilised just the
same spiritual laws, or forces, of faith that WE are now obliged to use in
our quest for health, wealth and success. "God energized his word --- God's
words are packed with faith..." (ibid) thus God's words are containers
packed with spiritual energy just waiting to be released when you speak them
out loud! The emphasis is shifted away from God, and Jesus, and the Holy
Spirit and placed on written and spoken words to achieve the end-result.
In their trust of the word, rather than God, the Word of Faith movement
is falling into the same heresy as metaphysical cults who believe in an
impersonal force in the universe, a force that is activated by the spoken
word.
The impersonal god-force of the cults is governed by spiritual laws,
just as we humans are governed and limited by the law of gravity for
example. The god of these cults is not All-powerful, but a Force that must
obey certain rules. Indeed, MANY of the Word of Faith doctrines can be found
sourced in esoteric philosophies such as "New Thought" which arose in the
19th century and Christian Science, which was a version of this teaching.
In the Oxford Encyclopaedia of Religion, the entry on 'New Thought'
reads almost like a Word-of-faith tract! Under the heading PRINCIPLES, it
lists "The reign of universal law", in that the spiritual and mortal world
are governed by immutable laws; also the teaching that "thoughts are forces"
that have cause and effect. New Thought said that "mind is the dominant
force in man" therefore transforming the mind by a proper understanding of
the laws of the universe (and learning how to interact with those laws) was
the most important principle in achieving progress and success, health and
prosperity. It also taught that "man is a microcosm of God" (i.e., ye are
gods).
In a new-age Internet document "Spiritual Healing of all Things, from
the Inside Out", Michael Connolly states:
"not only do we create our own reality but we create each other's reality
also -- and therein lies the blessing and the curse. ... our thoughts affect
reality and indeed magnetize and give life to those thoughts, feelings, and
experiences we hold in consciousness. ...From a healing perspective, the
restoration of health, balance, and life is a function of using the creative
potential we all have to project an image of restoration into the
out-of-balance condition. While simple in concept, it takes practice to
discipline the mind to look past appearances and hold a vision of wholeness.
This is where Faith comes in. As long as you doubt the effectiveness of your
visualization in bringing the healing you desire, you will have thoughts
that are at cross-purpose with your healing purpose and you will have mixed
results.... Faith in healing is the certainty that the image you project is
a reality over any other appearance that may be present. It is more than
belief. Belief doesn't mean knowing. Faith comes from knowing with
certainty. The more certain you are of your healing, the faster the results
will manifest in the reality around you.... I believe miracles will be
possible for many of us... But we have to get into right mindedness in order
to call forth those miracles."
There are many concepts here that word-of-Faith followers will be
familiar with, including the need for a right inner image, the creative
power of words and thoughts, the need to discipline the mind to see a new
reality based on the truth about ourselves in God, and the visualising of
the right outcome as important to bringing it forth into reality.
Both the new-age document above, and much of the Copeland ministry is
based upon the same spiritual principles - the inner image and the creative
word. This requires the believer to follow spiritual discipline in
transforming the mind, and in learning to co-operate with immutable
spiritual laws in order to make God's word effective in reality.
You see, when it is our thoughts and words that do the work, not the
power of God, then it comes down to learning a formula for faith. All we
have to do is learn the words and say them in the right way! Even using the
name of Jesus becomes a formula to get power out of the word of God.
Biblical doctrine says that the word of God is powerful only because it
is God's word. It is God who has the power, not spoken words. But Copeland
makes the words themselves the active agency.
Copeland: "It is the word of God, in Isaiah 55 and Mark 4, Hebrews 1,
Jeremiah 1:12, God said, "I watch over my word to perform it.". It is the
word of God that is the bridge between God and man and it's the word of God
that's the bridge between man and God. God, in His covenant with Jesus,
swore to Him, covering every spectrum of man's existence. Everything that
could possibly occur in the earth was covered in the Old Testament." (My
emphasis)
People, today, seem obsessed with finding a bridge between God and man,
that is, a way back to spiritual living. New Agers say, the rainbow is the
bridge. Others say, it is the Virgin Mary, or the Church, or even Lucifer is
the bridge to God.
Faith ministers say, the word, the Bible, is the bridge. That is how we
get access to God.
But the Bible says, in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5, "For there is one
God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus". Jesus is
the bridge, not the Bible. You see, God is already being restricted or
governed by the spoken or written word.
Copeland says elsewhere, "God has no will outside of His word." Of
course, God's word is comprehensive and true and God will not contradict it.
But how do we know God's ways sufficiently to say He has no will apart from
His word?
There is to be another creation following this one, a new heaven and
earth. Where is the Bible for that age? Can it be God will have to dictate a
whole new set of Scriptures, before He is able to interact with man in the
ages to come?
Also, Copeland says this limitation applies to Jesus. He says, "God
made a covenant, even with Jesus, to enable Him to do a work on the earth".
But Jesus is God. He is God Almighty. Jesus did not need a contract to visit
Abraham, or Jacob, or Daniel in the Old Testament and He still does not need
a contract to exercise His power today. It is we who need the covenant
because we have fallen into sin.
Copeland: "Adam had been given authority over all the handiworks of God, the
word says, and he gave that authority to Satan. Gave it to him. Gave him
authority over the earth and everything in it. And, then, he set up the
world system. He had authority here - do as he pleased - he was the god of
the world. And in his authority he ruled man, and in order for man to get up
from under his rule he's gonna have to be reborn. Well, is God gonna make a
new body out of the dust of the earth? How can He? The dust of the earth
doesn't belong to Him any more."
The cornerstone of Dominion Theology of any kind, is that Adam's
authority, or dominion over the earth, has been lost and that he has given
it to Satan. But is that true?
Psalm 24 says "The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the
world, and they that dwell therein." [Note: this was spoken after the Fall
and before redemption!]
God is, and always has been, the King-God of the earth. Adam was only
His agent, or viceroy, His executive if you like. Adam was created as a
subordinate to God, and given the job of tending and guarding creation, and
of filling the earth with inhabitants.
The authority Adam had was DELEGATED AUTHORITY only. You delegate
authority when you entrust your children to a baby-sitter. The children are
yours. They belong to you, not the baby-sitter. However, you make the
baby-sitter temporarily in charge of your children, trusting him/her with
that task.
So it was with God and Adam. Just as you would demand that a
baby-sitter abide by your rules and wishes in the care of your children, so
God required obedience in the stewardship of his earth. That is what went
wrong when Adam defected to satanic lordship.
In what did man's dominion consist? The following shows that man was
steward of all created things, the animals, birds, fish and land.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen 1:26)
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou
visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and
hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion
over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All
sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and
the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas."
(Ps 8:4-8)
Did Adam lose this dominion? Well, is lamb still on the menu? I think
it is!
The Word of Faith view of dominion, however, goes beyond stewardship of
the earth. It proposes that Adam was a god-ruler of his planet. I would ask
a simple question about this viewpoint. If Adam and Eve were gods, what
would be the attraction of the serpent's temptation "ye shall be as gods?"
A definition of godhood is SELF-DETERMINATION. That is, the freedom to
decide your own way, your own will, your own fate. Naturally our Lord is God
because he is self-determining. But was Adam? Was he created to do as he
pleased and go where he pleased? Not at all. He was given limited scope to
act as he was told under the eye of his Heavenly Father, but not to go
beyond those bounds.
Thus, when Lucifer came along with the suggestion that Adam and Eve
might become as gods, it was an invitation to REBELLION against the
over-lordship of God!
The suggestion of the serpent was that, in knowing all things, they
would be thereby wise enough to make their own decisions, and no longer need
to be beholden to the commands of God.
Thus, what happened in the Fall was Adam's defection from service to
God, and his (unknowing) acceptance of the lordship of Satan. Because, of
course, whosoever commits sin becomes its slave. What, therefore, did Adam
and Eve actually give to Satan? Why, their service, their obedience, their
willingness to be led and taught by him.
So, when Adam chose to resign his God-given employment and to sign up
with Satan as boss, did he hand over the earth to Satan? No, of course he
didn't. How could he? It did not belong to him. It belonged to God.
Did God lose the dust of the earth, then, as Copeland asserts? Not
according to Scripture, that says long after the Fall: "the earth belongs to
God".
All God lost was the obedient service of His viceroy. So, God could
have made another Adam, but He did not. The only reason He did not strike
Adam dead, on the spot, was because He loved mankind and wanted to save them
from eternal damnation. THAT is why Adam and the earth were not immediately
destroyed, NOT because God was somehow deprived of His authority over them.
If you think about it, what Copeland is saying is that God is subject
to Satan under this scheme!!
In other places, Copeland paints a picture of a despairing God gazing
helplessly from the outside of his creation, trying to formulate a plan for
recovering his losses.
God has lost His earth to a fallen angel! He has to accept Satan's
rulership. Nonsense! Let me put it this way: if I am Queen of England and I
send you as my agent to, say the Falklands, does that make you the owner of
the Falkland Islands?
And if you decided to betray me to Argentina and become the Argentinean
agent, instead, does that make Argentina the owner of the Falklands?
Of course it doesn't. It might cause a lot of problems for the Queen of
England because it opens a door to our enemies. It may give them access to
the manpower. They may even enslave all Falkland residents. But it most
certainly does not transfer the ownership to Argentina.
All you would be there is a traitor to your country, not worth saving
probably. Just watch the Queen and the UK government having "mercy" on such
a traitor if ever they laid hands on you! Yet God reacted differently with
Adam, with us. He forgave us our betrayal. He sent His own Son to bring us
out. Praise God!
How can we possibly belittle such a God or say that He is forced to do
certain things?
Copeland: "He [God] treated Satan like he was the ruler of the earth. He
treated him like he planned on treating Adam and that's the reason Satan
could walk before Him, in the days of Job, to and fro on the earth. And God
said, "Where you been?" He said, "I've been walking to and fro on the
earth." He had a right to. God treated him the way He planned on treating
Adam. He had to - He had given Adam His word. If He had made another one out
of the dust there, it would've looked just like that one did after it
sinned. So I mean, what good's - I mean, He's just reproducing the same
thing. Besides that, the dirt's not His, any longer. So God, really, is on
the outside looking in." [My emphasis throughout]
Well, this really is saying that Satan has become all that Adam was
meant to be. And God is forced, by His own word, to treat Satan as the
proper authority, or god, of this earth. This makes God beholden to a fallen
angel. It almost makes God the subject of Satan. (This is an important step
in understanding the subject of "Jesus Died Spiritually" so hang in there!)
Well, what is Satan's authority, in fact? Over what does he rule? What
does he mean, when he boasts to Jesus, that the authority on earth is given
to him? And what does it mean that he is "the god of this world"?
Let us remember that God still remains the legal and actual Owner of
planet earth. God cursed the ground so that it lost its fruitfulness and the
animal creation was made subject to corruption, as well. Note that this
cursing was carried out --- by whom? By God, not by Satan or Adam, according
to the word in Romans 8:20. If God had actually lost control at that point,
how come - after the Fall - He is exercising His authority over Creation to
"subject it to futility" as the Bible says? Let's be logical in our
thinking!
Secondly, Satan is not the god of the physical creation; he is only the
false lord of the present world system. In other words, all he has is the
obedience of mankind. Whatever authority he exercises, it is only effective
over the affairs of mankind.
Satan deceives mankind, and tempts us to sin; that is his authority. He
has been given a certain limited scope to play havoc with our lives and to
cause certain tragedies, but nothing he does is outside the plan or rule of
God.
God certainly is not on the outside looking in, impotently, as Copeland
says. Copeland quotes the Book of Job, Chapter One; he says, "Satan was
walking up and down on the earth.". So he was. But, you will notice there,
he had to apply to God for permission before he touched Job and even then
his actions were limited. And God overruled on Job's behalf, in the end. You
see, God is the Lord. He is in control.
Also, God was not caught out by Adam's sin, so that He had to patch
together some kind of contingency plan, to get Himself out of a hole. The
Lord knew Adam would sin. He always knew He would have to send Jesus to save
us.
Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4-5 says this, "According as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of
his will" Yes, God had a plan even before Adam fell.
So, what about Satan then? Well, he is just a created being, a fallen
angel who fell through pride. He wanted to be as God but God cast him out
before the beginning of time as we know it, and bound him to the dark
regions below the earth.
Spiritually speaking, though, he is able to influence mankind through
his host of demons and they operate in the atmosphere. So, he is also
called, "the prince of the power of the air", in Ephesians chapter 2:2.
His method is deception. He tempts man to do his own will and to fulfil
his own plans. What Adam did, then, was to listen to a false teacher and to
put his trust in a false lord. Adam decided to do the devil's will instead
of God's on earth; that is all there is to it. Adam had a free will and he
chose to follow the devil.
What God lost was fellowship with man and what man lost was his
relationship with God. And, of course, that led to sin, sickness, poverty
and eventually physical death.
I have laboured this point, rather, because I wanted you to see that
Satan does not have all that much authority. To say that God is forced to
treat Satan like the god of creation and He is bound by His own word to fall
in with Satan's plan; it is just plain wrong.
Copeland: "See what happens. Here's God, in this position that Satan [has] -
and Adam - have brought Him to. This thing has to be rectified. God is
looking. He's - He's - God is a God of faith, He's a God of His word. He
uses spiritual force to create matter. He doesn't - He doesn't fix anything
with material things. He uses spiritual things to handle material things. So
what plan does He settle on? This has done more to rejuvenate, change,
influence, overhaul - however you want to say it - my life, than any other
one thing I've ever learned, since I've made Jesus Christ the Lord of my
life. God could have used creation, He could have used brute force, the fire
of God, nuclear - whatever. And He's got it all. All alternatives were open
to Him to regain the most prized possession that He had, everything He had.
What did He do to get it? He gave. The law of giving is the most powerful
thing in heaven and earth. It is the force of this universe. Everything God
has ever done, He's done through the giving motive." [My emphasis]
Now, we see that God, because He has been bound by His own word and has
lost His authority on earth, is forced by Adam and Satan, to conceive of a
plan to find a way back into His own creation.
God is pictured as almost scratching His head in frustration as He
watches His own planet snatched out of His grasp. The circumstances are
ruling Him now and the plan, according to Copeland, is to use another
spiritual law; the law of giving. By this law, whatsoever is given freely is
returned a hundredfold.
So God is now bound by the word, by Adam's sin, by Satan AND by the
laws of the universe; the universe He created!
Copeland calls this law, 'the force of the universe,' and God is going
to put this law to work to get a foothold back on the earth.
First, He has to "convince Abraham to agree to a covenant with
Himself". In another place, Copeland has said "After Adam's fall, God found
Himself in a peculiar position --- God needed an avenue back into the
earth --- God laid out His proposition and Abram accepted it. It gave God
access to the earth and gave man access to God --- technically, if God ever
broke the Covenant, He would have to destroy Himself."
As I see it, the covenant was actually God's act of mercy and love, in
providing a means of atonement for man, to save him from the consequences of
sin. God could have left man long enough for him to destroy himself and blow
up the entire world, because that was what would have happened. And He could
have sat back and watched as Satan took every man to hell for ever. Then, He
would have brought into action what it says in 2 Peter and the Book of
Revelation, "The earth and the works that are in it will be burned up", and
Satan will be, "cast into the lake of fire".
But, instead of leaving man to his fate, God made a way for restoration
of fellowship. He took the initiative. He provided the covenant.
Indeed (and this is an important fact) long before Abraham was born,
God provided a blood sacrifice atonement for the sin of Adam and Eve. As
soon as that sin was admitted, God killed an animal and covered the couple
with its skin. (Gen 3:21) Don't please have a picture of God the Father as a
Fashion Designer crafting leather or fur tunics for the first man and woman.
No, the slain animal's blood was still upon the hide as it wrapped Adam and
Eve, providing a blood covering for their sin. Instead of slaying the first
two humans on earth, God slew an animal as a substitute, thus giving us our
first practical demonstration of how redemption was to be attained
(eventually through the divine Substitute of Jesus, of course.)
So, already, God is making a way for man to return to God. You see, He
is not impotent at all. But Copeland interprets the Abrahamic covenant in a
different way. He says that God needed it to open a door for His word.
Copeland: "Now God has an open door in the earth for His word. He begins to
give forth promises. Every promise God makes will work, if somebody will
walk. God began to make promises. The Bible says, He was making promises to
Jesus - Jesus wasn't there. Changed that old boy's name to Abraham and said,
"You're My man". He kept making promises to Abraham, He kept making promises
to Abraham. What's He doing? With His mind of the word, He's creating. Very
little at a time, He'd find people that would listen to Him and do what He
said, and He would get another portion of the word into the earth."
Remember what Copeland has taught so far - that God is outside his
Creation looking in, seeking for a way to recover what was lost. All that
God can do is find a man who will accept His words, obey them and record
them.
Elsewhere Copeland has said: "Now you see, God is injecting his Word
into the earth to produce this Jesus - these faith-filled words that framed
the image that's in Him... He (God) can't just walk onto the earth and say
"let it be" because he doesn't have the right. He had to sneak it in here
around the god of this world that was blockin' every way that he possibly
could."
Copeland teaches that words are the creative agency by which God
achieves His goals. In order to bring forth Jesus onto the earth God has to
announce it in words, and so God needs to find a channel for those words. In
Abraham God finds that channel, and uses him, (and later all the other Old
Testament saints), to form a sort of repository of power in the form of
words.
Copeland says, God was creating something. Every time God spoke,
creative power was released that existed in that word. So, by the time Jesus
came, there were enough promises to cover all His needs. Then Jesus came.
And the important thing to remember is that Jesus is said to come as
Adam, exactly the same as Adam, as a fallen creature, except that He never
sinned. The basis of the JDS doctrine is that Jesus came as the last Adam,
to recapture for us all that the first Adam lost - that is, dominion-godhood
over this earth!
Copeland: "He called Himself the Ben-Adam - that was Adam's name. Son of
Adam - the Bible called Him the Last Adam - it's exactly like the first,
exactly like him, exactly like him. He was like him, after he sinned, lost
the glory of God, but without sin in His life. He had to walk by faith. He
couldn't walk by His inherited glory, because He's God Almighty,"
This brings us to the question of the divinity and humanity of Jesus.
Now, people have been discussing this since Pentecost. But what the Church
teaches, and I believe this is the scriptural truth, is that Jesus was both
God and man at one time, in One Person.
Some teach that Jesus was a man filled with God, others that He was God
only and that His body was just a convenient container. But this statement
from one theologian sums up the orthodox position: "In the One Person of
Jesus Christ, there are two natures; a human and a divine nature, each in
its completeness and integrity. And these two natures are organically and
indissolubly united, yet so that there is no third nature formed thereby."
In other words, when Jesus made Himself of no reputation and took the
form of a servant, as it says in Philippians 2, He did not lose His divinity
and He was not just a fallen man like Adam.
Jesus was born into the flesh of man, (incarnated) yet that flesh was
untainted by sin. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, not of man. So,
Adam's taint of sin was not in the human nature of Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, this HAD to be the case, for only a totally pure, unblemished
and perfect Sacrifice could take away the sins of the World.
Copeland seems to believe that the physical body of Jesus (being human)
was fallen because it was part of creation. He says that Jesus was EXACTLY
like Adam "after he sinned". The Bible does not say that. It says that Jesus
was conceived of the Holy Spirit, utterly without sin, and without the stain
of original sin that taints every human being born in the normal way. The
body that was created by God in the womb of a Virgin was a perfect creation,
befitting the divine son of God.
Although Jesus chose willingly to "take the form of a man" and in order
to do so became willingly obedient to the commands of the Father (as a
servant) he did not at any time "lose his glory" of godliness as Copeland
seems to suggest. Jesus was fully God and fully man at all times. But listen
to this:
Copeland in his ministry magazine "Believer's Voice of Victory" volume
15 issue 2 [February 1987] in a piece titled "Take Time to Pray," reprints a
supposed prophecy given through him at the Dallas Victory Campaign where
Jesus Christ says: "They crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I
didn't claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in
Me."
At the very least, there is a confused and muddled doctrine here - at
the worst this is heretical. It seems that Copeland believes Jesus laid
aside his DIVINITY when he was born on earth and thus became merely a man
who walked in God by the Spirit.
The very mechanics of the Redemption should be enough to tell us
otherwise. The redemption of man was made necessary because all of Adam's
race were born with a sin nature. [What we call "original sin"]
Thus, there had to come One who lived outside of that sin nature in
order to rescue us. God had condemned every man to death because of sin;
"The wages of sin is death". So then, if Jesus was just like Adam, He too
would legally be condemned to death, no matter how good and law-abiding He
was.
It is not what we do but what we are that condemns us to hell; we are
Adam's children. Jesus came in the "likeness" of sinful man, yet without
sin; it had to be that way. Jesus, then, was fully God and fully man, right
from His birth. As Paul says in Colossians 2:9, "In Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily". You would be hard-pressed to put it any
better than that, wouldn't you?
** For those who would like to know more about the incarnation, and this
subject of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, there is some helpful
material, and scriptures, at the end of this article. Go to the "Notes"
section below.
Copeland: "But the word of God, now, was brought alive in her womb and when
Jesus was born of Mary - Spirit of God in Him, the flesh of Adam - He's born
of God. He's got God's blood flowing in His veins, just exactly the way Adam
did, before he sinned. Except, this one is just like he was right after he
sinned, with all of the weaknesses that Adam had after he sinned. And the
first thing that Satan said to Him was, "Make these stones bread". Same
thing that Adam fell for. Jesus said, "Man lives not by bread alone but by
every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Instead of doing what
Adam did, He threw the word at him, which is what Adam should have done. He
should have said, "I have been told that I have authority over this garden -
you get out of it." But he didn't. So, three different times Jesus said, "It
is written, it is written, it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God."
Copeland says that both Adam and Jesus had "God's blood flowing in his
veins". This is a theological and medical question that we could debate, but
let's stay on course and ignore it.
Let's pass on to where Copeland talks about Jesus being tempted in the
wilderness by the devil. Notice that he says it's THE WORD that defeated the
Devil, NOT Jesus Christ the divine Son of God. This is important.
You remember that, earlier, we found the spoken word was the power of
the universe. Well, in the W-of-F teachings, because Jesus was another Adam,
albeit a sinless one, He also had to rely on the power of the word.
I agree that it was not simply the presence of the Son of God that
defeated Satan. But the victory was the obedience of Jesus, not the fact
that He used certain words found in His Hebrew Bible.
We can now see why, earlier in the tape, Copeland said that God stored
up a sort of repository of words to cover every eventuality, because now
Jesus apparently needs them. It makes me wonder just what would have
happened to Jesus, in this temptation, confronted with the devil, if He had
had no Scripture to quote.
Now we can go on to see why God had to get His word into the earth, as
Copeland says. All of it was actually spoken to Jesus.
Copeland: "--- through Christ Jesus. And if you'll read right on down in
that - that third chapter, bless you, you'll find out along about sixteen,
seventeen and eighteen verses in there that the word that God spoke to
Abraham, in the way of covenant promise, was actually being spoken to
Jesus."
Galatians 3:16, which talks about the Abrahamic covenant, says this;
"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And
to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.".
Verse 17; "And this I say that the law, which was four hundred and thirty
years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in
Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance
is of the law, then it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham
by promise".
What was that promise, by the way? In Genesis chapter 17, verses 2-8
God says to Abram,
"I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly --- behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father
of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I
will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and
kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me
and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting
covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger,
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their
God.
So, the blessing of Abraham that Paul refers to in Galatians chapter
three is this covenant promising blessing, prosperity, increase and a land.
He also promised to be Abraham's God - his Saviour, Protector, Keeper and
everything else that implies. Furthermore these covenant blessings were to
be passed through Abraham to "his seed", which Paul interprets as THE Seed,
the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Now, Paul is saying that Jesus Christ came as the perfect recipient of
that promise; "All the promises of God are Yea and Amen in Him".
So that, even though Abraham's natural descendants were and are
blessed, the complete blessing of salvation and the favour of God are
obtainable only in the Seed, Jesus. Where? - in Jesus. That is the plain
meaning of Galatians 3.
Look at verse 29 of Galatians 3, it says, "If you are in Christ, then
you are Abraham's seed". In other words, how do you inherit this blessing?
By being a joint heir with Christ, because He is the promised Seed. If you
are IN Christ you receive the covenant blessings; if you are OUTSIDE Christ
you don't - simple as that.
Copeland, however, puts a spin on this and says "the covenant was
actually spoken to Jesus". This allows him to develop the idea that God was
planting a cache of words upon the earth, and making a covenant in advance
with Jesus his god-man so that - come the time of redemption - Jesus would
be able to achieve the works of God by drawing upon that covenant and those
words. Hence in the wilderness temptation, Jesus speaks out the written word
of God and so defeats the devil.
This mistake is only amplified by then having Jesus utilise the words
of the covenant to oblige God to do His will.
Copeland: "God's covenant partner in the earth, Abraham, had given birth, by
flesh, to God's Spirit through the word. Through what word? - the covenant
word, the covenant word. God had a race of people walking close enough to
Him that He could keep feeding the word into. Now, here's Jesus saying,
"Rise, take up thy bed and walk." So what happened? God said, "You better
get up. My Boy said, 'Rise.' - that means, get up." Jesus said, "Peace", to
the wind, "Be still", to the sea. God said, "You better be still." And He's
walking as a man, baptised in the Holy Ghost, out from under the dominion of
Satan, and when He says, "Rise.", - bless God you can get up. When He says,
"Be still.", to the wind, the wind said, "Amen." Isn't that right? Can you
see why? It was the word of God in action. He's called the word. It was the
covenant in operation."
Again, the emphasis is on the word, rather than on God's will. The
Bible says, Jesus did the works of God by the Spirit of God, not by speaking
the words. He said in John 14:10 "Believest thou not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of
myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" . God was
with and in Him, inspiring Him by the Holy Spirit, and the miracles were the
miracles of God.
But Copeland says, the reason Jesus was able to perform miracles was
because He was entitled to make use of God's promises. It makes His ministry
a matter of education and study of the Old Testament, rather than a
dependence on God's Spirit. Was the real saviour the word of God, which
Jesus used, or was it the Lord Jesus, who fulfilled the word?
The problem with Copeland's doctrine, here, is that we end up trusting
the word more than God, and even Jesus is reduced to a man who used the word
of God to do miracles.
Now Copeland makes a grave biblical error below when he tries to
reinforce his teaching that the blessings and curses released by the words
of Jesus are those of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Actually, Jesus released us from the curse of the MOSAIC law, not the
ABRAHAMIC covenant!
The covenant Jesus fulfilled, in order to release us from the penalty
of death, was the Mosaic law; the legal covenant God made with Moses and the
people of Israel. (See Exod 34:8-11) In Galatians 3:16, the passage we
recently looked at, Paul contrasts the promise to Abraham with the Legal
Covenant given to Moses, four hundred and thirty years later.
What you need to bear in mind is that passage in Galatians three. Paul
shows that the Abrahamic covenant, given earlier than the law, is a covenant
of grace that promised blessing and salvation. The Mosaic law, on the other
hand, with all its sacrifices and regulations and commandments, was a
covenant of law. And it was the law that brought man into condemnation.
Jesus came to release us from the penalty of the law and to bring the Mosaic
covenant to an end, in Himself. But He did not end the Abrahamic covenant.
Quite the contrary, He was the epitome of it. He was the expression and
fulfilment of it. He was the promised Seed in whom all mankind was to be
blessed. That is the difference between the covenants.
Copeland: "All right now, notice the promise of the Spirit was the Spirit
promising Abraham his blessing. The curse, on the other hand, which is all
listed in the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy - first fourteen verses
is the blessing, the rest of it's the curse and it says every sickness and
every disease not written in this book of the law is under the curse. All
sickness and disease came because of the curse that came in between Adam and
Satan. And here is Jesus being made a curse for us. Now, what does that
mean? Jesus, walking perfect and upright before God, as a man full of the
Spirit of God, baptised in the Spirit of God, walking in the name of the
Father, He said, "I have kept them in your name." He's walking as a prophet
under the Abrahamic covenant. He has walked perfect and upright before God,
tempted in all things like as we are, yet without sin. He did not fail it
like Adam did. He proved it and walked upright before it. No legal reason
for Him to die."
You see what I mean? There is a terrible confusion, here. It is just
not sound theology.
Look at the passage in Deuteronomy 28 for example, which Copeland
calls, the ABRAHAMIC blessing and curse. Rather, look first at chapter 27,
verse 1, "Then Moses" - MOSES - "with the elders of Israel, commanded the
people", and so on.
It was part of God's legal covenant with Israel, wasn't it? Chapter 28
begins, "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of
God...that the Lord will set you high above all nations of the earth. And
all these blessings shall come upon you".
And He goes on to list them, health, prosperity, and everything else.
Likewise, if they do not obey God, the opposite will happen. God knew, and
it actually came to pass in history, that if the people of Israel turned
from God and served other gods, it would bring them nothing but heartache,
pain and loss.
He even told them they would lose the land of Canaan, which they did;
all because they turned away from loving God. But I do not see anything
there about the promised Seed, or the salvation of the Gentiles, or
justification by faith - all of that was promised to Abraham.
What Galatians is speaking of is the curse of the law, that is death.
You can easily check that by reading Galatians 3:13, "Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the law." Once Christ had become a curse for us and paid
the death penalty, then we were freed from the law and able to receive the
blessing of Abraham. You see?
Verse 14 tells us what the blessing is; the Holy Spirit, to bring us to
life and live in us, to raise us from the deadness of sin and reunite us
with the Father. It is NOT, as Copeland has it, the "promise the Spirit gave
to Abraham"; it is the promise of the Spirit. See verses 2 and 5 for
confirmation of that.
[The above is essential background information for understanding the JDS
doctrine. Now please proceed to Part B of this article where the JDS
doctrine is discussed more thoroughly.]
NOTES
THE NATURE OF THE INCARNATION
The nature of the incarnation is given to us by Paul in the Philippian
epistle in the seven-fold humiliation of the Christ of God. The seven steps
of Christ's humiliation are noted in the following outline of Philippians
2:6-8.
Who, being in the form of God
Thought it not robbery to be equal with God
But made Himself of no reputation
And took upon Himself the form of a servant
And was made in the likeness of men
And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself
And became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
This seven-fold humiliation of Christ may be summed up in three major
theological points:
His deity, clauses 1 and 2;
His humanity; clauses 3,4 and 5; and
His crucifixion, clauses 6 and 7.
When Paul states that Christ "made Himself of no reputation" he is saying
that Christ emptied Himself By being in "the form of God" and taking upon
Himself "the form of man" there was a self-emptying process. This is spoken
of as the Kenosis Theory. The expression "emptied Himself" comes from the
Greek word "Kenoo" meaning "to make empty". Theologians in general accept
the Kenosis Theory, that Christ did empty Himself in the incarnation, but
there is much misunderstanding concerning this theory. Common questions are,
'In what way did Christ empty Himself?' 'What did this self-emptying consist
of?' and 'In becoming man did He cease to be God?'.
1. False Concepts
a. He Emptied Himself of His Deity
This theory holds that Christ in His self-emptying laid aside His deity,
giving up His essential attributes when He took upon Himself humanity. It
can be refuted in that Jesus was always conscious of His deity. Deity could
take humanity into union with itself but could never cease to be deity.
Jesus was God manifest in the flesh.
b. He Emptied Himself of the Possession of Divine Attributes
This theory holds that in becoming man, Christ gave up the possession of
certain essential attributes of deity, such as omnipotence, omnipresence,
and omniscience. On the other hand, this theory holds that Christ in
becoming man did not empty Himself of His moral attributes, such as love,
truth, holiness and life. Also the essential attributes of self-existence,
immutability and unity with the Father were not surrendered. However, if
Christ would have given up some of the divine attributes, which seems
impossible, then He would have ceased to be fully God.
c. He Emptied Himself of the Apparent Possession of Divine Attributes
This theory holds that Christ did not divest Himself of either essential or
moral attributes, but simply acted as though He did not possess them. This
theory introduces an element of deceit that is totally uncharacteristic of
the God of truth.
d. He Emptied Himself of the Use of Divine Attributes
This concept holds that Christ in His self-emptying, gave up the use of
divine attributes. It holds that He did not give up the possession of the
divine nature and attributes but only the use of them. However, the Gospels,
as it will be seen, show that He did use or exercise divine attributes at
times.
2. Proper Concepts
Christ in becoming man did not cease to be God, neither did He give up the
possession or use of divine attributes, whether essential or moral. It
should be noted that God was not changed into a man but rather assumed the
nature of man without ceasing to be God.
What did this self-emptying then consist of? Christ surrendered the
independent exercise of divine attributes. He laid aside His prerogatives as
God to act as God, and became dependent upon Father's will for any exercise,
operation or manifestation of these attributes. A. H. Strong "Systematic
Theology" (p.703) says "His humiliation consisted in the continuous
surrender, on the part of the God-Man so far as His human nature was
concerned, of the exercise of those divine powers with which it was endowed
by virtue of its union with the divine, and in the voluntary acceptance
which followed upon this, of temptation, suffering, and death."
a. Christ Was Always God
Before His incarnation, Christ was in the form of God (Philippians 2:6-8).
In becoming man He did not cease to be God. The truth of His essential deity
before His incarnation precludes that He could not cease to be God in
becoming man. Jesus Christ was God before and during incarnation. He never
ceased to be God. He is eternally God, but now He has taken humanity upon
Himself. In taking humanity, He did not empty Himself of His deity. To deny
this is to fall into the heresies of the early centuries and align with
those who rejected the deity of Christ.
Herbert Lockyer in "All the Doctrines of the Bible" (p.45) says: "At His
incarnation, Christ added to His already existing divine nature a human
nature and became the God-Man. At regeneration, there was added to our
already existing human nature, a divine nature and thus we become partakers
of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Thus, like Christ, every true Christian
is divine-human."
In quoting Dr. Louis Berkhof, Lockyer continues to write, "Christ has a
human nature, but He is not a human person. The person of the mediator is
the unchangeable Son of God. In the incarnation He did not change into a
human person, neither did He adopt a human person. He simply assumed, in
addition to His divine nature, a human nature, which did not develop an
independent personality, but became personal in the person of the Son of
God."
b. Christ Always Possessed Divine Attributes
In becoming a Man, Christ did not empty Himself of any of His essential or
moral attributes. We note this in the following Scriptures.
(1) Essential Attributes
(a) Omnipresence (John 3:13; Matthew 28:19-20; 18:20) Jesus knew, as the Son
of Man, that He was both on earth and in heaven. This is omnipresence. Only
by this attribute can He also be with His people everywhere a times.
(b) Omnipotence (John 6:36; 14:11; 10:25,37-38; 15:24). The works of Jesus
were divine works. Certain works only God Himself could do. Jesus forgave
sins, declared the divine name, I AM, and exercised creative powers which c
belong to deity. Jesus was all-powerful.
(c) Omniscience (John 2:24-25; 18:4) Jesus knew all men. He also knew all
that was in man. As to His deity, He was all-knowing. Nothing was hidden
from His sight.
(d) Immutable (Hebrews 1:12; 13:8) Jesus Christ is The same yesterday, today
and forever. His character, love and life are unchangeable.
(e) Self-Existence (John 8:58; John 1:4; 5:26) Jesus offered men eternal
life, saying that this life was in Himself. He that has the Son of God has
eternal life. This is an attribute of deity (1 John 5:11-13).
(f) Eternal (Revelation 1:8; John 3:16; 5:26) Jesus is the eternal Son of
God. He presents eternal life to all those who will believe on the Father
through Him.
(2) Moral Attributes
The following moral attributes were also manifested in the Son of God. In
becoming Man, He did not empty Himself of these moral attributes of deity.
(a) Holiness (Mark 1:24; Revelation 4:8; I Peter 1:15-16)
(b) Righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30; Jeremiah 23:4-5; I John 2:1-2)
(c) Love (John 3:16; Galatians 2:20; I John 4:16-19). Jesus Christ was
perfect love manifested. This includes goodness, grace, mercy, compassion
and kindness; all of which are qualities of God's love. (Ephesians 2:4,7;
Titus 3:4-7).
(d) Faithfulness (John 14:6; I John 5:20; Hebrews 2:17). Jesus Christ is
truthfulness personified.
Jesus was and is God, possessing both the essential and moral attributes of
deity. He possessed the attributes of God because He was God. As the God-Man
He could never cease to possess all the attributes of God. Jesus was
conscious of His deity as well as His humanity.
c. Christ as God Became Dependent Man
The self-emptying of Christ as God was in the fact that He humbled Himself,
and from being in the form of God, took upon Himself the form of a servant.
Though He was God and never ceased to be God in the incarnation, He became a
subject, obedient and dependent Man upon the Father for the exercise of His
essential attributes.
Of His own free will He subjected Himself as the God-Man to the Father's
will in total dependence upon the Holy Spirit. The Son took upon Himself the
limitations of a perfect humanity and exercised a continuous surrender of
His will. He did not need to suffer hunger, thirst, weariness, sorrows,
suffering or death, and He never used His divine prerogatives to alleviate
these infirmities of human nature.
This self-humbling was not forced upon Him or against His will, but the love
of the eternal Godhead compelled Him to bring about the redemption of fallen
man. Christ delighted to do the Father's will (Psalm 40:6-7; Hebrews
10:5-10).As the subject and dependent God-Man He said that He could do
nothing of Himself, only as the Father directed (John 5:30). Thus He never
acted contrary to the will of the Father and any exercise or expression of
essential or moral attributes was in accordance with the Father's will. As
the perfect God-Man, He was totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit for all
He said and did.
In summary:
1. In His Self-emptying He gave up the glory, the outshining majesty and
outward expression of the Godhead that He had with the Father (John 17:5).
2. In His Self-emptying He gave up the form of God and took upon Himself the
form of a servant, without ceasing to be God. This He did in the virgin
birth (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8; I Peter 1:16-18).
3. In His Self-emptying, He taught only what the Father told him to say (Jn
5:30, 8:28,35, 12:44-50)
4. In His Self-emptying, He did only what the Father showed Him to do (Jn
5:36)
5. In His Self-emptying He came into voluntary dependence upon the anointing
and enabling power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38, Luke 4:14-18, Matt 12:38,
Heb 9:14, Acts 1:2)
6. In His Self-emptying, He laid aside the independent exercise of his
divine attributes, only exercising them as the Father willed. This was
self-subordination for a redemptive purpose. He never used any of his divine
prerogatives for selfish purposes. (Jn 14:28, 3:16, 10:18, 1Cor 11:3,
15:27-28)
[From THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE by Kevin J. Connor]
The Errors of the Word-of-Faith Movement (Part Two [b]Four)
This four-part study is designed to demonstrate, using verbatim transcripts
of the tapes of Kenneth Copeland, some of the errors in the "Positive
Confession" movement.
You may find it hard to believe some of the things Copeland is reported
as saying! But trust me, there has been NO tampering with the tapes. Not
only did Copeland say these things in the 1980's when this study was first
created but he continues to reiterate them up to this very moment. So do
many, many others in the Word of Faith leadership.
These teachers are totally unrepentant of their heresies, despite having
been approached by countless brethren who tried to point out their
unscriptural teachings. They continue to teach doctrines that are dishonest
in their scriptural content, deceptive in their outcome, and destructive to
the genuine faith of a Christian.
[Note: all emphasis in Copeland's quotes is added by the editor.]
Part Two(b): RE-BORN OR RAISED?
Copeland: "Death is to be cut off from the life-source, and become the
spiritual property of whomever is lording over that family. No man or woman
is an entity of its own. There's no such thing as God's thoughts, the
devil's thoughts and man's thoughts. Man doesn't have any thoughts of his
own. He's under dominion of spiritual authority, either by the devil, who's
residing over Adam's family, or by Jesus, who's residing over God's family
and there's nothing in between."
Well, we have started now to get to the death of Jesus on the cross. He
says death is to be cut off from the life-source. That is true, spiritual
life is found only in God, that is why our spirits are dead without Him. But
something else is alive, isn't it? Our souls and bodies.
Copeland says, there is no such thing as an independent human nature,
that we either have the nature of God or the devil. So, we are always
dependent on either God or Satan for life.
Wait a minute, though. Doesn't that mean that Satan is our life-giver
before we are born again? Is the devil really able to provide us with a
nature? I do not believe so.
When we were created, God gave us mortal life as well as spiritual
life. Look at 1 Corinthians 15 for example, verses 44 and 45 say, "There is
a natural body, and there is a spiritual body...The first man Adam became a
living soul.". We were created to have a bodily life, like animals, and also
a self-conscious, intellectual life that sets us far above the animals.
Even greater is the spiritual life that lifts us to God but that part
died out when Adam fell. Even so, there is not the slightest bit of
scriptural evidence that Adam stopped thinking for himself, that he was
dependent on Satan's thoughts, as Copeland says. He most certainly thought
for himself, just as you do and I do.
If our nature really were Satanic and we had no independent life as a
human being, then we would not be responsible for our actions, would we? I
could indulge my sinfulness to the full and then say, "Well, what can you
expect? It's the Satanic nature - nothing to do with me."
Jesus taught us where sin comes from; He said it proceeded from the
evil heart of man, not the devil. "Out of your heart come evil thoughts", He
said - your thoughts, your heart. How could anyone blame us, how could God
blame us even, if we were just the puppets of Satan? However, this teaching
that man has a Satanic nature, in effect he is devil-possessed, is central
to the JDS doctrine.
Copeland: "Jesus went to that cross, made Himself obedient to death - now
listen. Death came into His spirit the same way it came into Adam's. The
difference being that Jesus received it - not by committing it but by an act
of mercy. The devil didn't know the difference between the two - he thought
he had Him. Sometime read the twenty-second Psalm - it's the Spirit of God's
account of it. Jesus bore Adam's treason. In His Spirit was lodged spiritual
death. No longer was God His Father. 'Cos until He dies, in your heart and
in your mind, you'll never really live the faith. 'Cos you can see yourself
live, if you can see Him die. He became as mortal as Adam. The spirit
life-source was cut off. God turned His back. His spirit died. If His spirit
hadn't died then there wouldn't be any price paid for it. If somebody's just
gonna die in the flesh and pay for it - I mean, Abel could've done that."
So, what supposedly happened to Adam, (that he lost his divine nature
and received a Satanic nature) that also, Copeland says, happened to Jesus
on the cross. Jesus, he says, actually and literally died in His spirit and
took upon Himself the nature of Satan. He became the possession of Satan. He
was Satan possessed, in effect.
This is serious. "Jesus became as mortal as Adam". In the first place,
Jesus was already "mortal" for He was fully human as well as fully divine,
the two natures mixed perfectly into one. But Copeland is not I think
arguing that the body of Jesus was not a mortal one before the Cross
(although others, like Kenyon DID teach that). In saying Jesus became as
Adam, he is teaching that his spiritual nature changed from that of the
divine to that of the devil - indeed this is what he confirms later in the
same tape.
Kenneth Hagin says the same - "spiritual death means having satan's
nature".
In saying that Jesus became as mortal and satanically energised as
Adam, surely Copeland cannot also argue that Jesus "was not a sinner". You
might be justified in saying that Copeland teaches that Jesus sinned, since
He received the sin-nature of the devil. But if you do, Copeland has a
threat for you - you will be cursed if you oppose this teaching.
Copeland: "This is where religion really has a hard time - I mean, religious
people write today, fighting, fussing, fuming over this. And there's one
man, for my preaching this, attacked me and just publicly set out to destroy
what I was doing, and the poor guy died. I mean, his - forgive me for saying
it, I gotta tell you the truth, brother - it weren't because it was me, he
opened himself up to the devil. Whoa I mean, the devil'll kill you. That
sucker will kill you. He's no good, you understand? That man's body rotted -
man of God, man called of God. And he thought he's doing God a favour - he
just couldn't stand for somebody to say the things that I'm saying to you
right now.
"Why, the-er-er very idea that Jesus-er was-er died in His spirit." Well, if
He didn't, there's no way for you to live. If He wasn't your substitute you
can't, you're not gonna make it. Then he went far enough to say that I said
Jesus committed sin. Now anybody who goes out of here and says that Kenneth
Copeland said that Jesus committed sin, is a liar. And woe be unto you for
saying it. You understand that? And anybody that comes along and tells you
that, don't you forget what I said. Well, I didn't stutter, and I said that
as a prophet of God. Woe be, to the man, woman or child that said I said
Jesus committed sin."
What Copeland says does imply that Jesus sinned whether He committed
sinful acts or not. The logic is inescapable. To become mortal like Adam,
and to possess the sin-nature of satan is to become a sinner.
I do not know the facts about the man of God, who died as a result of
opposing Copeland, but I suspect it may have been Hobart Freeman, who went
on TV in the States to refute the JDS doctrine. Hobart Freeman died of an
infected ulceration of the leg a few years ago. [This written in the mid
1980's] How dreadful to say that it was a result of his opposition to this
heresy. But at the same time, we can see how powerful these ministries are
and how much is at stake. Let us be just as bold for the truth as Copeland
is for the lie.
Copeland: "He bore the law of sin and death, because that's what got into
Adam's spirit when he committed treason and did against God's word. It
wasn't any big, horrible thing he did, 'cept he just didn't - he just
didn't - follow the covenant that he and God had. Jesus bore that. Now, that
meant that all of the curse, every sickness, every disease, every sin,
everything that happened in the earth, because of Adam's union with Satan,
came into the spirit of Jesus, not leaving out one single thing that has
caused the slightest failure in the human family. Because it all came
because of Adam's union with the devil. He bore our sicknesses, He carried
our diseases and if you'll read your Bible you'll find out, that He went
into hell as if He had committed it. And this last Adam is in there
suffering all that the law of sin and death will produce. Every sickness and
every disease that has ever occurred in the earth, occurred in His body
while He's hanging there on Calvary. He bore our sicknesses and carried our
diseases. He bore our sin in His own body on the tree. Now can you imagine?
Sin produces every kind of a disease you can think of. Sin produces, AIDS,
syphilis, every kind of a mean killing disease you can think of. Can you
imagine that, all in that body at one time? No wonder it was so deformed and
pulled and twisted. And He's in there and this little spirit is no longer
the spirit of the spotless Son of God. It's the emaciated, sin-ridden
spirit - just like what happened to Adam."
Scripture does say that Jesus bore or carried our griefs and sorrows,
or "sicknesses and pains", as it can be translated; the Hebrew words mean
the same thing. Yes, praise God, He was wounded for our sins and bruised for
our iniquities but that is not the same as receiving sickness into His
spirit, as it says here.
And it is not the same as actually being diseased in His body. The
Father had promised His body would never see corruption. Disease would be
corruption, wouldn't it? Jesus was beaten and abused, whipped and crucified;
that is why the Scripture says, "His appearance was marred more than any
man's", in Isaiah 52, verse 14. It was not because He was diseased.
Copeland himself says, it is sin that brings disease - but Jesus never
sinned, nor was He a sinner on the cross.
To understand what really happened you have to look at the animal
sacrifices of the old law. Under that law, instead of putting a man to death
because of his sin, which was God's just punishment for sin, God accepted
the life-blood or soul of an animal. That animal had to be totally
blemish-free, totally perfect; it was minutely examined by the priests and
nothing deformed in any way was acceptable. When they did offer deformed
animals, God condemned them for it. Listen to this, Malachi 1:8; "When you
offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame
and the sick, is it not evil?".
Yet, Copeland wants us to believe that God will accept the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus marred by every disease known to man. It cannot be!
I personally believe that the stripes of Jesus were part of the
atonement, where Jesus received in His physical Body the sufferings in
atonement for sickness and disease. When He was flogged, the punishment He
bore was not for His own sins or because He had given Himself up to Satan,
it was for us. He received those stripes in His body as the type of physical
suffering on our behalf, and "with His stripes we are healed".
The physical abuse was one thing but "taking into His spirit all sin
and disease" is quite another. That would have polluted His very nature. And
not only would it have made the sacrifice unacceptable to God, it would have
removed any possibility of atonement because, in order to redeem mankind,
God has sent a pure, perfect, sinless offering for sin.
The law of atonement, as we have seen, demanded a perfect sacrifice,
without any defect whatsoever. Well, when such a sacrifice was offered to
God in the Old Testament, did it then become sinful? No! The priests would
lay their hands on the animal and symbolically transfer the human sin to the
animal. But an animal cannot sin. It did not become a sinner. The sin was,
as we say, imputed to it. It was a legal transaction, under the covenant,
whereby God accepted a substitute.
Now, Jesus was our substitute. He gave his own body as a sin offering
for all mankind; and the sins of mankind were "laid upon him" - that is what
the Bible means when it says "He became sin". He became a sin-offering. It
most certainly does not mean that Jesus Christ became a sinner, or received
the sin-nature into his own spirit.
The sin and the sin-offering are so closely identified, in the Bible,
that the Hebrew language uses the same word. CHATTA'AH. Compare its use in
Lev 4:3-4 with Gen 4:7 "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and
if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his
desire, and thou shalt rule over him."
God here tells Cain that if he is in need of an atonement for sin, then
the "sin-offering" stands ready and will not resist Cain killing it to
provide a blood covering. There at the door of Cain's tent, lies the animal
he could use for a sin-offering.
That animal represented Cain's sin but it was not Cain, nor was it
sinful. And Jesus represented the Adamic race in its sin, yet He was not
Adam nor was He a sinner. The phrase "He became sin" means; He became our
sin-offering, our CHATTA'AH, the perfect sacrifice who dies in our place, on
our behalf.
Read Isaiah 53:10; "You make His soul an offering for sin", and
Ephesians 5:2 says the same thing.
However, Copeland says that Jesus died, having taken the sin-nature of
the devil, and He goes to hell, not as the Son of God, but as a sin-ridden
spirit like Adam. That means, Jesus must suffer the torments of hell, just
like any sinner. Even though He died and paid the price for sin, He had to
be taken down to Satan's domain and to suffer all the punishment for sin. He
is unable to save Himself. He is no longer God.
But how can that be? Can you ever imagine that God can cease to be God,
even for a moment? It is unthinkable that the indivisible unity of the
Godhead could be shattered.
And even more so, if Jesus were not God, at that moment, there would be
no hope for any man because it is the very fact of His sinless, Godly
perfection that makes Him the sacrifice acceptable to God.
What does the word of God say? It says, the physical death of Jesus, on
the cross, made atonement for sin. Let me give you a few of the many
scriptures that prove this: Ephesians 2:16 Colossians 1:22 Hebrews 10:10 1
Peter 2:24 and 3:18 and 4, verse 1. All of these speak of the physical
death, on the cross, as the means for redemption.
But Copeland says, the death on the cross was just the beginning. The
real redemption was in hell, where Jesus had to suffer three days and nights
of torment. This is made plain in another of Copeland's statements below,
oft repeated in his booklets, his magazine and on tapes such as "What
Happened From the Cross to the Throne".
Copeland: "When Jesus cried "it is finished", He was not speaking of the
plan of redemption. There were still three days and nights to go through
before He went to the Throne. Jesus' death on the cross was only the
beginning of the complete work of redemption..."
Actually, one of the verses I have just mentioned, 1 Peter 3:18-19 says
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by
the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison"
Now how can Copeland teach that Jesus was dead in spirit, devoid of the
Holy Spirit, cut off entirely from the Godhead, when the Bible teaches that
Jesus was "quickened" or made alive by the Holy Spirit after his physical
death and furthermore preached by the power and anointing of that same Holy
Spirit to the righteous souls in "prison" who awaited the release of
redemption. Jesus Christ defeated death and the devil by his sacrificial
death and went victorious to the lower regions in order to preach release to
its captives!! That is so very far from how Copeland portrays Jesus Christ
as "emaciated, sin-ridden".
Copeland: "For unto which of the angels said He at any time, "Thou art my
Son. This day have I begotten thee. And again I will be to Him a Father and
He shall be to me a Son."? He didn't say that to any angel. See, God says
something it happens. And again - say, "Again.". What's 'again' mean? It
means again, dunnit? And again when He bringeth in the firstbegotten into
the world. How can you again bring in the first? You lose the first one,
that's what you do. He brought in Adam, now He's about to bring in another
one. He didn't get Him out of the dust of the earth but He's about to create
with the same thing that brought Jesus into the earth the first time - His
word."
So, having "lost" the Son of God, because Jesus has died, God has to
recreate Him. Once again, it is the word that does it, according to
Copeland. The word created Adam because God said, "Let there be man.". The
word brought Jesus into earth, as we have seen. And now the Father has to
use words, again, to recreate the Son of God.
It is incredible, really, that anyone can preach this, but Copeland
does. He makes a big deal out of the word, 'again', trying to prove that if
something is done "again" then it's the second time not the first. Is that
what the scriptures really say?
Let's look:
Heb 1:5-8
5. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this
day have I begotten thee?
And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6. And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he
saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his
ministers a flame of fire.
8. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a
sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
This use of the word "again" simply means; here's another quote. It's a
way of saying, "in one place the scripture says this, and again in another
place it says that..." Paul is quoting the scriptures to back up his
doctrine, just as we would do. He refers to several scriptures, such as the
one from Ps 2:7 and another from 2 Sam 7:14 and so on. [Compare Acts
13:33-35]
The use of the word "again" certainly DOES NOT prove that God recreated
Jesus all over again. This is just one example of the misleading way in
which the Word of Faith teachers support their doctrines. [See the NOTES
below for scriptures on the Resurrection]
Copeland: "'And, again, when He bringeth in the firstbegotten into the
world, He saith, "And let all the angels of God worship Him.".' Don't miss
what's being said here. God is creating a mortal, sin-filled spirit, not the
spirit of the Son of God - the Son of God died as a sacrifice. Let Him die.
L-let l-let let that spirit die. With your sin and death, let Him die. He's
no longer the Son of God. 'Therefore - God!' This is God speaking - God!
What did He just do? He recreated Himself. God! Whatever He says comes - you
know I mean really. And God's creating Himself again, and again - I'll be
Your Father - and again - You'll be My Son.
' And God, thy throne O God is forever and the sceptre of righteousness is
your right hand'. All this time, God's talking to Him, 'They shall perish
but Thou remainest, they shall be wax old as doth a garment, vesture thou
shalt fold them up. But to which of thy angels said He at any time, 'Sit on
my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool.'? Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs unto
salvation?'.
Now, Jesus -- now Adam was born again from life to death. Jesus, born of the
Spirit, by the word of God. Born again from life to death. Died the death of
a sinner. He did not sin, He died the death of a sinner. Well, when did
Jesus become a Son unto the Father, when He's born of Mary? Naw, that's just
when He took upon Himself flesh. He'd always been the Son of God. But that
one died. Can you understand that? He died, He died. That's not the same
Jesus. No more than you're the same you. But you'll never be a different you
unless you let Him be a different Him. God recreated Himself. Jesus became
the first to ever be born again under the new covenant."
So, you can see, now, that the JDS doctrine goes much further than just
saying Jesus took a sin-nature and died. It actually says, He ceased to
exist as the Jesus who walked on earth and was recreated as a new creature.
Not just raised, from the regions of the dead by the power of the Spirit,
but recreated.
The idea of God recreating Himself is staggering. To think of the
ever-existent, eternal, unchanging God of the universe having to be reborn
in hell is beyond my capability to grasp.
After all, the word tells us that Jesus Christ is upholding all things
by the word of His power, Hebrews 1, verse 3. And if He ceased to exist,
even for a moment, all things would come to an end. Yet, here it is being
said that the Son of God not only died and took into his nature the
sin-nature of satan (that's bad enough!) but that He totally ceased to exist
as the Son of God and had to be recreated. He "was not the same Jesus".
The implications are very serious because Jesus is our Lord and
Saviour. Not only does this reduce our Lord to a mortal, sin-ridden, dead
spirit, at the mercy of the demons of hell, it makes salvation depend, not
on Jesus, but on the process of recreation by the word.
We have to understand this, if nothing else. The result of this
doctrine is that Jesus becomes a born-again man, as an example, a pattern,
just to show us how to become divine. Jesus becomes, as they say, the Way
Shower.
Jesus is just "the first one to be born again". He is not God now; He
is a new type of Adam, a born-again, Spirit-filled Adam, just like you and
me. Do you see that? - just like you and me. That means, anything Jesus is,
we can be. We have the right to be just like Him, as God-like as He is.
Listen to Copeland explain this on another tape of his: "The Spirit of God
spoke to me and he said, "Son, realise this" - (now, follow me in this -
don't let your tradition trip you up.) He said, "think this way: a
twice-born man whipped Satan in his own domain". And I threw my Bible down,
and I said "What?!" He said, "A born-again MAN defeated satan! - the
first-born of many brethren defeated him." He said, "You are the very image
and the very copy of that one."...And it just begun, I began to see what had
gone on in there. And I said, "Well, now don't you mean, you couldn't dare
mean that I could have done the same thing." He said, "Oh, yeah, if you'd
known and had the same knowledge of the word of God that He did, you could
have done the same thing, coz you are a reborn man, too." He said, "the same
power that I used to raise Him from the dead, I used to raise you from your
death in trespasses and sin." He said, "I had to have that copy of that
Pattern, to establish judgement on Satan, so that I could recreate a child,
and a family, and a whole new race of mankind". And He said, "You are in His
likeness..."
Salvation does not come, in Copeland's scheme, by unity with the
glorious Lord of all, who destroyed the works of the devil; it does not come
by the shed blood and the death of the cross. Salvation comes, as you will
see, by following the example of Jesus, by getting an injection of power
sufficient to make you a changed being; make you, that is in your own right,
by yourself.
If God's power recreated and empowered that dead spirit in hell, He
will do the same for you. Why would you need to be reunited to Jesus for
that? The glorification of yourself is just a matter of applying to God for
spiritual power. This is a New Age, altered consciousness, in fact; it is an
initiation into power. It is not what the Bible calls justification by
faith.
The gospel that Copeland, and all the other Word-of-Faith ministries
teach is one of self- empowerment by understanding and utilising the same
spiritual energies and words that the Way Shower did in defeating sickness
and death! Rather than submit our sinful "vile bodies" to the death of the
cross and come in our emptiness and incapability to Jesus Christ as the only
Victor over death - we follow an example of how to live victoriously, we
emulate the pattern of what Jesus did in hell.
This gospel teaches that salvation rests NOT in and through Jesus
Christ alone, but in and through OUR ability to obtain and exercise
spiritual power.
Copeland: "So what have we got here? We've got a born-again, Holy
Ghost-empowered, with-might, man - huh? And He whipped the devil in his own
domain, without any outside support, except the might of the Spirit lives in
Him.
'And all power's been given unto Me, both in heaven and in earth. Therefore,
you go to all the earth and you tell 'em what's happened. They'll believe
you.' The same words - Ephesians, huh? - the measure? The same - the exactly
the same thing that God did when He raised Me up out of hell itself, will
happen in them, in their death of sin and trespasses. And they'll be raised
up together, with Me, and made to sit together, with Me, in heavenly places,
as a joint heir with Me - with the same power, the same might, the same
name, the same spirit, the same mind. We have the mind of Christ, the same
life, the same God, the same Father. Hallelujah! And you're no longer
subject to the devil and to this world, you're Mine. You go cast him out.
'If ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed' - it's just as singular
talking about you as it was talking about Jesus - according to the promise.
Now, if you'll walk on it, the way Jesus did, God'll do the same thing for
you He did for Him. You're the seed of Abraham, you're not a Gentile.
Gentile means without God, it doesn't mean non-Jew. It means without God.
You're not without God. You're not a Gentile. You happen to be born of God,
you belong to Jesus and you are the seed of God, you're the seed of Abraham
and an heir according to the promise. Hallelujah! Man, that is the gospel.
And if somebody'll preach it, it'll sweep the world."
Well, this is a gospel, all right, but it is not the gospel of
salvation in Christ. We are only the seed of Abraham if we are abiding in
Him and He abides in us. We are only saved by virtue of His defeat of Satan.
All the blessings exist only in Jesus.
That is true of authority, too, as Jesus said, "All authority belongs
to me." He delegates it to His Church but He never gives it up entirely.
What is salvation, according to the word of God? Firstly, it means
realising you are estranged from God and have no way of reconciling yourself
with Him. And that vacuum in your life has been filled by selfishness and
all kinds of sin. You cannot save yourself.
Secondly, you come to see that what you could not do, Jesus has done
for you, on your behalf. He lived a perfect life and fulfilled every aspect
of God's law, so He was perfectly acceptable to God. Then, when Jesus died,
He died in your place and suffered the penalty for your sin. He offered
Himself, as your substitute, to set you free.
There is much more to your salvation than just receiving a legal pardon
for your sin; God forgives you because of Jesus but He also raises you to
new life. And this is the problem with the Word of Faith doctrine; it makes
life and power available to you apart from your unity with Jesus. However,
all that we have we have in Him.
Being saved from sin does not make us divine or perfect, it makes us
forgiven sinners. Without Jesus abiding in our hearts, we would not even
change our behaviour. We would go on acting according to our human nature.
Copeland, and the others, seem to want to change man by putting power there.
That is not God's way. Think of it, if your human nature were more powerful,
what do you think you would do with it? You would just be a more powerful
version of what you were before - a more empowered sinner!
Rebirth is awakening to a new spiritual walk in fellowship with God.
That is what Christianity is all about; not power, not using the creative
word, not developing faith to move mountains. It is a voluntary submission
to the will of God in your life because you realise that in your flesh
dwells no good thing, as the word says.
And you need a higher experience than your humanity in order to please
God. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, all of us are incapable of pleasing
God, in the slightest. When you became born again, you covenanted with God
to make Him the Lord and Guide and Saviour, in all things, at all times. You
agreed to obey Him, not self. Yet you cannot do so without a spiritual union
with Jesus by the Spirit. In ourselves we are NOTHING.
What Copeland is proposing is very like the New Age initiation into
power; the altered state of consciousness that makes you a spirit-being with
creative energy. It is a doctrine that leads to self-Godhood and psychic
power.
Our glory is only in Christ's presence within us, because only He has
fulfilled the law, only He has defeated Satan and death, only He is filled
with new life. It is Jesus who is the giver of the Holy Spirit. Colossians
chapter 1, verse 27 says, "To whom God would make known what is the riches
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory."
CHRIST IN YOU is salvation. And Ephesians 3:16-19 says the same, "That he
would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith...". And Romans 8, verse 9 says: "But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now
if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his".
There is no salvation, no power, no glory, outside of Jesus Christ. And
our glory is unity with Him. We are made a member or a "limb" of the Body of
Christ. What the Word-of-Faith gospel does is rob Jesus Christ of his place
of pre-eminence, demote Him from being the Head of the Body, and replace his
victory with some kind of ability of our own to know and work the wonders of
God. Let us pray that this "gospel" will never "sweep the world" as Ken
Copeland believes.
NOTES:
Scriptures that demonstrate how God RAISED Jesus Christ from the dead, and
that he was not corrupted by his experience of death, nor was he changed in
essence, only in his body being raised as a "spiritual body".
Acts 2:23-27
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye
have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath
raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible
that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I
foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I
should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was
glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not
leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption.
Acts 2:30-32
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to
him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his
flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all
are witnesses.
Acts 13:30-37
But God raised him from the dead: 31 And he was seen many days of them which
came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the
people. 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which
was made unto the fathers, 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their
children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in
the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34 And as
concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to
corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption. 36 For David, after he had served his own
generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers,
and saw corruption: 37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
1 Cor 15:35-50
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do
they come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it
die: 37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be,
but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 But God
giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men,
another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There
are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is
one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of
the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is
the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown
in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is
raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual
body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first
which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is
spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the
Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy:
and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we
have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Carl
by Tricia Tillin
The Errors of the Word-of-Faith Movement (Part three of Four)
This four-part study is designed to demonstrate, using verbatim transcripts
of the tapes of Kenneth Copeland, some of the errors in the "Positive
Confession" movement.
You may find it hard to believe some of the things Copeland is reported
as saying! But trust me, there has been NO tampering with the tapes. Not
only did Copeland say these things in the 1980's when this study was first
created (as a tape set called "Wells Without Water" on the Banner Ministries
tape list) but he continues to reiterate them up to this very moment. So do
many, many others in the Word of Faith leadership.
These teachers are totally unrepentant of their heresies, despite having
been approached by countless brethren who tried to point out their
unscriptural teachings. They continue to teach doctrines that are dishonest
in their scriptural content, deceptive in their outcome, and destructive to
the genuine faith of a Christian.
Part three: dominion OR deliverance?
This is the third study in the series "WELLS WITHOUT WATER" which is
looking at the Word of Faith or Positive Confession teachings.
As I explained in part one, Kenneth Copeland's messages have been
chosen as examples because he is the most well-known faith minister in this
country and his teaching is representative of the whole movement. As I also
explained, I don't intend to criticise or condemn every single thing the
Copelands say or do. Some of their teaching is sound. In any case you
wouldn't expect false teaching to be 100% error. If it were it would never
be accepted in Christian circles at all.
Nevertheless, a significant proportion of all these messages is
unscriptural and misleading and it only takes a little leaven to leaven the
lump.
In Part One, we looked at the forces that Copeland said were implanted
in the human spirit and available for our use. Part Two was about the "Jesus
died spiritually" teaching which is perhaps the most controversial of all
the faith doctrines. This says that Jesus became a lost soul in hell because
he had received the sin nature of the devil and was literally recreated as
the first born-again man.
Well, in this third part we're going to see how spiritual power is put
into action by using certain laws in order to overcome sin and death.
The tape series from which these messages of Kenneth Copeland are taken
was based on Romans chapter 8 which says 'there is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death'.
Right away we can see two important features of living victoriously as
a Christian. It says to those who are IN Christ Jesus, abiding in HIS life
and victory, living in Him and also who walk not after the flesh but after
the spirit.
That is: who are not following the dictates of their naturally selfish
lives but who are obeying the voice of God and letting Him lead them.
This means the emphasis, as always, is on Jesus the victor and
ourselves as His servants. We are simply living out of the victory of Jesus.
I've said this by way of an introduction because the whole content of
Copeland's message emphasises the law part of that scripture instead of the
Jesus part. He seems to see the law of sin and death and the law of the
spirit as universal spiritual laws that we can learn like scientific
formulae. But the law of sin and death simply means as fallen human beings
we inevitably sin and die and there is no help for us outside of God.
The law of the spirit of life-in-Christ means exactly the opposite.
Once we're born again the Christ-life imparted to our spirits by the Holy
Spirit will inevitably cause us to hate sin, and will inevitably preserve
our souls from hell and death.
As Christians we're destined to glory but not by the action of
scientific laws. What the Bible refers to above are statements of fact. The
idea that the world and spiritual reality is run by universal cosmic laws is
not a Christian one, because Christians know there is an almighty and
personal Father existing outside the world system, One who is Lord of all,
the Creator. However, the universal laws idea is a belief of many heretical
cults.
For example one of the founders of a cult called Unity School of
Christianity says "the mental and spiritual world or realms are governed by
laws that are just as real and unfailing as the laws that govern the natural
world. Certain conditions of mind are so connected with certain results that
the two are inseparable".
In other words, the laws of the universe dictate that success is
inevitable so long as you think and speak the right words.
This is precisely what Word of Faith teachers tell us. It's all a
matter of learning about spiritual laws and then putting them into effect.
Christian living becomes like using a light-switch e.g. if you press the
right buttons you get a guaranteed result. If you do certain things and say
certain things you cannot fail to dominate your circumstances, they say.
If this were so, you can see that our success could be unlimited. We
could learn to change the universe. Even death could be overcome by this
process and we shall see that the Word of Faith ministers are beginning to
hint at it even now. The idea that certain spiritually advanced Christians
will eventually overcome death has been around since the turn of the century
and it is coming back into vogue but you have to listen carefully to get the
drift of this teaching. It is there if you listen closely.
This first portion emphasises the importance of learning the spiritual
laws and then using faith filled words to activate those laws.
Copeland: "Hear what the Spirit is saying to you tonight. If you will be
attentive and listen carefully, what the Spirit of God is going to share
with you tonight will change anything in the world order. It will change
anything in your life. Now, if you will listen attentively to what I'm going
to share with you, you can use it to receive from God and meet any need and
change anything that is in your life. I like something, a phrase that
brother Kenneth Hagin used that was in one of the first tapes of his that I
ever heard and it really got my attention. He said, you can write your own
ticket with God. Well, I'd never heard anything like that, nobody ever said
that to me and it got my attention, boy, I mean, I can write my own ticket
with God. I'd always heard that God wrote the ticket and I just got whatever
was passed out you know.
Everything is governed by law. There is a law that governs sin and death and
there is a law that governs the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, nothing
happens by chance in this earth. Well if he broke his power over death then
who's got the power of death? The Bible says the power or the authority of
death is in the tongue. "What? The power of life and death is in the tongue.
I just cannot accept that!" I know it. But we are the generation that's
gonna have to start accepting that, coz some generation somewhere is gonna
have to stand up before God and be responsible for preaching the message
that puts the last enemy of God underfoot, which is death, Hallelujah! And
you and I are that generation, so we might as well get at it.
Those things are governed by law and the thing that governs those laws are
words, say it with me, we've been saying it in our daytime class 'faith
filled words', say that, 'faith filled words dominate the laws of death',
now say it again 'faith filled words dominate the laws of death'. Now why do
faith filled words dominate the laws of death? Now analyse that just a
moment. You remember what we read in Romans 8? 'For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death'. Faith
filled words are the control factor of spiritual law. Hate filled words and
fear filled words are the control factor of the law of sin and death. Fear
activates the devil the way faith activates God".
You can see here the emphasis has shifted away from God's will over to
MY will. The shift is made to sound so scriptural and acceptable that you'd
hardly notice it. The idea of getting God to dance to our tune is all part
of the system. Once we've reduced God to an impersonal force, and spiritual
life to a set of laws that we can learn to manipulate (the force) then of
course the game is all about writing your own ticket with God, not listening
to and obeying Him.
Though Romans 8 tells us that the law of the spirit of life is just
that, the law of the spirit, not our own, it's here turned into a spiritual
law, one we can learn to operate for our own benefit.
And what is it that supposedly operates these spiritual laws? Words.
The whole Word of Faith doctrine rests on the vital importance of words. The
power is not God's but the power of words and God has to use words to
utilise His own power they say. And we were saved by the power of the words
too according to this next extract.
Copeland: "You picked words that lined up with the law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus, you believed in your heart that God had raised Him from the
dead and you confessed Him as Lord with your mouth and when you did it set
in motion a part of the law of the spirit of life called regeneration, it's
called the new birth, it's called salvation, you were made a new creature in
Christ Jesus by that law and when it did, that law then through those words,
those words activated the law, and the law itself dominated the law of sin
and death.
God said in verse three: "let there be light", or "light be" and there was
light. So what happened? The earth had come through a time of being without
form and void, darkness was on the face of the deep. If you'll keep reading
you'll find out, most of you know, that there had been a flood, flooded this
whole planet and killed everything on it. Now I'm not talking about the
flood of Noah, this was before Noah's flood, Noah's flood was the second
flood recorded in the bible and God separated those waters and put this
firmament in there that we know now. Now notice this, light changed things.
The force of light, the energy force of light, changed, it drove out the
darkness and gave form and life, it was no longer void, it gave form and
life to the earth, ain't that true?
Now look at the book of Hebrews chapter 11 and it explains how it was done.
Verse 1 of chapter 11 of Hebrews, 'now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it (or by faith) the
elders obtained a good report... Through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made
out of things which do appear...' or in other words everything we see was
not made out of something you could see, was made out of something you can't
see, was made out of faith.
Faith, the force inside the words, that release the power, that brought
matter into existence, was the word of God. Faith filled words dominated the
law of death, or darkness, or being without form and void. Voidness - that's
death isn't it?"
Notice that it wasn't God who brought you to new life in Christ but the
law. The law that was activated by your words. It was an impersonal
transaction. You just said the right words. Even worse, God himself has to
do the same thing. It wasn't the Spirit who recreated the formless earth but
the "energy force of light" and that force was put into operation by the
faith in Gods' words: "let there be light".
The scripture in Hebrews 11:3 is then made to sound as if faith was the
power of creation but if you read that verse for yourself you'll see that it
says 'by faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of
God.' This means, it is BY FAITH that we understand it, not, as Copeland
says, 'by faith the worlds were framed' = the worlds were framed by faith.
[Also, it should be said that many other scriptures show Jesus Christ the
pre-existent God as being the Creator of this world. Jesus Christ is the
Word of God of course, and in the verse we refer to, the worlds are framed
by the Word of God, that is, Jesus Christ.]
You see how scriptures are twisted to make the doctrine sound biblical.
We must always check up on the scriptures people use to support their
beliefs because they may be using them wrongly. Even Satan used scripture to
tempt Jesus, and he still uses scripture today to enhance his own lies.
It should be plain enough that God does not have to work by faith or to
have faith in His own words. For a start, in what would He place His faith?
There is nothing greater than God. What is God going to believe in?
Secondly, God knows everything. All there is to know God knows, therefore,
what need does God have of faith since He knows everything?
There was never any doubt in His mind that that universe would obey His
word because He is God. So God is not using a spiritual law or a force of
faith or any such technique. The power resides in God Himself and when He
speaks, the universe obeys simply because He is God.
If we were to speak the anointed words given to us by God the Holy
Spirit then what we said would also come to pass. But why? Not because we
spoke, not even because we had faith, but because we spoke the words of God.
So if anyone is going to dominate the circumstances it is God - not me,
not you. God has the power. God has the right motivation and God alone has
the knowledge that enables Him to direct our lives. We don't have that.
Copeland's teaching, however, describes a God who is forced to submit
to certain laws once they're set into motion - laws as fixed as the law of
physics:
Copeland: Faith will move God because certain laws are in motion. It looks
like God is a respector of persons but He isn't. He's a respector of faith
which operates in law. He respects the law. He respects the law of physics.
Now, I don't--- there are a few occupations that in order to live you have
to respect certain laws, but I don't know any occupation, any order, that
has to respect the law of physics any more than the electrician. He's got to
respect those laws or, you know, we're gonna send his saddle home someday if
he don't. Another profession that has to respect certain laws is a pilot.
Boy, I mean there's certain things you do and certain things you don't do.
You have to respect the laws that govern what you're doing, because you've
got one set of laws superseding another set of laws, and any time there is
any power involved, when power is released, governed by law, it is a
blessing. When power is released when it is not governed by law, or another
way to say it is without proper demand being made on it, it destroys.
Electricity released without law is lightning. It'll kill you."
So you see God is governed by law according to this teaching. That
means if we say the right words with enough faith in them God must obey.
He's obliged to respect the laws of faith.
Copeland now goes on to illustrate this with three bible stories. He
says David slew Goliath with his words, because "he said he would defeat
him". Once he confessed his victory there was no way David could fail to
kill Goliath.
In the same way the woman with the issue of blood said she would be
healed and Jairus' father said Jesus would heal his daughter.
In each case it was the fact of their having made a positive confession
of faith that supposedly brought about the healing. But was God forced to
kill Goliath? Was Jesus forced to do healings by mans words? Wasn't it
rather that they responded to the heartfelt plea and the faith that
accompanied it? Though God is not obliged to hear anyone, no matter how much
he asks, He will respond to faith because He is a loving, giving Father, but
making God subject to a law means He is obliged to do miracles to order
whether He wants to or not.
God would have to heal the most blasphemous sinner so long as he said
the right words in faith. This reduces God to a push button robot. It takes
the control out of His hands and makes man the master of his own destiny.
Anyone, however irreligious or sinful could learn this method of
getting God to dance to his tune. What a mockery of the gospel. The
illustrations Copeland uses, electricity, gravity and later he uses water as
an example, all show the same thing, that God's power is supposed to be as
fixed as a natural law and we only need to learn these laws to know how to
operate the power.
It also means that Satan's power is the same power but wrongly
directed. Just as electricity can harm as well as heal, so Copeland says,
God's power without law will destroy. So, you see, even evil and sin and
disease and death is God's power, this force that they believe in. And the
only problem is that through ignorance of the spiritual laws we have failed
to control our circumstances.
Copeland: "What they're talking about, so their minds were not running in
line with the laws that govern their environment, so the environment always
governed them, they never governed the environment at all. Now this is the
way Satan's been getting away with what he's been getting away with in the
church. He's been governing the body of Christ when he don't even have any
right to it and doesn't have any power to because of our ignorance. But we
build up all these ideas in our religions trying to answer certain things
not knowing what the laws were that governed it or how they worked if we did
know what they were. We never dreamed that it was words, yet we knew it was
words that governed everything else. You got outside the church door you
didn't have any trouble with it anywhere else, you get inside that church
and words all of a sudden meant a different thing, because of religion, and
so the devil governed us because we didn't know the laws and by not knowing
the laws we were governed by our surroundings, instead of governing our
surroundings and doing what Jesus said, cast him out. "
If adverse circumstances are the result of ignorance then what do we
need in order to dominate the circumstances? Do we need a deliverance out of
the kingdom of darkness? Do we need the power of God to reach down and bring
us out? No, it seems what we most need here is revelation knowledge.
We apparently need knowledge to enlighten our minds and show us the
spiritual laws of the universe so we can change everything around us. It's
not a deliverance out of the world but a domination of the world that
Copeland is preaching. It's not God's power that delivers us but we find a
way to use power to dominate all that threatens us. As a method it's as
reliable as using any other mechanical device, he says.
Copeland: "I realise that's easier said than done but I'm fixing to give you
some things in a moment --- I told you already it'll overcome anything in
your life, it'll overcome grief, it'll overcome sorrow, it'll overcome
financial trouble, it'll overcome anything there is, because there is no law
bigger than any of us.
I'm gonna show you how to put your faith on it like putting your hand on the
gear shift in your car. When somebody starts teaching you how to drive, I
don't know how they taught you, but they probably took your hand and put it
on and said "now this is the wheel you know, this is the gear shift and this
is the ignition key", and go through all of that, and you started touching
things and knowing what they were. And I'm gonna show you some things you
can begin to reach out with your spirit and lay hold on them like a mechanic
uses a tool.
I saw Oral Roberts twenty years ago, and I went to Oral Roberts university
nineteen years ago. I saw him using his faith and it impressed me. The
thought I had was that man uses his faith the way a mechanic uses a wrench.
He uses it on purpose, and I didn't know you could do that, and it impressed
me. So I asked God, I said, "I gotta know how to do that, man, I mean he
don't shoot a scatter shot." And he'd say to me "don't lay your hands on
somebody till you're ready to release your faith." I thought, why certainly,
you don't want to shoot a scatter shot, shoot it all in that one direction,
but I wasn't too sure how to shoot it. Now, begin to believe in your words,
begin to have faith in your faith".
We could perhaps go on to say 'begin to worship yourself' because if
you've found a power this reliable to use to dominate your circumstances, so
that even God Almighty cannot resist, then you've become a god.
You can decide what to do, you can call the shots; you can choose your
environment - why would you need a Father in heaven? You might just as well
dispense with Him and worship yourself.
Isn't that just what Satan wanted Adam and Eve to do, to believe in
themselves and their own power and ability? Isn't that just what the New Age
is all about, man can save himself and transform his environment?
Copeland then gives us a technique for putting your faith in words to
work to get what you want. He says
Find out your needs and your desires
Find a promise in scripture that fits them
Confess that word over and over until you get what you want.
This means that no matter what your relationship with God is like, or
even if you don't know God, you can browbeat Him into giving you what you
need.
Unfortunately this method sometimes works. The Rosacrucians have been
using it for years - not using the Bible of course. Pagans know all about
this method because it's the one they've always used to cast spells and to
cause various things to happen - to get riches for example. It's called the
exercise of the self will and it's nothing to do with God.
Returning to the text of Romans 8, Copeland now gives us a novel way of
transforming that chapter into a positive confession manual by making the
spirit mean the word, and the flesh to mean the five physical senses.
Copeland: "We need to know some more about the Bible folks, we've been
fooled. Amen. So I want to show you something here from the eighth chapter
of Romans that'll help you know what the Bible's talking about. We know from
the gospel of John it says 'in the beginning was the word and the word was
with God and the word was God', amen. We know that the Bible tells us in
first John, that the Spirit of God and the word of God totally and
completely agree, so for study purposes and illustration purposes here in
this eighth chapter of Romans let's substitute the word 'word' w, o, r, d,
the word of God for the word 'spirit'. Biblically the Bible says we can do
that because they agree.
'In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God, the
word became flesh and dwelt among men', see. All right. Everywhere it says
'flesh' it is talking about anything that operates, lives in, is perceptible
to the five physical sense gates. Anything that enters into the mind of man
through the five physical sense gates is referred to as being in the
natural, or being in the carnal, which means the same thing, that comes from
the word carnivorous, which just simply means meat. So it comes through the
five physical sense gates.
Alright, now lets read that like that. We're going to call it, every time it
says flesh we're gonna say 'five senses' or 'five physical senses'. Verse
one again, 'there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus who walk not after the five senses but after the word. For the
law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of
sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the
senses, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,
condemned sin in the sense realm that the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us who walk not after the sense realm but after the word of
God, for they that are after the senses do mind the things of the sense
realm but they that are after the word, the things of the word realm."
This is a very neat trick. Copeland has, at a stroke, transformed a
gospel of faith in the work of Jesus on the cross into faith in words
operating in the spirit realm as opposed to anything operating in the sense
realm.
Though the word and the spirit do agree they're NOT THE SAME THING and
we therefore cannot substitute one for the other like this. Even less are
Jesus Christ (the Word) and the Holy Spirit interchangeable. We cannot
change the text of the scriptures to suit our own interpretation, as
Copeland does here.
One could equally argue that Jesus and the Father agree, so everywhere
the Bible speaks of Jesus we can substitute the Father. The Father was
crucified on the cross, for example. But that's not what the Bible said is
it?
So here in Romans 8, the Spirit of God is not "words", and the flesh
actually isn't the five senses either. In the Bible the term 'the flesh' is
used in several ways but mainly and certainly in this passage, it means the
whole human nature without God, fallen human nature. That would include the
body, the soul and the dead spirit of an unbeliever. His whole earthly
nature without God.
It's the flesh that opposes God and drags us away from God, not our
five senses. Our senses, sight, hearing, taste and so on are purely neutral
and given to us by God as a way of finding our way round the earth. Our
senses can be used for good or evil - they are not in opposition to God in
themselves, indeed we can utilise our senses in our Christian walk without
committing sin.
Let me illustrate that point: you may have been out to a restaurant
recently. There, you exercised your senses. You looked around you and saw
the other diners; you heard them chattering, you saw and smelt and tasted
your food. None of this is evil in itself. Yet Copeland seems to denigrate
whatever is of the five senses as being in opposition to God..
What resists God is the fallen nature of the flesh, and our evil
desires that impel us away from holiness and sanctification. But it is
perfectly possible to be guided by the flesh in something natural, without
sin. For instance, when we smell dinner cooking, we salivate and desire to
eat!
But if you read this passage the way Copeland suggests, you end up with
two opposing realms. One is the word realm and the other is the five senses.
So the word of God becomes some kind of mystical, esoteric revelation
knowledge that's on a spiritual plane above the natural world.
Reality and truth, for Copeland and the Gnostic heresies and many cults
today, is on a spiritual plane, and to have victory over the earthly plane
we have to deny the evidence of our senses they would say.
Read the passage for yourself, trying it both ways and just see the
difference it makes. Sinners walk in the sense realm Copeland says - but
don't we all do that? When's the last time you used your senses? You are
using them all now - the sound of the rain on the window perhaps, the smell
and taste of your coffee, the sight of your computer screen, the touch of
the keyboard --- are you condemned for these? According to Copeland, YES,
because you are "living in the sense realm".
And godly people walk in the word, Copeland says. But, can't we do both
at the same time? Spiritual people acknowledge their natural senses, and the
world around them, but they recognise at the same time a higher reality. The
two work together. Only a Gnostic doctrine condemns "the sense realm" as
"the flesh" and denies its contribution to our Christian lives.
This teaching, of course, leads up to the vital importance of words, of
governing what you say in order to gain control of this spiritual realm.
Copeland: "We need to understand more concerning the secret of words. We
talked about it some already in this meeting, I want to talk about it a
little more. Jesus raised the dead with words. He healed the sick with
words. He cast out the devil with words. When you were reborn your spirit
was reborn with that glory, that glory is in there. Now what God is wanting
us to do is get out of this physical sense realm, and quit being bound up by
it, and stop letting your flesh rule and dominate you, and get the word of
God into your spirit until it gets into your mouth - and the word is where
the glory is. He said it is the glorious gospel that gives you the light of
the knowledge of the glory that is in you, which is the power of God that
created the heavens."
What we have to realise in order to understand this teaching is this:
Copeland says that Jesus died in Hell and was reborn as a regenerated man
filled with the glorious power of God which in several places, by the way,
he identifies as light.
Now because Jesus did this, so can you. You also, he says, have a power
source inside you and that power is released by words. Jesus did miracles by
words and that is how you do miracles. Both you and Jesus draw on the same
energy source of light that originally created the heavens and earth.
With this sort of power available to man, it's no wonder some
Christians believe we can take dominion of the world, defeat sin and death
and transform ourselves and our environment completely. But the problem is
this, we'd be doing all that outside of God's will, because in fact the
glory of God is the glory of God, not of man. He will give His glory to no
other it says in Isa.42:8.
How are we glorified then? Just by being united with the glorified Son
of God, not by ourselves. Jesus has the glory, and we only share it in unity
with Him. For instance, a piece of coal is a dead chunk of dirty rock until
you put it on a fire, then it takes the glow and the flame and the heat of
the fire and it becomes changed, it becomes part of the fire. But if it
falls out onto the hearth it's no good to anyone, it's just a chunk of coal
again.
You are only able to have power or to be glorified so long as you stay
in the fire of God, and abide in Christ.
But here we have a teaching which encourages bits of coal to join
together and try to generate enough flame to cleanse the hearth rug. It's
senseless and totally unscriptural but it does appeal to some who want power
outside of God's will.
Copeland: "Come on, it don't work for me cause I'm a preacher, it didn't
work for the apostle Paul cause he was an apostle, it don't work for Oral
Roberts cause he's an evangelist, it don't work for Kenneth Hagin cause he's
a prophet, it works because we're Christians. And it works cause we believe
it and it works because we stood on it and it works because we've studied it
and developed it and found out how it works, what makes it work. So if
that's the same faith in us that's in God, and it is, and God used His faith
to create the heavens and the earth, how come I can't create a planet?"
Well, the logical answer is "YOU CAN", in this scheme of things, if
only you could develop as much faith and understanding as God.
The way to become a god in all the cults is through secret wisdom, the
knowledge of the cosmic laws that will enable you to control your
environment and even to overcome death.
Next, Copeland uses the story of Abraham and Sarah at great length to
show how their ageing process was halted and they were able to conceive a
child in old age. How? By faith, because they exercised the power of faith
and confessed the promises of God until it came to pass. So, logically every
Christian ought to be able to overcome the ageing process and even
eventually overcome death itself if he will become advanced enough in the
knowledge of spiritual laws.
Copeland: "Now, God did as He had spoken at the set time she [Sarah] nursed.
How did it come to pass? I'll show you it came, go back over there to the
fourth chapter of the book of Romans. It came to pass by being fully
persuaded that what God had promised He was able to perform. It came by
faith, so that it might be by grace, it came by calling things that be not
as though they were, it came by believing the covenant that they had with
God, and confessing it and acting as though with God that they had never
seen and God acting with them like they'd never seen.
"Well brother Copeland do you think I could have a baby and me eighty years
old?" No, probably not. God hadn't promised you to be the father of many
nations, though some of them run around thinking that He did, but He didn't.
But the same faith that changed her that much, and stopped that ageing
process in its tracks, will work in the life of a believer today.
There's all kinds of stuff that you've been blaming off on age, now there's,
of course, there's things about your body that are going to change over a
period of time, but at the same time, you hadn't got any business going
around confessing how old you are and how you can't do anything and how
nobody wants to listen to you -"we're just on a fixed income" - well who
fixed it? Unfix it with the power of almighty God. You're just now old
enough to know a little something and we need you, we need your wisdom, we
don't need you griping and you bellyaching 'bout how old you are.
Let me talk to you young kids a minute, don't let anybody put you down cause
you're young, don't let anybody put you down cause you think you're middle
aged. I'm not middle aged, well yeah I am too, I was middle age when I was
forty six, the Lord told me I was gonna live till I was ninety two so I was
middle age at forty six but that don't mean nothing to me, that just don't
mean a thing to me, I fight this body of mine, I mean I fight this thing.
The apostle Paul said "I buffet my body and I put it under control". I fight
this thing all the time, I mean I slap it --- I don't need to slap it
around, I let the devil slap it around. I fight the thing, I grab it and
jerk it up and say "now you get in there, you get yourself on that floor and
do your exercises." "I don't want to." - "You get in there and do it anyhow.
We're not through, we're not through". You say, how'd ya lose all that
weight? A lot of prayer, regular exercise and precious little food. You
can't do it without all three. A lot of prayer, a lot of the word of God,
regular exercise and not much to eat."
Here we have another aspect of the struggle to gain dominion and it's
really the same struggle that we see with the New Agers - to change the
world.
The fear of pollution and chemical additives and fertilisers, and all
the other threats we appear to face today is forcing many people today to
set up campaigns to change our lifestyle. Some will even exaggerate the
dangers to scare us into giving up certain foods, scare us by talking about
heart disease, cancer, allergies and so forth until we feel guilty if we are
not making strenuous efforts to improve our health and fitness levels.
And Copeland's desire to overcome the ageing process is really in the
same category because he sees age and death as a threat to his faith. Also,
as we saw earlier, it's the spiritual realm that is important in this
teaching, not the material, so it must be possible, they believe, to develop
to such an extent spiritually that we can dominate the material realm. And
Copeland stresses that not only prayer but diet and exercise are essential
to achieve this domination. (Again, gnostic overtones in this belief!)
Now, of course, there's nothing wrong with being fit and healthy. We
should take care of our bodies. But when the Apostle Paul spoke of
"disciplining his body" did he mean getting up early to jog around the
block? Did Paul force himself to do press-ups every morning? Is that what he
meant? Was Paul seeking to develop dominion over the natural realm so that
he could have victory over the ageing process?
Let's look at the scripture Copeland used (from the New King James):
[And By the way, Copeland quotes this scripture incorrectly. He obviously
quoted from memory, but his memory is faulty, and he ends up forcing the
scripture to fit in with his own philosophy. But note the correct reading.]
1 Cor 9:16-27
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is
laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! ---
to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the
prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they
do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who
beats the air.
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have
preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
OK, then, what from that scripture do we learn about Paul's attitude to
his physical flesh? And what did he hope to gain? Did he undergo rigorous
physical exercises in order to defeat the ageing process and to gain
dominion over the sense realm? NO! It is clearly shown that Paul kept his
flesh in subjection so that he would not fall into sin, thereby forfeiting
his "imperishable crown". This passage has nothing whatever to do with diet
and health issues.
A similar mention of the flesh/body is found in Rom 6:12-14
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it
in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of
unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin
shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
(NKJ)
Now returning to Abraham and the covenant of promise to Abraham, we can
see an illustration of Copeland's confusing treatment of this whole subject.
Instead of teaching on the blessings of God in the seed of Abraham, (that
is, in Christ) Copeland turns it into a personal and individual blessing for
yourself alone.
You, Copeland says, are entitled to claim all the blessings of Abraham
because the promise is individual for you.
Copeland: "Now anything that was promised to Abraham belongs to you. I'm
talking about the promises of Abraham that were spiritual, that were mental,
that were physical and that were social.
The blessing of Abraham, Abraham's blessing is ours, by faith. We are the
seed it says. D'ya notice the word seed is singular, one seed. Back over now
in that third chapter of Galatians verse 14, the last part of it, "...the
promise of the spirit through faith, brethren, and I speak after the manner
of men though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed no man
disannuleth or addeth thereto, now to Abraham and his seed..."
You notice it's singular there, where the promise is made. He said "not unto
seeds as of many or plural but as of one to thy seed, which is Christ, and
if you be Christ's then are you Abraham's seed...", it's still singular.
When it's talking about the promise it is just as singular talking about you
and about me, the children of God that belong to Jesus, we are Abraham's
seed and heirs according to the same promise. In other words when you stand
on the promises of God, they work just as good for you as they do Jesus as
long as you're standing on them in Jesus name."
You see, Copeland is telling us that what was promised to us 'in
Christ', the Seed, is now ours on an individual basis. He stresses that the
"seed" is singular. Of course it is - as the Bible itself says in that
passage, the "seed" IS CHRIST. But the real focus of blessing for Copeland
in this passage is YOU AND ME, not just Christ.
The implication in what Copeland says is that the promise of God to
Abraham (which on the previous tape he told us were the blessings of the
Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy 28!) are promised to us as Christians, not just to
Christ and thus ourselves as members of Christ.
Please consider the important difference in the two concepts. If I take
your credit card and take money out of your account in your name, that's
robbery folks. The money doesn't belong to me.
Even if you gave me permission to draw out money it would still come
from your account, not mine. It's your money, not mine.
The blessing God made to Abraham was made to The Seed, which is Jesus
Christ. Every bit of glory or blessing or favour or power belongs to Jesus
Christ. It's His. He was the one who died for our sins and rose again to be
Lord over all the Church and we're complete 'in Him' not in ourselves. The
blessings are in Him not in us. We receive them by His grace as we walk in
Jesus.
The second point is this: once again as in Part Two of this series,
Copeland has confused the blessings of Abraham with the covenant blessings
of Moses. He talks about social, material and physical blessings.
This will ring alarm bells for anybody who believes in the promised
blessing of Israel in the endtimes, or anyone who has encountered
"replacement theology" where the Church is supposed to replace Israel in the
Old Testament blessings.
Copeland is here talking about the blessings promised to the tribes of
Israel under the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 28. These were national
blessings and they were conditional on the people obeying the law. They
included prosperity, fertility, victory over enemies, and personal and
national dominion over others.
Now I'm not saying we can't receive physical or material blessings from
God - of course we can. The word of God says that we can expect God to
provide for our physical as well as our spiritual needs. ( Rom 8:32 /1 Cor
3:21-23 /Phil 4:19 ). So we should confidently ask for whatever we need. But
that promise is not based upon the covenant of Moses, it's based on the new
covenant or new testament sealed in the blood of Jesus.
If you have needs, you have a greater covenant in Jesus than the Jews
had in Moses. Jesus has fulfilled the law in Himself and brought us to
greater blessing by His life. So you see, Copeland is deceiving his
followers by telling them that they, individually, are the seed of Abraham.
We're only the seed if we're united to the seed, and even then the blessings
are still HIS not ours.
Now, what is the method that we have to use to receive these blessings,
according to the Word-of-Faith doctrine? Well, one of the main methods that
Copeland suggests we use is visualisation.
Copeland: "The whole world is flowing in a death bound negative direction.
You watch it on television, it's programmed into your thinking, you see it
in the newspapers, you see it in magazines, you hear it from people's
mouths, it's around you all the time, that's been built in there. Now you
need to go to the word of God and begin to build God-based, word-based hope
which is an inner vision, an inner image painted by the word of God, and
then when you put faith in that, faith becomes the substance of things hoped
for.
Now listen to me cause I'm about to tell you something that'll change your
entire life if you'll just listen to me. I know, the Bible is full of it,
it's based on it, the Bible said Abraham received Isaac raised from the dead
in a figure. He saw it in his heart and in his mind before he ever saw it
with his eye.
I was praying and I asked the Lord, I said "I'm asking you to help me, help
me to draw from the word of God, help me paint pictures from the word on the
tablet of my heart and my mind". I know it's available cause I do it in the
negative and in the natural all the time. "Oh, but that might not be God,
maybe I just dreamed that up". Not if you dreamed it out of the Bible. Now
if you just dreamed up some wild something on your own that's different but
when you go to the word and you find God's promise in His word and then you
fit that promise to you, and you begin to paint a picture of what you would
be like if that promise had already been manifest in your life. You keep
doing that, every moment or so during the day, close your eyes and say "I
see myself recovering, I see myself recovering".
You see, Abraham heard with his ears like brother Capps was talking to us
today about. Dear Lord those services were good today. And he said everytime
somebody said Abraham, his name means 'father of a nation' or 'father of
great multitudes' and God affected his vision by taking him outside in a
star-bright night and said "Abraham, see all those stars"? He said "yeah".
God said "I'm going to give you that many children". Now from then on when
somebody said "Abraham", he saw the heavens. See what he did? God marked his
mind forever. That's the way you get it. You go to the word of God, you find
the promise concerning the situation and you start confessing that promise
and you start seeing it. I don't care if you have to walk up and down your
bedroom floor, you wear a hole in the floor."
Here we have, then, the core of the Positive Confession teaching which
is really a technique of applying Bible promises to yourself by visualising
them and confessing them until they come to pass.
Abraham is supposed to have used this technique when he believed God's
promises. But did he? No doubt the illustration of the number of stars in
the sky and the sand underneath him impressed on Abraham the immensity and
scope of God's promise to him - yet would this have made him MORE inclined
to believe, or LESS?
This also misses the point of the blessing, for it was based upon
Abraham's total OBEDIENCE, and not upon his mental capabilities, much less
upon techniques of visualisation. Abraham did not bring the promise to pass
through visualising the night sky, but by being obedient to God, and
believing the promise.
Gen 22:15-18
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done
this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars
of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
However, Copeland says "That's the way you get it. You go to the word
of God, you find the promise concerning the situation and you start
confessing that promise and you start seeing it."
This is a technique that's now being used by thousands of deluded
Christians to achieve success, prosperity and spiritual power in order to
change themselves and this world. Instead of submitting themselves to God's
will for their lives, they set out to make every Bible promise come true for
themselves, in their own wisdom, regardless of their circumstances. They've
strayed off the path of gospel truth and are following myths and fables in
the pursuit of personal advancement.
This is a religion governed by self. Let's pray that God will deal with
every aspect of selfishness in our lives so that we can avoid falling into
this sort of error.
Another worrying aspect of this technique is that it will work (as
Yonggi Cho states) whether you are a Christian or not. MANY people in the
world are practising visualising and receiving the end-result of their
desires. This is undoubtedly a psychic technique which - if perfected - will
bring results. But should a born-again Christian have anything to do with
it?
For example, the new-age article I referred to earlier in this series,
on "Spiritual Healing of All Things" has almost exactly the same sequence of
events - affirmation, confession and visualisation - for producing the
desired result:
" Spiritual Healing of all Things - From the Inside Out" by Michael
Connolly.
Most of us have heard and a few of us practice the idea that "as we think so
we are," and that our thoughts affect reality and indeed magnetize and give
life to those thoughts, feelings, and experiences we hold in consciousness.
It's part of the standard education curriculum for the new world. ...From a
healing perspective, the restoration of health, balance, and life is a
function of using the creative potential we all have to project an image of
restoration into the out-of-balance condition. While simple in concept, it
takes practice to discipline the mind to look past appearances and hold a
vision of wholeness. This is where Faith comes in. As long as you doubt the
effectiveness of your visualization in bringing the healing you desire, you
will have thoughts that are at cross-purpose with your healing purpose and
you will have mixed results. Any attempt to bless and heal through the
spirit is positive and will do more than believing in the appearances you
see. Faith in healing is the certainty that the image you project is a
reality over any other appearance that may be present. It is more than
belief. Belief doesn't mean knowing. Faith comes from knowing with
certainty. The more certain you are of your healing, the faster the results
will manifest in the reality around you.
So as we see a condition we want to heal, here are a few possible steps we
can use to get into the frame of mind to put this energy to work for us.
1. Acknowledge what is. Start from what appears to be. All healing starts
from where things are right now. But at the same time, know that there is no
condition or appearance that is stronger than the the power of the
All-That-Is.
2. Acknowledge with a statement, the qualities of God you want to have
expressed in this condition. Something like: The Healing Energy of the
All-That-Is is all powerful, all loving, and all knowing. There is no thing
It cannot do, no condition It cannot heal, and It knows how to restore
perfection to every situation.
3. Acknowledge with a statement, your link to, and oneness with, these
qualities. Say, "The healing power of God is present in this situation. I am
one with that energy and call it forth to heal, bless, and bring perfection
to this situation.
4. State your desired result as if it is already so. Say, for instance, "In
this situation there is only perfection, in this situation there is only God
expressing. In this circumstance, the energy of God is flooding the cells of
this body, the heart of this soul, and the mind of this being to accomplish
a complete healing of this condition."
5 Give thanks that it is done.
6. Release it to God. "I know that I am one with God. I know that my prayers
are answered. I know the highest and best outcome is coming forth in this
condition. I now release it for fulfillment."
The process becomes integrated and you begin to pray without ceasing. If
your friend's friend has to go into the hospital for an operation -- it
becomes and automatic thing to invoke this energy. You can visualize white
light energy filling their body, pouring forth from their cells, and filling
their aura like a cloud of bright potent light.
You now have a consciousness that can work miracles and all you do in
service, in healing, in creating abundance, will be so much more effective!
There are many situations that will present themselves in the next few years
that will call for miracles and healing. We are all apt to become aware of
much suffering as the old world begins to disintegrate at a more rapid pace.
At the same, I believe the miracles that will be possible for many of us
will become commonplace. But we have to get into right mindedness in order
to call forth those miracles. So remember... We create each other; How you
see someone else is how you contribute to their self-image and
circumstances; You can do miracles by calling forth the All-That-Is in every
situation; Pray without ceasing.
I want you to consider in what way this occultic practise above differs
from the Word-of-Faith doctrines of Ken Copeland? Does he not teach the same
things? Is their god one and the same?
Visualisation is not only a psychic/mental and occultic device for
obtaining things for our own selfish needs, but it makes God a slot-machine
in the sky. We hold Him to ransom by demanding that He perform for us every
promise in the Book. But where is God's will in all this? It is overruled!
God - they say - has no choice! God's will is not considered, and it is an
error even to pray "if it be Thy will" since God has already promised us
everything. All we need to do is activate the promises by seeing them,
speaking them and claiming them.
As in the above quote, "god" become an Energy, a Force, that can be
manipulated to cause certain miracles to occur. But this is not biblical
Christianity or biblical faith.
Is your God a robot who is required to answer your every desire? Is
your Bible just a source-book of goodies, a chocolate box of things that God
wants you to claim? Is prayer a matter of Name-it and Claim-it? of
Blab-it-and-Grab-it? Or is it an interaction of TWO minds and hearts - both
yours and God's?
If seeing a picture of yourself healed, blessed, prosperous (or
whatever) is the key to answered prayer, then what becomes of those devoid
of imagination, or slow, or uneducated, or with a damaged mind? This is a
technique that only some can follow, and which penalises the Christian who
has never learned the process, or who is unable to make it work properly!
But what does the Bible say about prayer? It is something we do
"boldly" and without fear, but "in His will" and "believing" that He is a
God who cares and who knows our every need. And we can be confident of an
answer to prayer IF we are walking IN HIS WILL and doing what is pleasing to
God:
I Jn 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us.
I Jn 3:22-23 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this
is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Matt 6:7-10 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen
do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore
do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of
before you ask
In Part Four we will expose some of the more extreme teachings that are
a direct result of these errors. Is Copeland heading right into the New Age?
Carl
by Tricia Tillin
The Errors of the Word-of-Faith Movement (Part four of Four)
This four-part study is designed to demonstrate, using verbatim transcripts
of the tapes of Kenneth Copeland, some of the errors in the "Positive
Confession" movement.
You may find it hard to believe some of the things Copeland is reported
as saying! But trust me, there has been NO tampering with the tapes. Not
only did Copeland say these things in the 1980's when this study was first
created (as a tape set called "Wells Without Water" on the Banner Ministries
tape list) but he continues to reiterate them up to this very moment. So do
many, many others in the Word of Faith leadership.
These teachers are totally unrepentant of their heresies, despite having
been approached by countless brethren who tried to point out their
unscriptural teachings. They continue to teach doctrines that are dishonest
in their scriptural content, deceptive in their outcome, and destructive to
the genuine faith of a Christian.
Part four: teaching OR travesty?
The next except from Copeland's teaching, beginning "You are a being of
three worlds" is important because it illustrates a basic error in all the
Word of Faith doctrines.
EXTRACT FOUR: UNLIKE SATAN, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE LIKE GOD
Copeland: You are a being of three worlds. This human being can function in
the spiritual realm, he can function in the middle realm, he can function in
the physical realm, and he is the only creature God created that can do
that. Angels can not do that. They don't have the same rights of choice that
you have. They do as they are told do, they speak as they are told to speak,
and they speak what they're told to speak, and they hearken only to the word
of God. And every angel that ever made a choice to do otherwise is doomed
forever, and Satan is their god. And he is the chief angel that changed his
mind and said 'I want to be like the most high God', and God said, 'huh-huh
that's what you think'
But did you ever notice that He created us in His image, and said 'you be
like Me'. We have a right to say that, -ha, ha- really, you and I can stand
up and say, 'I will be like my most high God' and to Him, it is dedication
and consecration. The devil stands up and says, 'I'll be like the highest
God', and God says shut up. He's out of his class, but a man is not out of
his class when he speaks those words, 'I'll be like the highest God',
hallelujah!
No, not stand up and say 'I'll be a god' like that, no, no but 'I want to be
like my God, I want to be like my most high God, every way I can,
hallelujah' and for a human being it's a blessing.
First, Copeland says that we human beings function on three levels: the
spiritual, the "middle", and the physical realm. I'd like you to consider
this statement for a moment.
What precisely is this "middle" realm?
Since we have a spirit, soul and body, logically, the spirit functions
in the spiritual realm (supposedly), the body in the physical, and the SOUL
in the "middle" realm - which would then be the psychic realm, but of course
Copeland would not use this word!
Later, what he says about "the intellectual realm" suggests this middle
area is that of the mental/intellectual functions. But just how these
function separately to the physical realm, I do not know, and Copeland does
not explain this mystery.
Next, Copeland says we are entitled to stand up and say, 'I will be
like God' - and it's a blessing to man. God sees it as dedication, he says.
Well, when Adam said so, it caused all mankind to fall into sin. I know
Copeland tries to qualify his statement by saying it's different to wanting
to be a god in your own right, but is there any real practical difference?
The book of Genesis says that Satan tempted Eve with the words, 'you
will be as gods'. Surely it is more than a coincidence that the very same
prideful act of Satan when aspiring to godhood is the temptation he then
presents to Eve? And the result is just the same: Satan was cast out of
heaven, and Adam and Eve were also cast out of the presence of God. Their
perfection depended on their obedience and subservience to Almighty God.
Their aspirations to godhood led only to the downfall of the entire human
race, and a severance of their relationship to God. That same prideful
attitude also led to the sin and evil we are now experiencing all around us!
Adam was God's servant. God had given mankind a task, to fill the earth
and subdue it. They were not given carte blanche to take dominion over God's
creation and become a divine rulers of the world in their own right. That
was Satan's plan for man, not God's.
We have already (in the previous section, part 4(a)) gone over the
scriptures pertaining to godhood and man made in the likeness of God. We
have also seen how the Word-of-Faith leaders preach that re-born man is as
much a god as Jesus, with the same rights, authority and powers. This
teaching comes from the same source.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God. ( 2 Th 2:3-4)
If God is so pleased that we could stand up and boldly say "I will be
like God" then why is the one who achieves this noble aim called "the son of
perdition"?
Will we be like God? Yes, in the Resurrection - but never on this
earth, not by striving, by education, by spiritual knowledge, by anointing
or by any other thing.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is." I Jn 3:2
EXTRACT FIVE: ANIMALS GO TO HEAVEN.
Copeland: Now you see, animals can operate and function in two worlds, I'm
talking about the higher level of animals, I'm not taking about the cold
blooded animals, I'm talking about warm blooded animals. [They] can operate
in the physical world of course, but did you know, that they can actually
function in the spiritual realm to a limited degree? The intellectual realm
is where they can't function. If you're going to have any brains, you're
going to have it on ---- [Copeland pauses here, possibly because he realises
what he's saying makes no sense!! If animals can function in the physical
realm AND in the spiritual realm, there's nothing to prevent them "operating
on an intellectual level" so he's just destroyed his own argument!].
They can function in the intellectual - oh, I mean, the spiritual realm.
Animals can be demon-possessed, isn't that true? The bible tells us that it
can. What happened in the Garden of Eden? Huh? Somebody lied to you, and
told you, that when animals die that they are just dead and don't exist
anymore, wonder what bible they got that out of? Do you ever notice that
people, and we're talking about Christian people just kind of assume there?
You can't find it the bible. I have never been able to find it in the bible
and if a-a like a dog, an animal, a horse or something like that, if a horse
has no spirit then it is the only thing God ever created, that's all around
God ever created, didn't have a spirit that walks in a body and could
function in the spiritual realm.
"O, brother, I never heard anything like that!", well, aren't you glad you
heard (?) something new, "well, I just don't understand that!" - Well, look
in the word of God and you'll find that Jesus comes riding on a white horse,
glory be to God, hallelujah!
I know one dog that got saved (lots of laughter) O yeah, now don't argue
with me about this, friend of mine from [somewhere in Alabama] used to live
there when he was with the CPA, he's now the pastor of a church. I don't---
his church may not know his dog got saved, I don't know. His son came in
there, and said daddy, I want you to lay hands on this..., he called that
dog by its name, I don't remember what that dog's name was. He said, I want
you to lay hands on him. He said, why? He said, I've got him saved, now I
need to get him baptised in the Holy Ghost. (Lots of laughter) You laugh if
you want to, but that means something to God.
Do you realise, if Copeland is telling the truth, if animals do have
eternal spirits (and we know all creation is fallen because of Adams sin),
then we are responsible for saving the souls of all creatures to prevent
them going to hell?!
Can you imagine such nonsense being preached in the name of Christian
truth?
At the start Copeland says that human beings were created to function
spiritually, mentally (?) and physically - and that's true. But then he
says, animals function on two of these levels: physically and spiritually,
but not mentally.
Come on, anyone who owns a pet knows that they have a mind of their own!
If animals had no intellect, they would be robots, unable to think or
reason, which is clearly not true.
My cat has memories that go back to kitten-hood. He can work out
whether I'm upstairs or in the garden, and remember what time he gets his
supper. He certainly has an intellect, a very sharp one sometimes. What else
causes him to reason within himself - shall I obey this call to come in, or
shall I keep on chasing this interesting leaf around the lawn? And he comes
to a reasoned (but not reasonable!) decision which demonstrates he has a
thought-process of his own that frequently opposes mine. Don't you know what
I mean!!
But does he have a spirit? Does he have a God-consciousness? If he did,
then I would have to preach him the gospel and get him saved, just like the
dog in the story. Does my cat have a nature that allows him to commune with
God Almighty? If he does, I've never seen it in action. I don't know - have
you ever noticed your hamster trying to pray?
Mankind was created as a "living soul" to receive the "breath of life"
from God. Thus, man has a spirit, whereas animals have only souls. For this,
see Job 12:10 "In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the
breath of all mankind."
Animals were created as lower beings made out the dust of the earth,
animated by a mind and soul ('Nephesh' in Hebrew). That is why when they die
they return to the dust, and are no more. We get sentimental about our pets,
but most of us know they are not going to heaven! If they were, we would be
obliged to develop animal funeral rites, animal coffins and animal
cemeteries.
On the other hand, why assume all animals make it to heaven, when human
spirits don't? If dogs have to be saved to go to heaven, then presumably
unsaved dogs go to hell?
The idea that animals have spirits leads to all kinds of problems,
beginning with the concept of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament. Would
God kill his own spiritual servants in order to redeem man's sin? Would he
place Adam in dominion over the animal "kinds" if there was a spiritual
unity between them?
Once you accept that animal have spirits, you are treading a dangerous
path leading to the New Age view of the universe. You begin to see all
creation as one in God, we and the animals being joint owners of the planet.
We would have to agree, then, that to end the life of an animal is a crime.
We would have to endorse the recent efforts to give apes and gorillas "human
rights" and all the other animal rights lunacies. We would have to become
vegetarians, and environmentalists, working to save the animal species
instead of having dominion over them as God commanded!
The only proof Copeland offers for his theory is to say animals can be
demon possessed. Well, yes, I believe that is true, (for example the herd of
pigs that fled over the cliff.) But are demons possessing the spirit or the
BODY of animals?
Now we see how muddled Word of Faith teachers are about the spirit
realm! If, like Yonggi Cho, you think all spiritual activity - human, divine
and demonic - happens in some parallel reality called the Fourth Dimension,
then it makes some sense to say that demons posses the spirit. But Copeland
strays from the fold here. (Or maybe his doctrine was formed before he heard
of Yonggi Cho?).
The animals of heaven that Copeland mentions, such as the horse Jesus
rides at the Second Coming, are of course heavenly creations of God. They
were made to exist in heaven. I believe the Heavenly Paradise will have many
animals, birds, and other creatures, but these are special creations of God,
not reborn earthly creatures.
What does the Bible teach about the spiritual realms? The Holy Spirit,
in inspiring the word of God, used a plural (or, dual) word for the
"heavens" (shamayim) suggesting there are differences between the demonic
realms and God's realm.
Paul speaks of the "third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2) and of
"paradise" (2 Cor. 12:4), and the common understanding in his day was that
"The first heaven is that of the clouds, the air; the second, that of the
stars, the sky; the third is above both, where God's glory continually
shines".
Since satan is "the prince of the power of the AIR" and his fallen
powers are often referred to as "stars" we can see that the demonic realm is
that of the sky and outer space, (but on a spiritual level, ie unseen!).
However, God's Throneroom and Heavenly Temple exist in a higher dimension.
(The word "paradise" means "garden" and is often used to describe a perfect
Eden surrounding God's Temple which is inhabited by the saved. Since the
earthly Temple was copied from the Heavenly realities, this garden would be
represented by the Court of the Temple.)
And on the subject of animals, the Bible is plain. Peter likens false
teachers to beasts and describes them, therefore, as creatures "made to be
taken and destroyed" - that is the biblical view of animals. (2 Pet 2:11-12)
Psalm 104 describes the death of animals in this way: "thou takest away
their breath, they die, and return to their dust."
EXTRACT SIX: GOD IS THE BIGGEST FAILURE
Copeland: I was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the
bible actually is. When everybody asks whose biggest failure is, they say,
'Judas'. Somebody else will say, 'no I believe it was Adam', but how about
the devil? He's the most consistent failure (another person laughs and says
OK) but he's not the biggest in terms of material failure and so forth. The
biggest one in the whole Bible is God, huh?! What, don't you turn that set
off, I told you, you sit still a minute, you know me well enough to know
that I wouldn't tell something that I couldn't prove from the Bible. But you
just stop and think about it for a minute. I mean, He lost his top ranking
most anointed angel, the first man He ever created, first woman He created,
the whole earth and all the fullness therein, a third of the angels at
least - that's a big loss man. I mean, you figure that out, that's a lot of
real estate, brother, gone down the drain.
Now God didn't cause all that. You see He didn't do something to cause it.
And we have to understand all that, but He took the blame for it, didn't He,
yeah, He took the blame. Why? Well the buck stops there. In the fifty fourth
chapter of Isaiah He said, 'I created the smith that blows the coals in the
fire, He said, I created the waster that destroys, therefore no weapon
formed against you will prosper', in other words 'I created him, I can
handle him'. In other words, I take responsibility for it and I take the
responsibility for the deliverance and the turn round of the whole thing.
Now, the reason that you don't think of God as a failure, is He never said
He's a failure, and you're not a failure till you say you're one, (another
voice says, say that again). You're not a failure until you say you're one.
And He won't say it, no! He just started off and said, there's coming one,
that's gonna put His heel on your head, and just set out to get it done, no
matter how many thousands of years it takes and how many generations it
takes and how many He had to hunt for until He found one: Abraham. It doesn't
make any difference to God if it takes eighteen million years; He took off
to do nothing else. Now I brought this because this the direction we're
going to see. Now I want you to see this, God doesn't do anything else, He
[tape unclear] one day of the week. The bible said, 'He ever liveth to make
intercession for us'. We are forever twenty-four hours a day in His heart
and [His] primary objective.
He could have said, 'I got a major problem here. Now what am I going to do
with it? Well let's see. The first thing I'm going to do is fast, no, I tell
what, maybe that's not right, I don't want to do much of that. I know!
Prayer, that's number one!' Well, who's He going to pray to? He's as high as
He can get. Well since I'm God, I know how this thing works, the cardinal
law is the law of giving and I so love the world, giving is the way out of
this. Giving is the most powerful thing that I have at My command, and I'm
going to give My way out of this problem. I have lost the earth, I have lost
a third of the angels, and I have lost the Director of Praise. Then the
Bible says, we give, and it causes a thanksgiving to God. He said, I lost
the Director of Praise, I am going to give and get it all back.
Now lets see, what am I going to give? I got a lot of money. I had a lot
more, but, that boy down there dug into my account, he cost me heavy! But I
am still way out ahead of anybody else. Well, who would I buy it from
though? I am not going to do business with the devil, I am going to have to
give to get this thing out. It's beyond buying. I can't buy My way out of
it. I am going to have to give my way out of it. What am I going to give,
now let's see. I think what I'd better do, I have still got two thirds of
the angels left, and- and there's a lot of them, and besides that, I can
create more of them, you know. I can create them dudes, faster than they can
fly out of here.
Maybe that's what I ought to do, you know, I sure wouldn't want to give
Jesus! Now He's the only thing I got left that's on my level. It's down to
He and I, and if I lost Him, I'd be, O God, I-I, can't do that, that would
leave Me lonely that would leave Me without, I-I couldn't stand to see that
happen to My own, My own life, eh-eh, I mean I can spare those angels. There
are all kinds of things up here. I mean, I could create things nobody ever
heard of before and you know, if I did all that, I wouldn't be giving. I'm
going to have to give something that'll cost me, to get these laws into
motion. I'm going to have to give something that'll cost me. Cause until it
cost Me, I haven't kicked my faith out anywhere's (and He's got a faith).
So I am not going to give my nubbin corn. I am going to eat the biggest, I
mean, I am going to eat the nubbins and give the biggest, fattest corn I've
got, that big fat corn. That's your seed corn. You don't want to eat that
good stuff and plant those nubbins. Eventually you won't have nothing good
to eat. You're going to keep producing the nubbins, you're going to
downgrade, you see. Your harvest is downgrading all the time. So I am going
to give the best stuff which makes my harvest upgrade all the time. And as
the good seed that I am planting increases in quality, I take my seed out of
the best I have, and I continue to plant that. Eventually my nubbins will be
better than I started out with back there originally.
So God said, I'm going to take the best I have. And out of the mouth of
Jesus flowed the most important verse of the entire bible, when He said,
'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son' . Now there was
a moment, Paul, (Crouch), man had proven that he had a free choice. He had
proved he didn't have to accept anything that he didn't want, right? There
was a moment when Jesus was separated from God. Jesus had gone into the
place of the damned, the answer for Adam's treason. There was a moment there
that the only thing God had to give had been released, and there was no
guarantee of ever getting Him back, except the law of giving and receiving.
(Applause and a voice in the background saying, praise God, there it is).
There was a moment when as far as God was concerned there was no Jesus.
Nobody had to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. There weren't nobody
had to do that. They could have said 'forgive me', I don't know, there has
been thousands that have done it. God had no guarantees except --- but then
this 'except' turns into the greatest guarantee that there is. He had no
guarantee that anybody would accept it, except when you plant a seed it will
produce, it will produce, it will produce. You can can't stop it. (Applause)
The devil can't stop it, Paul can't stop it, and the Bible says He planted
one Son to receive many sons. (Loud applause) And now, I mean God is sitting
up there now all kicked back, got His feet on the throne, saying get 'em
boy, get 'em, glory to God.
The whole tone of this message is offensive to me and I imagine it
would be to any sensitive Christian who loves and worships God. It is only
human reasoning that calls God a failure, because man sees everything in
terms of success and ownership and prosperity. Man measures by what he
gains.
We are not at liberty to speculate on what was in God's mind when Adam
sinned, but we know from scripture that He is a God of love, and love is
glad to give all freely and without coercion.
Copeland portrays God as struggling with His emotions, trying to
convince Himself to part with Jesus, as if Jesus were not God Himself and
totally at one with the Father in any decision they made!
But instead of salvation being an act of love and mercy and grace, it
is that God was forced to find something he could use to get back what He's
"lost". God turns to the universal laws of the cosmos, supposedly, in order
to win the world to Himself, and unfortunately those laws "obliged Him" to
give up His beloved Son.
Do we see here an Omnipotent Ruler, an Almighty Lord, the One who
foreknew all things, or a snivelling self-obsessed loser? Copeland says God
was "the biggest failure..." so presumably he is portraying him as just
that! What blasphemy!
Where is the love of God in this reluctant sacrifice? And if God had to
use His faith to operate a law, where is His omnipotence?
God had to scrape around looking for a plan of action, since He'd been
thwarted by Adam and Satan. But the word of God says, "we were chosen in Him
and foreordained before the foundation of the world." (1 Peter 1 19-20).
The doctrine that Jesus had to die in hell to pay for Adam's sin is
covered in Part Two of this series, but it's interesting to see it preached
here for a second time.
Jesus, the Bible says, went and preached to the spirits in prison by
the Spirit of God. (1 Pet 3:18-19) How else could He preach the word of God
except by the Spirit of God? So the Spirit was upon and within the Lord
Jesus at that time, even in the realm of the dead. (Copeland calls this the
place of the damned. No, there was no point visiting the damned, for they
were eternally lost. It was to the righteous of the pre-redemption creation
that Jesus went, to those who waited in hope for Christ's day.)
But wherever Jesus went, it was not as a dead, mortal, sin-ridden
spirit as Copeland says on an earlier tape. He paid the price for our sin
with His blood and by His death, 1 Peter 1: 19 says, "You were redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot".
And as for there being "no guarantee" of Jesus ever coming back - what
utter nonsense! The prophecies of the Old Testament as well as the very
words of Christ Himself promised a return from the dead! Are we to believe
that God cannot fulfil His own word? Jesus never once lost control of his
destiny, for He says:
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father. (John 10:17-18)
On top of the error of the " law of giving" being God's tool of
salvation, Copeland says that the same law of giving was a guarantee that
men would respond to the gospel. Jesus was God's best seedcorn, and having
planted Him, there MUST be a return.
O yes? So, we are not creatures of freewill, but obliged by universal
law to accept Jesus, not because of our faith in Him, but because nothing
can withstand the law of giving and receiving!
However, there is actually no obligation upon us at all to believe the
gospel. If there were some kind of compulsion in this way, it would not have
been a genuine offer, a free gift of life eternal!
God foreknew that many would believe Him, though. The word says that we
were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, and those He
foreknew, He predestined to be justified and glorified in Jesus. But - that
was not a result of any law!
In any case, that "before the foundation of the world" demonstrates
conclusively that God wasn't stuck for a way out after Adam sinned. Copeland
represents it as a big surprise and shock to God. Not at all! We were chosen
and foreordained to salvation BEFORE the Fall in Eden!!! The Plan of
salvation was already laid.
EXTRACT SEVEN: TWO SIDES OF THE BRAIN - SOUL AND SPIRIT
Suddenly I just saw it, I'm talking about in my mind's eye, you know, in my
mind. What I am talking about is, I didn't have a vision in the spirit, like
a prophetic thing, it was in my mind's eye and that's what I was dealing
with. And I can see it right now. It's got stronger, that I can see it now
with my eyes open. As I'm talking to you I can see it. That's the way some
of those debts and problems and everything got with you. You saw yourself as
just a total disaster, and you got to where you can see it without closing
your eyes.
Well, that is a God-given thing in the wrong hands. It got over into the
hands of worry, it got over into the hands of fear, it got over into the
hands of the devil, it got over into the hands of poverty, it got over into
the hands of sickness and disease. Some people cannot see themselves anyway
but sick. See.
This is really the guts of Christianity, coz man has always been this way.
God made him this way. And the devil got a hold of him and perverted what
God had already built. Man was a visionary. He's always been a visionary. I
mean, even in recent years they found out that everybody's brains got two
sides to it. One side is analytical side, and the other is the visionary
side. On one side you do all your numbers and logic and figuring, and the
other is where you are creative. Well, surely it's that way! You've got your
soul using one side your brain and your spirit uses the other side of your
brain. But most people don't know how to get hold of that visionary side and
that's where all the creativeness is, that's where all the great things come
from. But God put part of your brain for your soul to use, and part of your
brain for your spirit to use. You are a spirit, you have a soul and you live
in a body. See, medical science is finally finding out that God knew what He
was doing all the time, see.
This final piece of nonsense is a classic! I simply do not see how
anybody can revere Copeland as a Teacher in the Church, when he not only
accepts New Age hype as scientific but gives it a twist of his own like
this!
You are probably aware of the New Age interest in this issue of
right-brain/left-brain. It is one of the areas in which they depend on
supposed scientific evidence, but the real aim is the religious one. The
hidden agenda is to open us up to the mystical realm where we can develop
psychic powers and meet spirit-guides.
For a start, New Agers say that man, in his fall, lost the use of his
imagination and visionary abilities, his creative and god-like skills, and
the knowledge of how to perform supernatural feats, like levitation for
example. (Remember how Luke Skywalker in Star Wars was taught by his
spirit-guide to shut his eyes and visualise himself being able to raise a
spaceship out of the water? It was done with the powers of his imagination,
because the belief is, whatsoever you can imagine you can DO.)
The problem, New Agers say, is that we have lost contact with the right
side of our brains! We have become a left-brained society, too analytical,
methodical and word-oriented to move in the realm of visualisation. We need
to teach ourselves to re-integrate the right and left brains. To do this, we
need to develop the neglected half of our brain - the right brain. We must
meditate, imagine, visualise and drift in the subconscious dreamworlds where
creative urges spring up and cause us to explore new revelations.
To achieve this, all kinds of strange devices have been tried,
including hallucinogenic drugs, hypnosis, meditation music, brainwave
inductors, and sensory deprivation tanks.
Unfortunately, the truth is that seeking to develop the imagination in
this way is a fast track to bondage and oppression, because demons love the
fertile ground of any passive, drifting, open mind. They quickly steer it
towards the worship of false gods.
However, Copeland goes even further down this road by telling us we
have two halves of the brain, one used by the spirit and one used by the
soul! According to this version, we need to develop the "spiritual side of
our brain" where the powers of creation and imagination are.
There is so much that is wrong here that it's hard to know where to
begin commenting.
Firstly, the whole concept of the "two halves of your brain" and the
supposed unused right side is a New Age myth. There is absolutely no
scientific evidence for this belief. Brain scans show that thought processes
occur all over the brain equally in both halves, and both sides of the brain
are also active in imagination and dreaming. While there may be some
differences in emphasis between the two halves, there is nothing like the
total separation of function suggested here!
Medically speaking, the two sides of the brain are not as separate as
all that. One section of the brain called the Corpus Callosum has been shown
to be the link between the two halves and it channels information between
them. Even when this is severed, there is still some interaction between the
two halves of the brain. It may be that we use different areas of the
physical brain for different functions - I don't question that. But God did
not create a brain that was half useless, that sits dormant until we
consciously develop it. Both the soul and the spirit of man have equal
access to the entire functions of all the body.
Despite Copeland's reminder that we are a spirit-being in a physical
body (thus suggesting the spirit is more important) the Bible does not make
such a distinct separation. Men are called "souls" in the Bible. (For
example Lev 17:12) Also, the soul and spirit are so closely intertwined that
the words for these areas in the OT are used interchangeably.
There is so much shared activity between the soul and spirit that we
have difficulty dividing between them. It is perhaps one of our greatest
problems as Christians, to know what is "of the spirit" as opposed to our
own soulish activity. We are told that only the word of God, sharp and
precise as a sword, can effectively divide between them - and as you read
this familiar passage be aware that it is speaking not only of the written
word but the WORD of God who is Jesus Christ.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but
all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to
do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
(Heb 4:12-15 KJV)
Jesus knows and sees all things, and knows the interior workings of our
hearts. He knows the difference between soulish emotions and the spiritual
prompts from God, because he, too, once lived on earth in a human body and
has been touched by "the feelings of our infirmities" and temptations. We,
however, are often in the dark over this and confuse the workings of soul
and spirit - making Copeland's claim that we use two completely different
sides of our brain for soulish and spiritual activity a complete fallacy.
Also, contrary to Copeland's assertions, "imaginations" are said to
arise from the heart, not the spirit. The "heart" is the emotional centre of
man, the centre of thought, will and feeling. It is part of the fallen
nature. Furthermore, the Bible usually shows these imaginations to be wicked
and ungodly! (e.g.: Ps 140:2/Prov 12:20/Zech 8:17) In particular note:
"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
(Gen 6:5 KJV)
"...the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth..." (Gen 8:21 KJV)
Man may have been born a "visionary" but since the Fall he has been
busy envisioning rebellion against God and wickedness against his
fellow-man. Whenever we get to work with our imaginations, we invariably end
up disobeying God. Isn't that the truth? How, then, can Copeland claim that
our purified, reborn, spirits are responsible for our visionary skills?
If it were true that the spirit and soul are apportioned different
parts of the brain by God, then logically the entire spiritual half would
have ceased to function when Adam fell! No human being would have the full
function of the right side of his brain until he became saved! You know that
isn't so.
No, we need all that God provided, and we use all that God provided. We
have been created with a physical brain that is designed to get us
effectively through this life on earth, with powers of thought, imagination,
will, reason, logic and analysis - all are needed and all are used
continually.
But let's not confuse the physical mind and soul powers of our human
existence with the spiritual gifts given us by God. These are totally
different. If we do confuse them, as Copeland does, we could easily begin to
accept the New Age view of man as a undeveloped superman who needs to enter
into a spiritual realm by the development of his brain.
Copeland here is already calling "visualisation" a God-given spiritual
gift, one of the most commonly used techniques for developing higher powers
in the pagan religious cults, in Satanism and esoteric philosophies, and in
all areas of the occult. It is visualisation that's being used to bring
man's thoughts (however evil) and dreams (however damaging) into reality.
This whole issue of visualisation is a burning topic in the church
right now because some Christians feel that we can use pictures in our
imagination to bring healing or peace, or to get answers to prayer.
Ministers such as Dave Hunt, who wrote the book "The Seduction of
Christianity", point out that as a technique it is much more a part of pagan
culture than Christian.
His comments can be read in his book in chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12, and
also in his sequel, " Beyond Seduction" chapters 10 and 11.
One final thought on the errors of Ken Copeland and the Word-of-Faith
doctrines: where ignorant and deceived men raise themselves up into
positions of power, they frequently become idols of the masses. Just because
Copeland has millions of followers around the world does not make him
correct in his doctrine. I have nothing against the man personally, but his
teaching is - as I have shown - often completely misleading and wrong.
If you are a part of this Movement, consider that fresh and brackish
water cannot come from the same source! There is enough brackish water here
to fill a lake. Consider your Christian walk, and the safety of your eternal
spirit, and if you value truth and have any regard to correct biblical
doctrine, you MUST forsake this teaching.
And may God bless you with open eyes and hearts
to hear his voice and to do His will!
***xtbc..........
>
> "***xtbc..............." <Coffee_is_...@caffine.com> wrote in
> message news:c2b82$49518335$4ad7a5a4$16...@FUSE.NET...
>>
>> "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
>> news:91a9ad83-61d6-438c...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
>> . There is a whole slew of preachers (the late
>> Kenneth Hagin {considered the "father" of the modern word-faith
>> movement}, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
>> Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Peter
>> Popoff, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo
>> and of course, Paul and Jan Crouch) in that category who are ....
>>
>>>>>>>>---------->
>>
>> Positive proof you can not descern.
>
> Positive proof I have shows what I have claimed to be true.
You have shows????
Leave this alone cause you really make yourself look bad.
xtbc
Carl
QUOTES FROM THIRD WAVE LEADERS
[from http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/quotes.html]
Go the above website for links described in the article.
[PART ONE -- split into section in order to appear on Usenet]
Matthew 19:36-37 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the
day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words
you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Here is a list of quotes from leaders in the Third Wave and "counterfeit"
revival movements. This page will provide you the documented evidence you
need to determine whether or not the people listed on this page are teaching
false doctrine and/or making false prophesies.
This page includes quotes from: A.A. Allen, John Arnott, John Avanzini,
William Branham, Paul Cain, Charles Capps, Morris Cerullo, Paul Yonggi Cho,
Randy Clark, Jack Coe, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Crouch, Jack Deere, Kenneth
Hagin, Marilyn Hickey, Steve Hill, Benny Hinn, Rodney Howard-Browne, Rick
Joyner, Essek Kenyon, John Kilpatrick, Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee Semple
McPherson, Earl Paulk, Peter Popoff, Fred Price, Oral Roberts, Pat
Robertson, John Scotland, Robert Tilton, and John Wimber. They are arranged
in alphabetical order.
The Bible is clear about listening to false teachers:
2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be
false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies,
even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction
on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way
of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you
with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging
over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
1 Timothy 6:3-12
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound
instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is
conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in
controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife,
malicious talk, evil suspicions
5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of
the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing
into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and
clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall
into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the
faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee
from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance
and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the
eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in
the presence of many witnesses.
2 Timothy 4:3-5
3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great
number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will
turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep
your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,
discharge all the duties of your ministry.
It is also clear about false prophets:
De 18:20-22
20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not
commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,
must be put to death. 21 You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a
message has not been spoken by the LORD?" 22 If what a prophet proclaims in
the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the
LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be
afraid of him.
Jeremiah 23:16-18
16 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets
are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions
from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They keep saying to
those who despise me, `The LORD says: You will have peace.' And to all who
follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, `No harm will come to
you.' 18 But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to
hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?
Ezekiel 13:1-23
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now
prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: `Hear
the word of the LORD! 3 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the
foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your
prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to
the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will
stand firm in the battle on the day of the LORD. 6 Their visions are false
and their divinations a lie. They say, "The LORD declares", when the LORD
has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled. 7 Have you
not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, "The LORD
declares", though I have not spoken? 8 "`Therefore this is what the
Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am
against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. 9 My hand will be against the
prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not
belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house
of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I
am the Sovereign LORD. 10 "`Because they lead my people astray, saying,
"Peace", when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built,
they cover it with whitewash, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with
whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will
send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When
the wall collapses, will people not ask you, "Where is the whitewash you
covered it with?" 13 "`Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my
wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents
of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you
have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its
foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it;
and you will know that I am the LORD.
15 So I will spend my wrath against the wall and against those who covered
it with whitewash. I will say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who
whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and
saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign
LORD."'
17 "Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who
prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them 18 and say,
`This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms
on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in
order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but
preserve your own?
19 You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and
scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed
those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live. 20
"`Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic
charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from
your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. 21 I will
tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no
longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 22
Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought
them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their
evil ways and so save their lives, 23 therefore you will no longer see false
visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And
then you will know that I am the LORD.'"
False teachers can repent of their false teaching and change. If they do,
the church should forgive them and restore them if they remain in sound
doctrine. If their apologies are hollow and deceitful and they persist in
teaching false doctrine, they must come under church discipline as detailed
in 1 Cor. 5, Eph 5:6-14 and Matt. 18:15-17. We must try them (I John 4: 1),
we must rebuke them (Titus 1:13), we must have no fellowship with them if
they do not repent (Eph. 5:11), we must withdraw from them (2 Thes. 3:6), we
must separate from them (2 Cor. 6:17), we must turn away from them (2 Tim
3:5,7), we must mark them and avoid them (Rom. 16:17), we must not receive
them into our house (2 John 10). We are to reject heretics (Titus 3:10).
If they are false prophets making false or inaccurate prophesies of the
future, however, that is a matter between them and God. The church is to
ignore their prophesies from that point on. They should no longer be allowed
to prophesy in the church, in my opinion. They should come under church
discipline as detailed in 1 Cor. 5, Eph 5:6-14 and Matt. 18:15-17. If they
refrain from prophesy but teach false doctrine, the discipline process
should start all over again.
The quotes on this page are provided with the message, tape, book or article
from which they were taken and the date whenever possible. If that
information is not available, the source from which the quote was taken,
such as a commentary or apologetic article or book, will be given. It is
hoped that this will be a helpful resource -- to those who take their stand
and make their standard God's Word and desire to remain in sound doctrine.
Titus 1:7-9
1 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not
overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not
pursuing dishonest gain.
2 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is
self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
3 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so
that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose
it.
Titus 2:1
1 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.
We will continue to add to this document as new questionable statements are
made or published. Quotes from the individuals below are by no means
exhaustive. Every effort has been made to give accurate quotes, not take
them out of context, and to ensure that the quotes reflect the teachings,
preaching or prophesy of the individual listed. If and when any of the
people who made these statements recant them and demonstrate that they no
longer believe or teach these things over a period of time, those quotes
will be removed from this page.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. A. ALLEN
Faith healer (deceased)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. A. Allen "scammed" his followers by asserting that he could command God
to "turn dollar bills into twenties." (A. A. Allen, The Secret to Scriptural
Financial Success (Miracle Valley, AZ: A. A. Allen Publications, 1953);
quoted in Harrell, 75)
Allen was also known to have urged his followers to send for his "prayer
cloths anointed with the Miracle Oil" (A. A. Allen, "Miracle Oil Flows at
Camp Meeting," Miracle Magazine, June 1967, 6-7; quoted in Harrell, 200)
Allen offered "Miracle tent shavings" as points of contact for personal
miracles. (Reported in "New Revival Tent Dedicated in Philadelphia," Miracle
Magazine, September 1967, 15; quoted in Harrell, 200)
Allen even "launched a brief 'raise the dead' program." Of course, it
died.(Reported in "New Revival Tent Dedicated in Philadelphia," Miracle
Magazine, September 1967, 15; quoted in Harrell, 199)
Allen told adherents that God had given him "a new anointing and a new power
to lay hands on the believers who gave $100.00 towards the support of our
missionary outreach and bestow upon each of them POWER TO GET WEALTH." (Hank
Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997 citing David Edwin Harrell, Jr., "All
Things Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America"
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 200)
"Of course some of you do not believe this. Listen, you old skeptic, you
don't have to believe it, because it doesn't have to happen to you. But it
had to happen to me. I'll tell you why. I decreed a thing ... God said "Thou
shall decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee ... " I believe
I can command God to perform a miracle for you financially. When you do, God
can turn dollar bills into twenties." (David Edwin Harrell, Jr., "All Things
Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America"
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 75)
What A.A. Allen was doing bothered authorities of the Assemblies of God.
Unlike the leaders of today's Counterfeit Revival, they were embarrassed by
such outlandish claims and outrageous conduct. Thus, when Allen, who is
extolled today by Benny Hinn as a "great man of God", was arrested for drunk
driving during a Tennessee revival in 1955, the first of many
alcohol-related experiences for Allen, the leadership of the Assemblies of
God had reached its limit. (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997
citing Michale Moriarity, "The New Charismatics" (grand Rapids, MIC:
Zondervan, 1992), 35)
At the entrance to Miracle Valley (A.A.Allen's 1,280 acre community) was a
huge sign that made it plain just what was going on in that neck of the
desert. In red and gold, it proclaimed: A.A.ALLEN REVIVALS, INC., MIRACLE
VALLEY, ARIZONA. The Blind to See. The Deaf to Hear. The Lame To Walk.
SIGNS. GIFTS. WONDERS. ... (A.A. Allen's) Miracle Magazine, a monthly
publication with a circulation of 350,000 was produced at Miracle Valley.
Allen was very careful to publish a disclaimer concerning the wild claims of
healing that appeared in that periodical, sent in by enthusiastic "healees".
... "Utmost care has been taken to assure the accuracy of all testimonies
before publication and A.A. Allen Revivals, Inc. and "Miracle Magazine"
assume no legal responsibility for the veracity of any such report, nor do
they accept responsibility as to the degree or permanence of reported
healings, deliverances or miracles ..." (James Randi, The Faith Healers,
1989, p.83-85)
A physician from the nearby town of Sierra Vista, Dr. Kenneth A Dregseth,
told an interviewer: "I have seen no miracles. In fact, I've had to run
diabetics to the hospital when they've stopped taking their insulin,
believing they had been cured in Miracle Valley." (James Randi, The Faith
Healers, 1989, p.87)
A.A. Allen dogmatically claimed that he could raise people from the dead. He
actually launched a "raise the dead" campaign in the mid-sixties. Thankfully
it died when his disciples refused to bury their departed, and their
departed refused to come back from the dead. (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit
Revival, 1997 citing Michale Moriarity, "The New Charismatics" (grand
Rapids, MIC: Zondervan, 1992), 2 and David Edwin Harrell, Jr., "All Things
Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America"
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 199)
Allen was eventually kicked out of the Assemblies of God denomination when
he jumped bail after being arrested for drunk driving. (Reported in "New
Revival Tent Dedicated in Philadelphia," Miracle Magazine, September 1967,
15; quoted in Harrell, 70-71)
On June 14, 1970, listeners in the United States, the United Kingdom, and
the Philippines were hearing a recorded message from A. A. Allen on his
radio program saying: "This is Brother Allen in person. Numbers of friends
of mine have been inquiring about reports they have heard concerning me that
are not true. People as well as some preachers from pulpits are announcing
that I am dead. Do I sound like a dead man? My friends, I am not even sick!
Only a moment ago I made a reservation to fly into our current campaign.
I'll see you there and make the devil a liar." At that moment, at the Jack
Tar Hotel in San Francisco, police were removing A. A. Allen's body from a
room strewn with pills and empty liquor bottles. The man who had once said
that "the beer bottle and gin bucket" should have been on his family coat of
arms was dead at 59 from what was said to be a heart attack but was in
reality liver failure brought about by acute alcoholism. (James Randi, The
Faith Healers, 1989, p.88)
In 1970 Allen died from what "news accounts report [as] sclerosis of the
liver." (Reported in "New Revival Tent Dedicated in Philadelphia," Miracle
Magazine, September 1967, 15; quoted in Harrell, 202) One writer describes
Allen's cause of death as "cirrhosis" of the liver (see Gary L. Ward,
"Allen, Asa Alonzo," in J. Gordon Melton, Religious Leaders of America
[Detroit: Gale Research, 1991], 9)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN ARNOTT
Head pastor of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship where the "Toronto
Blessing" originated.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What happens is, there's a transference of His anointing where, not only do
you see it, not only do you experience it for yourself, but you're going to
take it home to your people." (John Arnott, Pastor of the Toronto Airport
Fellowship, pastor's Meeting, October 19, 1994)
"Another thing that hinders (receiving the Holy Spirit or anointing) is
people pray all the time." (John Arnott, at Holy Trinity Brompton, England,
February 14, 1995)
"Yes, Lord, we're going to go for it, we're gonna try to do our part to
bring the kingdom of God here...and wouldn't it be wonderful if the Lord
would start to move in power and restore the church to its proper place and
make us the head and not the tail?" (John Arnott, TACF, 10/19/94)
John Arnott and his wife gave approval to a woman's report of a divine
message from Jesus that she should leave her husband because he was like a
stone around her neck. (A Memoir Of "The Vineyard" Cheryl Thomson, 1994)
Don't "even entertain the thought that (you) might get a counterfeit." (John
Arnott, TACF, 12/16/94, audiotape)
Controlling emotions does not facilitate the "anointing". This dilemma is
solved, Arnott says, if he and the other leaders "break those controls off
of people and boom, they'll take it just like that." (John Arnott, Discovery
Church, Orlando, FL, 1/29/95, audiotape, commentary from Counterfiet
Revival, Hank Hanegraaff, 1997)
Jesus said "Go pray for Sarah, your friend, I'm going to heal her." To
enthusiastic applause, Arnott continues, "that girl, totally incapacitated,
paralyzed and blind, after two and a half hours of soaking prayer, got up
seeing." Sadly, however, Arnott's story plays fast and loose with the truth
... Sarah was not totally incapacitated, paralyzed and blind; Sarah
Lilliman's doctors had diagnosed significant psychosomatic emotional
problems underlying he physical problems; Jesus did not heal Lilliman as He
supposedly promised her friend He would do and when Arnott's associate (who
allegedly documented the case) was interviewed, he confessed that he have
not done any investigation .. Today, despite the broad circulation of this
story by Arnott and his associates as evidence of God's power in the Toronto
"Blessing", Sarah Lilliman is still, as before, legally blind. (John Arnott,
"Valuing the Anointing", TACF, 10/15/94, audiotape, commentary from
Counterfiet Revival, Hank Hanegraaff, 1997)
Of the frightening manifestations in evidence in the Toronto "Blessing" John
Arnott says the problem is that we have been conditioned to believe "that
the Holy Spirit's a gentleman" who would never do anything "rough or
impolite". That, says Arnott, is simply "not true!" (John Arnott, Discovery
Church, Orlando, FL, 1/29/95, audiotape, commentary from Counterfiet
Revival, Hank Hanegraaff, 1997)
"If you're going to be concerned about deception, then please be concerned
about the greatest deception that there is, and the greatest deception of
all, in my opinion, is not to fall for teachings of a false prophet ... in
my opinion the greatest deception of all is to have a move of God come
through and you not recognize it." (John Arnott, "Catch The Fire," Midland
and Wales, UK, 2/2/96, audiotape)
It's always revealing, the attitudes people have about critical thinking. A
common problem with leadership today is their refusal to criticize or judge
the false. This is a tragedy for we need that kind of leadership more now
than ever! A prime example is John Hinckle's prophecy that on Thursday, June
9th, the Lord would rip all evil off the face of the earth. That "prophecy"
was later spiritualized and revised to say that the "spiritual vail of
darkness would be torn, allowing people to see the light!" The Kansas City
Prophets and others allegedly had received "words from God" to the effect
that for New Testament times, the standard for prophets was different than
Deut 18. According to them, a "prophet" can be 40% inaccurate and still be
considered valid! Unfortunately, thanks to people like John Wimber, their
teachings have been widely accepted. You can see this lax view of prophetic
standards in this Arnott observation! This quote may well have been said
before June 9th. [Arnott] "People get funny when things like this
happen...June 9th, there was a prophecy given by a reputable man,...that the
Lord would tear open the vail, the shroud of darkness that is over the
earth, that is blinding the earth, and as He tore the vail of the temple
when Jesus arose, now He's going to tear open the heavens and allow the
glory of God to come down...I really hope it comes true...I know that He's
up to something...Don't get too excited about dates, sometimes prophetic
people are right about the event, but wrong about the date." (Toronto
Leaders Speak for Themselves, Bob Hunter, 1997)
"We have had word after word about "get ready, cause you're just on the hors
d'oeuvres right now," but, the power is coming. We've had a word that said,
you know, "I'm just going easy on you now with this kind of stuff so you can
kind of get used to me and acclimatize, because with the real power shows up
I don't want you to be terrified!" (John Arnott, Receiving the Spirit's
Power)
"I finally start to ask Carol, "Honey, what do you feel?" (Carol), "Oh, it's
just wonderful." (Arnott), 'Well, help me," you know, and so she says, "Now,
just tune in," and so I'd be tuned in and I'm there, going like this,...and
maybe I'd even start weaving a little bit, and I'm thinking "Lord, do I feel
something on my hands or am I just making this up? Is there something here
or am I so wanting this?"...And Carol would say, "No, no, I can feel Him
going in, I can feel Him going in, Just keep focused!" You know and
then...she'd say, "Oops, where did you go?" I'd say, "What do you mean?"
She'd say, "I feel it coming back on me, where did you go?" And I would
realize my mind had drifted off again someplace." (John Arnott, Receiving
the Spirit's Power)
"Don't react by even who's praying, I get so tired of people saying, "Be
careful who's praying for you now, somebody might lay hands on you that's
not really free, and you might get something you didn't bargain for" [crowd
laughs]. Listen, you know what Jesus did? He'd walk right up to a leper and
lay hands on him, He wasn't afraid of getting leprosy!" John Arnott also
added: "Don't worry about who's praying for you, my goodness, there's not a
perfect person praying for people on the face of the earth!" (Toronto
Leaders Speak for Themselves, Bob Hunter, 1997)
Arnott says about manifestation expectations: "People ask us all the time,
"What do you feel?" and that's a valid question. At first, it's almost
imperceptible, but you think your hands are feeling a little heavier, this
is my experience, and as you love Him, and stay tuned to that and say, "Oh,
Lord, more of your presence," and it gets heavier and they begin to tingle,
kind of, sort of like electricity and it can flow all up and down your arms
and all over your face and up and down your legs and when it really
increases, it's like you're being electrocuted, almost." The Bible says,
however" Jude 19-20 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having
not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy
faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. James 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from
above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (Toronto Leaders Speak for
Themselves, Bob Hunter, 1997)
"I spoke Sunday night on the topic A Second Wave is Coming. I gave a call
for any who were under the fear of deception by critics, etc., and about 100
responded, repenting for allowing their child-like trust in God to be
stolen." (Letter, 2/26/97 from Christchurch, TACF, Road Warriors Archive)
I attended a "revival" meeting last night at Lake Boren Christian Center A/G
near Renton, WA (near Seattle) where John Arnott was the featured speaker.
At this meeting Arnott introduced a "new anointing" he calls the "Sword of
the Lord." With this "anointing" comes a new boldness, a "new power". He
also called it the "Warrior Anointing." It promises "to bring deliverance
from your enemies." The visible effects of receiving this "anointing"
include roaring, shouting and grasping the hands above the head, then
swinging them up and down as if one was actually holding a sword and
attacking an enemy. Arnott cautioned the crowd not to "take the sword if you
have any secret sin because that sword may turn on you." After explaining
all this, most of the 600+ people attending lined up to receive this new
"anointing" from John Arnott as he grabbed upraised hands and said, "Receive
the sword." With this "anointed" touch most of the people fell down and
began moving their arms back and forth (as described earlier) while on the
floor. Some stood and repeated this same movement. One man I observed
actually hit a woman in the side with his "sword." (John Arnott, Lake Boren
Christian Center A/G, D.V.H. in an e-mail on 07/24/97 11:42 AM)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN AVANZINI
Host of TBN Today "Behind The Scenes".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jesus had an expensive ministry. (John Avanzini, Praise the Lord (TBN),
9/15/88)
That cross proved a 3-fold dimension of redemption. (John Avanzini, Praise
the Lord (TBN), 9/15/88)
30, 60, 100 fold (John Avanzini, Believer's Voice of Victory, (TBN) 3/7/91)
Jesus had a nice house, a big house. (John Avanzini, Believer's Voice of
Victory, (TBN) 1/20/91)
Jesus wore designer clothes. (John Avanzini, Believer's Voice of Victory,
(TBN) 1/20/91)
Paul had the kind of money that could stop up justice. (John Avanzini,
Believer's Voice of Victory, (TBN) 1/20/91)
If you have a treasurer, that means you have a lot of money. (John Avanzini,
Praise the Lord (TBN), 9/15/88)
Jesus was handling big money. (John Avanzini, Praise the Lord (TBN),
9/15/88)
"[The Spirit of God]...declared in the earth today what the eternal purpose
of God has been through the ages...that He is duplicating Himself in the
earth" (John Avanzini, "The End Time Manifestation of the Sons of God,"
Morris Cerullo World Evangelism tape).
"Jesus had a nice big house", "Jesus wore designer clothes" (John Avanzini,
"Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on TBN, recorded 1/20/91)
"Jesus was handling big money" (John Avanzini, "Praise the Lord" broadcast
on TBN, recorded 9/15/88)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAM BRANHAM
Faith healer and stated mentor for many of the people on this page.
(deceased)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William Branham said the doctrine of the Trinity is "a doctrine of demons"
(The Toronto Blessing, Stephen Sizer, 1990)
William Branham said that Eve's sin involved sexual relations with the
serpent, but the "seed of God" were Branham's followers, otherwise known as
"the Bride" or "the New Breed" (The Toronto Blessing, Stephen Sizer, 1990)
"Now my precious brothers - I know this is a tape also. Now don't get
excited. Let me say this with Godly love. The hours approached where I can't
hold still on these things no more... Trinitarianism is of the devil. I tell
you that - Thus saith the Lord." (William Branham, Footprints on the Sands
of Time: The autobiography of William Marrion Branham, Part Two
(Jeffersonville, IN: Spoken Word Publications, 1975), 606-7.)
"Why don't you examine your baptism of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that
false 'trinity' it's so-called..." (William Braham, "Revelation Chapter Four
#3 (Throne of Mercy and Judgment)" (Voice of God Recordings, Inc., 1961,
audio tape #61-0108, side 2).
The angel spoke to William Branham saying: "Fear not. I am sent from the
presence of Almighty God to tell you that your particular life and your
misunderstood ways have been to indicate that God has sent you to take a
gift of divine healing to the people of the world. If you will be sincere,
and can get the people to believe you, nothing shall stand before your
prayer, not even cancer." (Harrell, All Things Are Possible, 28)
William Branham falsely prophesied: "that by 1977 all denominations would be
consumed by the World Council of Churches under the control of the Roman
Catholics, that the rapture would take place, and that the world would be
destroyed." (Burgess and McGee, Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, 96)
William Branham insisted that "believers baptized by a Trinitarian formula
must be rebaptized in the name of Jesus only." (Burgess and McGee,
Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, 95-96)
Branham explained, "...not one place in the Bible is trinity ever
mentioned...It's Catholic error and you Protestants bow to it" (William
Branham, Conduct, Order, Doctrine Q and A, p. 182)
"Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is offices of one God. He was the Father; He
was the Son; He is the Holy Ghost. It's three offices or three
dispensations,..." (William Branham, Conduct, Order, Doctrine Q and A, p.
392). (This view of the Godhead is called Modalism and has been held to be
heretical by both Catholic and Protestant churches.)
"Here is what actually happened in the Garden of Eden. The Word says that
Eve was beguiled by the serpent. She was actually seduced by the serpent. He
was as close to being a human that his seed could, and did mingle with that
of the woman and cause her to conceive" (William Branham, The Original Sin,
pp. 2, 3)
"Now, I'm just your brother, by the grace of God. But when the Angel of the
Lord moves down, it becomes then a Voice of God to you...But I am God's
Voice to you... Now, see, I can say nothing in myself. But what He shows me"
(William Branham, Footprints On The Sands Of Time, p. 214)
When Branham was baptizing 130 converts in the Ohio River, (allegedly) a
heavenly light, like a blazing star, appeared above him just as he was about
to baptize the seventeenth person ... it has also been reported that a voice
spoke from within the light, saying, "As John the Baptist was sent to
forerun the first coming of the Lord, so you are sent to forerun His second
coming..."(The Enigma Of William Branham)
By the 1960's, Branham had clearly become convinced that he was the
end-times "Elijah" and the true "Messenger of the Covenant". (The Enigma Of
William Branham)
It was (later in his ministry) that Branham began to gradually withdraw into
his own little circle, where he had an adoring and loyal following.
(Essentially this circle was made up of "Oneness" or 'Jesus-Only'
Pentecostals). And instead of his previous unwillingness to speak about
contentious or divisive 'minor' issues, he now gradually began to emphasize
such things more and more in his preaching. Slowly, these teachings became
ever-more alarming and extreme. (The Enigma Of William Branham)
Branham taught that the Word of God was given in three forms, the zodiac,
the Egyptian pyramids, and the written scripture.(Al Dager, Vengeance is
Ours, Sword, Page 59)
To date, William Branham's body is still in the grave. But, his occult
methodology of healing was picked up by hundreds of pastors and teachers
upon whom he had laid his hands and who have traded on it to a greater or
lesser degree. (Al Dager, Vengeance is Ours, Sword)
Years ago (William Branham) told his interpreter, Pastor Ruff, "If my angel
does not give the sign, I cannot heal." Ruff noticed several features of
spiritism in the work of Branham, and therefore stopped working with him.
These "angels" of whom (Harry) Edwards and Branham spoke are evil spirits
masquerading as angels of light. As in many areas of the occult, we are here
reminded again that the devil appears as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14)
Another evidence is the fact that neither Edwards nor Branham were able to
perform cures when faced with born-again Christians who had committed
themselves to the protection of Christ. In the case of Branham, I have
experienced this myself. When he spoke in Karlsruhe and Lausanne, there were
several believers among the audience -- including myself -- who prayed along
these lines: "Lord, if this man's powers are from You, then bless and use
him, but if the healing gifts are not from You, then hinder him." The
result? On both occasions Brnahm said from the platform, "There are
disturbing powers here. I can do nothing." (Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, 1978, p.
235)
"The most remarkable "messiah" at (the time of the writing of this book) ...
is to be found at camp Manujothi Ashram in the desert in South India. It is
the extreme American evangelist, William Branham, whom Christians have to
thank for this false messiah. His name is Paluser Lawrie Mathukrishna. When
Branham was on (a) tour of India, Brother Lawrie became a disciple of his,
and Branham described him as the "Son of God" and "Christ returned". This is
a very curious situation. Why would the "Son of God" and "Christ returned"
be the disciple of a man like Branham? Shouldn't it have been the other way
around? Or maybe it was. Perhaps this is an important connection between
hinduism and kundalini and the the modern "counterfeit" revival. Perhaps
this is where Branham, one of the fathers of the Third Wave movement, picked
up the ability to pass along kundalini-type manifestations. Perhaps this is
where he picked up a demonic spirit, because it is "reported that towards
the end, some of his teachings almost bordered on the occult." (Kurt Koch,
Occult ABC, 1978, p. 66; comments by Deception In The Church, 1997; The
Enigma Of William Branham)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAUL CAIN
Faith healer and prophet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"For quite a while I have been embarrassed to say anything about the latter
rain, because you are associated and identified with something that people
don't seem to appreciate in certain evangelical circles. So I have played it
cool and haven't said much about it. But I don't care what they think any
more... I believe we are going to have the latter rain and I am looking
forward to it." (Paul Cain, Toronto church on May 28, 1995)
Though Branham denied the historic, orthodox view of the Trinity, William
Branham was the greatest prophet in the 20th century. This was due not to
Branham's doctrines but to "his gifting in the word of knowledge." (Paul
Cain, Armstrong in Michael Horton ed. Power Religion, 1992, p.67)
Paul Cain even advised his audience to wait until they get to heaven to
examine his exposition of the 'Manchild Company,' which would never stand
the test of Scripture: ".I know some of you are going to disagree with this.
Don't you even stop to disagree. Revelation 12:5. If you disagree, just file
it in 'miscellaneous' and check it out. And donut bother with it; when we
get to heaven we'll check it out and you'll find out I'm right." (Paul Cain,
Prophetic Power and Passion Conference, Christ Chapel, Florence, Alabama,
August, 1995.)
Paul Cain promises credulous Christians that in the fullness of endtime
restorationism "all the sick are gonna be healed, the dead are gonna be
raised and nations are gonna turn to God in a day." (Bob Jones and Paul
Cain, "Selections from the Kansas City Prophets," audiotape)
Cain elevates expectations to a fever pitch by telling devotees that they
will be "invincible"; that God is offering them a "greater privilege than
was ever offered to any people of any generation at any time from Adam clear
down through the end of the millennium"; and that they are "gonna have more
than just a little omnipotent surge -- you're gonna behold that glory and
become that glory." (Bob Jones and Paul Cain, "Selections from the Kansas
City Prophets," audiotape, commentary from Counterfeit Revival, Hank
Hanegraaff, 1997)
"No prophet or apostle who ever lived equaled the power of these individuals
in this great army of the Lord in these last days. No one ever had it, not
even Elijah or Peter or Paul, or anyone else enjoyed the power that is gong
to rest on this great army." (Bob Jones and Paul Cain. "Selections from the
Kansas City Prophets," audiotape (tape: 155C)
"...Every time God ever planned to do anything, the devil would get wind of
it and he'd go out there are try to head it off...When he knew Moses was
coming, what did he do to stop him...He killed all the babies. What did he
do when he figured that Jesus was going to be born at a certain time? He
released a decree through the wicked ruler to kill all the babies. Don't you
see? And what's he doing now?...Abortions on every hand. So, you must know
something's coming up greater than Moses, greater than,...Even in Jesus'
day, because the devil is trying to kill off the New Breed. He's trying to
kill off the bride of Christ and trying to kill the whole thing off, but the
Lord has well planted this seed and the New Bride and the New Breed...He's
about to open the womb and He's about to give birth to this New Thing...When
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us we beheld the glories of the only
begotten of the Father and when you begin to become that Word I want you to
know. The world will behold the glory of the Father and that's what we're
waiting to see...I want you to know that we're going to have some channeling
one of these days, but it's going to be channeled right out of the throne
room of Heaven." (Paul Cain, "You Can Become the Word!", 1989, Vineyard
Prophetic Conference)
"God's raising up a new standard, a new banner, if you will, that's going to
radically change the expression, the understanding of Christianity in our
generation...God has invited us to have a role in establishing a new order
of Christianity...God is offering to this generation something He has never
offered to any other generation...beware lest old order brethren rob you and
steal this hope from you." Whatever happened to remaining in the truths that
we were taught? Tit 1:9 "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as
it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and
refute those who oppose it." (Paul Cain, "You Can Become the Word!", 1989,
Vineyard Prophetic Conference, with comment from Deception In The Church,
1997)
In the March 1994 issue of Trinity Broadcasting Network's newsletter, Paul
Crouch wrote of prophesies by Paul Cain and the Kansas City Prophets:
"Something BIG is in the air! 1994 is going to be a pivotal year. I can FEEL
it--you can feel it--numerous Christian leaders and prophets of the Lord are
declaring it! Pastor John Hickle of Christ Church, Los Angeles, received a
word from the Lord that evil will be ripped from the land in June. Kim
Clement, an evangelist from South Africa, has prophesied some astounding
things for the near future. Paul Cain has seen, by the Holy Spirit, an
earth-shaking outpouring of REVIVAL such as the world has NEVER seen!
Aquilla Wilkins Nash, who has told me MANY things by the revelation of God,
has also prophesied some awesome events for the year and years just ahead
... Prophet Paul Cain has seen in the Spirit, a last days revival so
powerful that hospitals will literally be emptied and people kneeling in
public places to receive Christ will become commonplace! Not only will
"hospitals" not "be emptied" before Christ returns or evil be "ripped from
the earth" before the final judgment, but Cain's prophesy of a great revival
in 1994 never materialized. True revival is characterized by repentance and
profound changes, even in the surrounding secular community. At the
outbreak of the Welsh Revival taverns were closed and horses wouldn't go
because their drivers were no longer using curse words to drive them. Since
Toronto and Brownsville are being cited as examples of this prophesy being
fulfilled, it is worthy to note that in both cities crime and evil is on the
rise. There has been no true revival at all from Toronto or Brownsville.
(Paul Crouch, "Blessed Are the Eyes Which See," Praise the Lord newsletter,
March 1994; with comments by Deception In The Church).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHARLES CAPPS
Ordained as a minister in the International Convention of Faith Churches and
Ministers by Kenneth Copeland.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capps has gone so far as to teach that Jesus was the product of God's
positive confession: "This is the key to understanding the virgin birth.
God's Word is full of faith and spirit power. God spoke it. God transmitted
that image to Mary. She received the image inside of her....The embryo that
was in Mary's womb was nothing more than the Word of God....She conceived
the Word of God." (Charles Capps, Dynamics of Faith and Confession (Tulsa,
OK: Harrison House, 1987), 86-87; cf. Charles Capps, Authority in Three
Worlds (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1982), 76-85)
Capps claims that if someone says, "I'm just dying to do that" or "That just
tickled me to death," their statements may literally come true (i.e., they
may die). According to Capps, this is precisely why the human race now lives
only about seventy years instead of 900 years, as was the case with Adam.
(Charles Capps, The Tongue -- A Creative Force (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House,
1976), 91)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORRIS CERULLO
Television evangelist on TBN.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Did you know that from the beginning of time the whole purpose of God was
to reproduce Himself?...And when we stand up here, brother, you're not
looking at Morris Cerullo; you're looking at God. You're looking at Jesus"
(Morris Cerullo, "The End Time Manifestation of the Sons of God," Morris
Cerullo World Evangelism tape 1).
Morris Cerullo said "You represent all that God is and all that God
has...Jesus was the visible expression of God. Jesus was the Son of the
Living God. Now, who are you? Sons of God.everyone say it. What is working
inside of us is the manifestation. When you look at me, you are looking at
Jesus.To see Jesus was to see God. To see me is to see Jesus. Jesus knew who
He was. Don't you think it is about time we know who we are?" ("Joel's
Army," Jewel van der Merwe, Discernment Ministries)
Morris Cerullo claims he was led out of a Jewish orphanage by two angelic
beings; transported to heaven for a face-to-face meeting with God; and told
he would be capable of revealing the future. (Cerullo, The Miracle Book, ix;
and 7 Point Outreach -- World Evangelism and You (pamphlet), 4.; Cerullo,
The Miracle Book, xi.; "God's Faithful, Anointed Servant, Morris Cerullo.")
Claiming that God was directly speaking through him, Cerullo uttered, "Would
you surrender your pocketbooks unto Me, saith God, and let me be the Lord of
your pocketbooks....Yea, so be thou obedient unto my voice." (Morris
Cerullo, "A Word from God at the Deeper Life World Conference," Deeper Life,
March 1982, 15.)
Morris Cerullo is now offering thorugh his television show and web site
"God's Victorious Army Financial Breakthrough Spiritual Warfare Bible". Here
is the description of how to attain financial freedom and wealth as Cerullo
contends Christians should: "This Bible is the definitive word on finances,
with special icons designed to lead you throughout God's Word, teaching you
about Biblical finances. This beautiful, genuine bonded-leather Bible has
more than 2,000 pages, chock full of financial breakthrough principles and
spiritual commentaries honed from Morris Cerullo's fifty years of experience
serving the Savior ... THIS INCREDIBLE BIBLE CAN BE YOURS FOR A LOVE GIFT OF
ONLY $89 OR MORE." (Morris Cerullo, at
http://www.needlenook.com/~mcweis/bible.html (caps are Cerullo's), 1997,
with comments by Deception In The Church)
"... When a person comes forward and testifies that they are healed, we give
that testimony. You can call it a claim. We don't claim it but we testify
to that fact ..." (You need Internet Explorer to hear this file. Go to this
page, read the instructions, then click on "Morris Cerullo/Benny Hinn Never
Say 'You're Healed'!").
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAUL YONGGI CHO (David Cho)
Pastor of the world's largest church, located in Seoul, South Korea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cho claims to have received his call to preach from Jesus Christ Himself,
who supposedly appeared to him dressed like a fireman. (Dwight J. Wilson,
"Cho, Paul Yonggi," Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements,
161)
Cho is well aware of his link to occultism, arguing that if Buddhists and
Yoga practitioners can accomplish their objectives through fourth
dimensional powers, then Christians should be able to accomplish much more
by using the same means. (Paul Yonggi Cho, The Fourth Dimension, vol. 1
(South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979), 37, 41)
As Cho tells the story of his name change, God showed him that Paul Cho had
to die and David Cho was to be resurrected in his place. According to Cho,
God Himself came up with his new name. (Paul Yonggi Cho interviewed by C.
Peter Wagner, "Yonggi Cho Changes His Name," Charisma & Christian Life,
November 1992, 80)
"In 1993, Dr. Cho, pastor of the world's largest church in Seoul, Korea was
conducting a meeting in Seattle, Washington. He was praying for revival in
America. "God are you going to send revival to America, or is she destined
for judgment?" While he was praying the Lord told him to get a map of
America. He did so and the Holy Spirit told him to point his finger at the
map. As he did, he felt his finger drawn to the Florida panhandle and to the
city of Pensacola. "I am going to send revival to the seaside city of
Pensacola and it will spread like a fire until all of America has been
consumed by it," said the Lord to Dr. Cho. Dr. Cho shared his experience
with others and the word predictably spread to many of the pastors in the
Pensacola area." Since this prophesy came true, in a certain sense, Cho is
not a false prophet. However, if this revival is not of God, then Cho must
be receiving messages from another source. (Brownsville Revival web site at:
http://www.brownsville-revival.org/choprop.html, with comments by Deception
In The Church)
"You create the presence of Jesus with your mouth ... He is bound by your
lips and by your words ... Remember that Christ is depending upon you and
your spoken word to release His presence." (Paul Yonggi Cho, The Fourth
Dimension, Volume One (So. Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979), 83)
Cho's concept of fourth-dimensional thinking is nothing short of occultism.
In his best-selling book "The Fourth Dimension", Cho unveils his departure
from historic Christian theology and his entry into the world of the occult.
Cho lists four steps in his incubation formula: 1) Visualize a clear-cut
goal or idea in your mind; 2) have a burning desire for your objective; 3)
pray until you get the guarantee or assurance from God that what you desire
is already yours; 4) speak or confess the end result into existence. ((Hank
Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis, 1993 citing Paul Yonggi Cho, The Fourth
Dimension, Volume One (So. Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979), 9-35;
vol. 2, 18-33)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RANDY CLARK
Revivalist.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clark now says that in the midst of his spiritual disillusionment, God
rebuked him, saying, "You have a ... denominational spirit if you think you
can only drink of the well of your own group." God then asked Clark a very
pertinent question: "How badly do you want me?" (Randy Clark, Catch The Fire
'94, Test Me Now ... I will Back You Up, TACF, 10/13/94, audiotape)
God decided to throw a party for His people because they "already feel so
icky about themselves." (Randy Clark, Catch The Fire, TAV, 10/14/94,
audiotape)
Randy Clark claims that the "greatest revival of all times" is now a
reality. He tells credulous Christians that "people are being raised from
the dead and temples are being hit by lightening or fireballs and knocked
off their things. It's all over. Germany and Africa. It's everywhere. God's
doing it." (Randy Clark, "Catch The Fire: Questions and Answers", TACF,
10/14/94, audiotape, commentary from Counterfiet Revival, Hank Hanegraaff,
1997)
"The theme of this conference is "Equipping Church Leadership With Power".
Each Pastor and Worship Leader will participate in three workshops. The
workshops are: 1) 5-step Healing Prayer Model, 2) Worship, 3) Small Groups.
The workshops have a three-fold purpose. There will be teaching, impartation
and practice. The workshops are designed to be interactive and involve the
participation of the attendees. We believe this is the most effective way of
impartation." This was from a letter to set up the "Catch The Fire"
conference in Russia for church leaders. Several things are askew in the
above scenario. (1) Only God can equip church leadership to do what He wants
done, whether in power or in humble persecution. The "with power" statement
is egotistic and false advertising. (2) If the desire was to "equip church
leadership" then wouldn't subjects like "authority under Christ",
"leadership through humility", and "servant hood" serve this purpose much
better than supposedly teaching people a model of how to heal (ie. "the
emphasis will be on understanding and using the 1 Cor 12 spiritual gifts in
praying for the sick and unsaved. Pastors and Worship Leaders will have the
opportunity to practice what they learned both in the workshop and the
evening session ministry time"), a legalistic plan of worship to get people
ready for the "impartation" (ie."the emphasis will be on understanding the
power and presence of God to move on His people during intimate worship"),
and how use small groups to get people indoctrinated into techniques of
"intercession" and "impartation" (ie."the emphasis will be on imparting the
life and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in home group settings. A secondary
emphasis will be on identifying, recruiting, training, mentoring, observing
and deploying home group leaders"), etc.? (3) Teaching people how to receive
the "impartation" (let's get to the bottom line here, folks), giving the
"impartation" and practicing by passing it on to others is not a Scriptural
model of how to be a leader in church or do evangelism. We are not to preach
and spread some sort of "impartation", no matter how holy it makes people
feel. We are to preach the gospel and to remain in sound doctrine. (Randy
Clark, "Letter Of Invitation" to churches in the former Soviet Union
inviting them to the "Catch The Fire" conference in Moscow, 25-27 March
1996, 1/18/96; with commentary by Deception In The Church)
Previous to this, I had unknowingly been talking to Randy Clark! He also
told me that "this is a move of God" as stated in Acts 2, and "people are
drunk in the Spirit as they were then". (J & Y J. Wallsall, UK, June1995 in
an e-mail from: Tricia Tillin, 21-Aug-1995)
During the meeting itself on Monday night, we were told by people who
"braved it" that David Carr wore black trousers, an open black shirt and a
medallion! Later they danced the conga and had an erotic dancer on stage.
And David Carr did his "John Travolta" impression. Randy Clark told people
"in order to receive the blessing" all they had to do was "not pray", as it
"hinders the blessing". (J & Y J. Wallsall, UK, June1995 in an e-mail from:
Tricia Tillin, 21-Aug-1995)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JACK COE
AOG minister and faith healer. (deceased)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coe on occasion would actually "pick people up out of the wheelchairs. If
they fell, he'd say you didn't have faith." (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit
Revival, 1997, pg. 137 citing Harrell, All Things Are Possible, 59)
Like modern faith healers, (Coe) suggested that those who opposed him were
in danger of being "struck dead by God." (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit
Revival, 1997, pg. 137 citing Harrell, All Things Are Possible, 59)
The Assemblies of God were so embarrassed by Coe's exaggerated (healing)
claims that they finally expelled him in 1953 on the grounds the he was
"misleading the public". (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997, pg.
137 citing Harrell, All Things Are Possible, 111)
(Coe) warned followers "that the day would come when those who consulted
physicians would have to take the mark of the beast." Coe (subsequently)
became critically ill with bulbar polio ... (and) took the "mark of the
beast" and was admitted to the hospital. (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit
Revival, 1997, pg. 137 citing Harrell, All Things Are Possible, 101)
While Counterfeit Revival leader Oral Roberts considered Jack Coe "a man of
great faith", many other well known religious leaders considered Coe a
master of gimmicks and fabrications. (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival,
1997, pg. 137)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KENNETH COPELAND
Television evangelist with Kenneth Copeland Ministries who can be seen on
the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faith is a Force (like Starwars). (Kenneth Copeland, Spirit, Soul and Body,
#01-0601, Tape #1)
God did not create the world out of nothing, He used the Force of His Faith.
(Kenneth Copeland, Spirit, Soul and Body, #01-0601, Tape #1)
Adam was not subordinate to God. (Kenneth Copeland, Following the Faith of
Abraham, Tape #01-3001)
God and Adam looked exactly alike. (Kenneth Copeland, The Authority of the
Believer IV; Tape #01-0304)
"Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God" (Kenneth Copeland, NOW WE
ARE IN CHRIST JESUS (Ft. Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1980), 24.)
"God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself...He was
not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to
God even" (Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham," tape 01-3001,
n.d.).
"Faith is God's source of power" (Kenneth Copeland, Freedom From Fear, 1983.
p. 12. emphasis original)
"You don't have a god in you, you are one." (Kenneth Copeland, "The Force Of
Love" tape # 02-0028)
"Pray to yourself, because I'm in your self and you're in My self. We are
one Spirit, saith the Lord." (Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of
Victory", Feb. 1987, p.9)
"I say this with all respect so that it don't upset you too bad, but I say
it anyway. When I read in the Bible where he [Jesus] says, 'I Am,' I just
smile and say, 'Yes, I Am, too!'" (Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of
Victory" broadcast on TBN, recorded 7/9/87)
"God is the biggest failure in the Bible...the reason you've never thought
that is because He never said He was one".(Kenneth Copeland,
"Praise-a-thon", broadcast on TBN, recorded 1988)
"God is a being that stands somewhere around 6'2, 6'3" (Kenneth Copeland,
"Following the Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001)
The earth we live on is a "copy of the mother planet" (Kenneth Copeland,
"Following the Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001)
"Gods reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself. I mean a
reproduction of Himself. He [Adam] was not a little like God, he was not
almost like God, He was not subordinate to God even". (Kenneth Copeland,
"Following the Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001)
"Adam is God manifested in the flesh" (Kenneth Copeland, "Following the
Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001)
"Don't be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you're God. The more
you get to be like Me, the more they're going to think that way of you. They
crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn't claim I was God; I
just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah. That's
what you're doing." (Kenneth Copeland, "Voice of Victory" Vol. 15, No. 2,
2/87)
"And the whole New Testament calls Him the first-born....The word "born"
began to ring in my spirit; it just began to roll around: born, born. I
never had let Him go through that in my own thinking....And while I was
laying there thinking about these things, the Spirit of God spoke to me. And
He said, "Son, realize this: Now follow Me in this, don't let your tradition
trip you up." He said, "Think this way: A twice-born man whipped Satan in
his own domain." And I threw my Bible down. I said, "What?" He said, "A
born-again man defeated Satan. The first-born of many brethren defeated
him." He said, "You are the very image and the very copy of that one." I
said, "Goodness gracious, sakes alive!" And I began to see what had gone on
in there, and I said, "You don't mean--you couldn't dare mean, that I could
have done the same thing?" He said, "Oh, yeah, if you'd had the knowledge of
the Word of God that He did, you could have done the same thing, 'cause
you're a reborn man, too." (Kenneth Copeland, "What Happened from the Cross
to the Throne" tape # 02-0017)
"Faith is a power force," he claims. "It is a tangible force. It is a
conductive force." (Kenneth Copeland, The Force of Faith (Fort Worth: KCP
Publications, 1989), 10.)
"Faith is a spiritual force....It is substance. Faith has the ability to
effect natural substance." (Kenneth Copeland, Forces of the Recreated Human
Spirit (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1982), 8.)
"The force of gravity...makes the law of gravity work...this force of
faith...makes the laws of the spirit world function." (Kenneth Copeland, The
Laws of Prosperity (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1974),
18-19.)
"God cannot do anything for you apart or separate from faith," (Kenneth
Copeland, Freedom from Fear (Fort Worth: KCP Publications, 1983), 11.)
"Faith is God's source of power" (Kenneth Copeland, Forces of the Recreated
Human Spirit (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1982), 8.)
"Everything that you're able to see or touch, anything that you can feel,
anything that's perceptive to the five physical senses, was originally the
faith of God, and was born in the substance of God's faith." (Kenneth
Copeland, Spirit, Soul and Body I (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries,
1985, audiotape #01-0601), side 1.)
"Faith was the raw material substance that the Spirit of God used to form
the universe." (Kenneth Copeland, Authority of the Believer II (Fort Worth:
Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1987, audiotape #01-0302), side 1.)
"God used words when He created the heaven and the earth....Each time God
spoke, He released His faith -- the creative power to bring His words to
pass." (Kenneth Copeland, The Power of the Tongue (Fort Worth: KCP
Publications, 1980), 4.)
"Words are spiritual containers," (Kenneth Copeland, Forces of the Recreated
Human Spirit, 15; cf. 14.)
The "force of faith is released by words." (Kenneth Copeland, Authority of
the Believer II (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1987, audiotape
#01-0302), side 1.)
God is someone "very much like you and me....A being that stands somewhere
around 6'2," 6'3," that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of
hundred pounds, little better, [and] has a [hand]span nine inches across."
(Kenneth Copeland, Spirit, Soul and Body I, side 1.)
God is a "spirit-being with a body, complete with eyes, and eyelids, ears,
nostrils, a mouth, hands and fingers, and feet." (Kenneth Copeland ministry
letter, 21 July 1977.)
"The biggest failure in the Bible...is God." (Kenneth Copeland,
Praise-a-Thon, TBN, 1988.)
"A copy of the mother planet [i.e., heaven] where God lives." (Kenneth
Copeland, Following the Faith of Abraham I (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland
Ministries, 1989, audiotape #01-3001), side 1.)
"God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself....Adam
is as much like God as you could get, just the same as Jesus....Adam, in the
Garden of Eden, was God manifested in the flesh" (Kenneth Copeland,
Following the Faith of Abraham I, side 1.)
"Adam was created in God's own image and likeness, a spirit-being...[and]
takes on the nature of his spiritual father or lord." (Kenneth Copeland, Our
Covenant with God (Fort Worth: KCP Publications, 1987), 7-8.)
"If you stood Adam upside God, they look just exactly alike....If you stood
Jesus and Adam side-by-side, they would look and act and sound exactly
alike....The image is that they look just alike, but the likeness is that
they act alike and they are alike....All of God's attributes, all of God's
authority, all of God's faith, all of God's ability was invested in that
man." (Kenneth Copeland, Authority of the Believer IV (Fort Worth: Kenneth
Copeland Ministries, 1987, audiotape #01-0304), side 1)
"Man was created to know that great life force and he longs for it in his
dreams. Adam had that life force in him before he committed high treason"
(Kenneth Copeland, What Happened from the Cross to the Throne, side 2.)
"God's on the outside looking in," says Copeland. "He doesn't have any legal
entree into the earth. The thing don't belong to Him." (Kenneth Copeland,
The Image of God in You III (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989,
audiotape #01-1403), side 1.)
"The sin of Adam went all the way up to, but not including, the throne of
God...[even] the Heavenly Holy of Holies had to be purified." (Kenneth
Copeland, Inner Image of the Covenant (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland
Ministries, 1985, audiotape #01-4406), side 1.)
"God is on the outside looking in," says Copeland. "In order to have any
say-so in the earth, He's gonna have to be in agreement with a man here."
(Kenneth Copeland, God's Covenant with Man II (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland
Ministries, 1985, audiotape #01-4404), side 1.)
Abram "gave God access to the earth." (Kenneth Copeland, Our Covenant with
God, 10-11)
God "re-enacted with Abram what Satan had done with Adam, except that God
did not sneak in and use deception...and Abram bought it." (Kenneth
Copeland, Our Covenant with God, 10.)
"Words are the most sacred things....This is a word planet...governed by
words...created by words....Words cause it to function...cause life...cause
death....Words go on forever....Words are holy." (Kenneth Copeland, The
Abrahamic Covenant, side 1.)
"God is injecting His Word into the earth to produce this Jesus," Copeland
explains. "This [sic] faith-filled words that framed the image that's in
Him....He had to sneak it in here around the god of this world [Satan]."
(Kenneth Copeland, The Image of God in You III, side 2.)
Christ "had no innate supernatural powers. He had no ability to perform
miracles until after He was anointed by the Holy Spirit." (Kenneth Copeland,
"Question & Answer," Believer's Voice of Victory, August 1988, 8.)
"The force of faith was controlling His (Jesus') ministry." (Kenneth
Copeland, The Force of Faith, 9.)
"It wasn't a physical death on the cross that paid the price for
sin...anybody can do that." (Kenneth Copeland, What Satan Saw on the Day of
Pentecost (Kenneth Copeland, Fort Worth: Messages by Kenneth Copeland, n.d.,
audiotape #BCC-19), side 1.)
Jesus supposedly "put Himself into the hands of Satan when He went to that
cross, and took that same nature that Adam did [when he sinned]." (Kenneth
Copeland, The Incarnation (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1985,
audiotape #01-0402), side 1.)
"The day that Jesus was crucified, God's life, that eternal energy that was
His from birth, moved out of Him and He accepted the very nature of death
itself." (Kenneth Copeland, "The Price of It All," Believer's Voice of
Victory, September 1991, 3.)
Jesus is said to have remarked, "It was a sign of Satan that was hanging on
the cross....I accepted, in my own spirit, spiritual death; and the light
was turned off." (Kenneth Copeland, What Happened from the Cross to the
Throne, side 2.)
Jesus "had to give up His righteousness" (Kenneth Copeland, The Incarnation,
side 2.)
Jesus had to "accept the sin nature of Satan." (Kenneth Copeland, What
Happened from the Cross to the Throne, side 2.)
"Satan conquered Jesus on the Cross and took His spirit to the dark regions
of hell" (Kenneth Copeland, Holy Bible: Kenneth Copeland Reference Edition
(Kenneth Copeland, Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1991), 129.)
"He [Jesus] allowed the devil to drag Him into the depths of hell....He
allowed Himself to come under Satan's control...every demon in hell came
down on Him to annihilate Him....They tortured Him beyond anything anybody
had ever conceived. For three days He suffered everything there is to
suffer." (Kenneth Copeland, "The Price of It All," 3.)
"How did Jesus then on the cross say, 'My God.' Because God was not His
Father any more. He took upon Himself the nature of Satan. And I'm telling
you Jesus is in the middle of that pit. He's suffering all that there is to
suffer, there is no suffering left . . . apart from Him. His emaciated,
little wormy spirit is down in the bottom of that thing and the devil thinks
He's got Him destroyed. But, all of a sudden God started talking." (Kenneth
Copeland, Believer's Voice of Victory (television program), TBN, 21 April
1991.)
"That Word of the living God went down into that pit of destruction and
charged the spirit of Jesus with resurrection power! Suddenly His twisted,
death-wracked spirit began to fill out and come back to life....Jesus was
born again -- the firstborn from the dead the Word calls Him -- and He
whipped the devil in his own backyard." (Kenneth Copeland, "The Price of It
All," 4-6.)
"You are not a spiritual schizophrenic -- half-God and half-Satan -- you are
all-God" (Kenneth Copeland, Now We Are in Christ Jesus (Fort Worth: KCP
Publications, 1980), 16-17)
"You don't have a God in you; you are one," (Kenneth Copeland, The Force of
Love (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1987, audiotape #02-0028),
side 1.)
"As a born-again believer, you are equipped with the Word. You have the
power of God at your disposal. By getting the Word deep into your spirit and
speaking it boldly out your mouth, you release spiritual power to change
things in the natural circumstances." (Kenneth Copeland, The Power of the
Tongue, 15.)
"The basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin,
sickness, disease, sorrow, grief, and poverty on Jesus at Calvary," he
asserts. "For Him to put any of this on us now would be a miscarriage of
justice." (Kenneth Copeland, The Troublemaker, 6.)
"You have the same creative faith and ability on the inside of you that God
used when he created the heavens and the earth." (Kenneth Copeland, Inner
Image of the Covenant, side 2.)
"Words create pictures, and pictures in your mind create words. And then the
words come back out your mouth....And when that spiritual force comes out it
is going to give substance to the image that's on the inside of you. Aw,
that's that visualization stuff! Aw, that's that New Age! No, New Age is
trying to do this; and they'd get somewhat results out of it because this is
spiritual law, brother." (Kenneth Copeland, Believer's Voice of Victory
(television program), TBN, 28 March 1991.)
"Believers are not to be led by logic," he writes. "We are not even to be
led by good sense" (Kenneth Copeland, The Force of Faith, 7)
"I don't preach doctrine, I preach faith." (Kenneth Copeland, Following the
Faith of Abraham I, side 2.)
"Heaven has a north and a south and an east and a west. Consequently, it
must be a planet." (Kenneth Copeland, "Spirit, Soul, and a Body 1" (Kenneth
Copeland Ministries, 1985, audio tape #01-0601, side 1)
"The Bible said He measured the heavens with a 9 inch span. Now the span is
the difference, distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the
little Finger. And, and that Bible said, in fact the amplified translation
translates the Hebrew text that way. That He measured out the heavens with a
9 inch span. Well, I got a ruler and measured mine, and my span's 8 3/4
inches long. So now God's span is a quarter of an inch, a quarter inch
longer than mine. So you see, that faith didn't come billowing out of some
giant monster somewhere. It came out of the heart of a being that is very
uncanny the way He's very much like you and me. A being that stands
somewhere around 6' 2 ", 6' 3", that weighs somewhere in the neighbourhood
of a couple of hundred pounds, little better, has a span of 8 and, I mean
nine inches across - stood up and said "Light be [Let it be?]", and this
universe situated itself and went into motion. Glory to God." (Kenneth
Copeland, "Spirit, Soul, and a Body 1" (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1985,
audio tape #01-0601, side 1)
"lt's all a copy. If's a copy of home. It's a copy of the mother planet.
Where God lives, He made a little one just like His and put us on it."
(Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham 1" (Kenneth Copeland
Ministries, 1989, audio tape #01-3001, side 1)
"God's reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself. I mean
a reproduction of Himself. And in the garden of Eden He did that. He was not
a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God
even. And Adam was as much like God as you can get, Just the same as Jesus
when He came into the earth, He said "If you've seen Me, you've seen the
Father." He wasn? a lot like God - He's God manifested in the flesh. And I
want you to know something - Adam in the garden of Eden was God manifested
in the flesh." (Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham 1"
(Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989, audio tape #01-3001, side 1)
"I was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the Bible
actually is. Everybody you ask "Who's the biggest failure?" They say
"Judas", somebody else will say "No, I believe it was Adam", well how about
the devil. He's the most consistent failure. But he's not the biggest in
terms of material failure and so forth. The biggest one in all the Bible is
God. What, what, what - don't you turn that set off - you listen to what. I
told you - now you sit still a minute. You know me well enough to know I
wouldn't, I wouldn't tell something I can't prove from the Bible."(Kenneth
Copeland, "Praise-a-thon" program - TBN (April 1988)
Speaking of Jesus, Kenneth Copeland said "This body walking here is a
product of the faith of God, that God has injected in His Word and put it in
the earth, piece by piece, by piece. He's building the express image of
Himself.... The faith it took to make fingers was loosed. The faith that it
took to make arms was loosed in the earth. And now God had a way to hover
over a little woman by the name of Mary. And there was born of that virgin
woman a product of God....Listen to me carefully here. Hero's where we're
going to depart from ordinary church, Man listen, if you all wanted to have
just ordinary church service you're in the wrong spot. Now you see God is
injecting His Word into the earth to produce this Jesus. This faith filled
Words that framed the image that's in Him. And you can't just walk onto the
earth and say "Let it be", because He doesn't have the right. He had to
sneak it in here around the god of this world that was blocking Him every
way that he possibly could. It had to be put in here as a mystery." (Kenneth
Copeland, "The Image of God in You III" (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989,
audio tape #01-1403, side 2)
"Jesus had to go through that same spiritual death in order to pay the
price. Now it wasn't the physical death on the cross that paid the price for
sin, because if it had of been any prophet of God that had died for the
last couple of thousand years before that could have paid that price. It
wasn't physical death anybody could do that." (Kenneth Copeland, "What Satan
Saw on the Day of Pentecost" (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, audio tape
#020022)
"The Spirit of God spoke to me, and He said "Son, realize this" Now follow
me in this, don't let your tradition trip you up. He said "Think this way. A
twice-born man whipped Satan in his own domain." And I threw my Bible..I
said "What?" He said "A born-again man defeated Satan - the first-born of
many brethren defeated him." He said "You are the very image, and the very
copy of that one." I said "Goodness Gracious, saints alive." I began to see
what had gone on in there, and I said "Well you don? mean - You couldn't
dare mean that I could have done the same thing?" He said "Oh yeah. If you'd
had the knowledge of the Word of God that He did you could've done the same
thing cause you're a re-born man too." (Kenneth Copeland, "Substitution and
Identification" (Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989, audio tape #00-0202,
side 2)
Copeland, demonstrating that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, in his
"Believer's Voice of Victory" magazine of January 1998, in an article called
"Expect The Glory", continues to talk of the Christian's need for
"visualization", creating an "inner image", and the "force of faith". He is
simply parroting again the same old tired metaphysical lies he learned at
the feet of Kenneth Hagin and E.W. Kenyon. "You began to meditate on those
scriptures until you built an inner image of yourself healed. As that image
grew more crisp and clear, you began to expect- or hope for - that image to
become a reality. Eventually, faith rose up, put substance to that internal
image and turned it into an external reality. ... That spiritual process
always works the same way. Hope forms the image according to the Word, then
faith rises up and gives substance to that image, making it a reality in the
natural, physical realm. ... Actually, what you did is activate the
scriptural process described in Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of
things hoped for ... Boil it down to its simplest form, and you could write
it like this: God's Word+Hope+Faith=Manifestation! ... You'll be expecting
the very presence of God to rise up in you so powerfully that instead of
believing for healing every six weeks, you'll walk in divine health every
day! (p. 5) ... It wasn't Peter's shadow that healed them. What was it?
That field of Glory that surrounded him. That's what [sic] God put hope in
you to expect. The Glory! ... It will flood the earth when we meditate upon
the Glory of God so much that hope rises up and produces an image. Then
faith will release the Glory of God from the inside of us where we can't see
it to the outside where we can see it! ... Does this sound wild to you?
Well, it's not! If you'll go back and read the Bible, you'll see that's
what Christianity is all about. God intended for the Body of Christ to walk
through this earth with such a manifestation of His presence in our lives
that it would either scare people spitless ... or draw them into the Kingdom
of God! (p. 6) (Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory" magazine,
January 1998, in an article called "Expect The Glory", p. 5-6)
Copeland claims Jesus told him personally in a vision: "Don't be disturbed
when people put you down and speak harshly and roughly of you. They spoke
that way of Me, should they not speak that way of you? The more you get to
be like Me, the more they're going to think that way of you. They crucified
Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn't claim I was God; I just claimed
I walked with Him and He was in Me. Hallelujah." (Kenneth Copeland, "Take
Time To Pray," Believer's Voice Of Victory 15, 2 (February 1987): 9.)
"Then, he created Eve out of Adam. Now, actually God didn't name her Eve,
Adam named her Eve later. That wasn't her name, her name was Adam . . .
Adam. When God said Adam, they both came. Their authority was one and the
same together. They did everything together. They had always been together.
Even when she was still part of him, he was as much female as he was male,
LIKE GOD IS. And God separated the female part of him and then put them back
together. Andshe was Adam, they were Adam. He was the man, she was the
woman. She was the man with the womb." (Transcribed From A Message Given By
Kenneth Copeland, Paw Creek Ministries)
Kenneth Copeland while speaking in tongues and slaying a man in the spirit
appears to say: "Take the mark of the beast." (Kenneth Copeland, Copeland
with RHB on video)
"... the only living Son of God was reborn." (Kenneth Copeland, audiotape)
"..the force of faith, is in the spiritual realm, a great deal like certain
forces in the natural realm. It's a spiritual force like gravity is a
natural force, electricity is a natural force of power ... it's a measurable
force, it's conductable, perceptable to the touch. Faith is a spiritual
force, it's perceptable, it's a tangable force, it's an invisible force .."
(Kenneth Copeland, on TBN with Paul Crouch)
"This written Word is a copy of what God has already used to release His
faith in the earth in the midst of mankind." (Kenneth Copeland, audiotape)
"God's Word ... is our connection to His faith. God's words are containers
of His faith, His power, His love, His joy, His longsuffering ..." (Kenneth
Copeland, audiotape)
"...We're gonna be Word people and we're gonna stay Word people and we're
gonna be wealthy Word people in the things of God, and when you're wealthy
ng in God you're content all the time, all the time. I can do with a dollar
and a half than people out there can do with ten thousand dollars. Now you
believe that? All right, reach out here like there's a big ol' lever
stickin' up there in front and git ahold of it, and I mean you git it in
your hand. You got your teeth gritted, you got a good grip on it? Rip it
down some more. And say this ... money come out to me now! (Audience
shouting with Copeland.) Money come out to me now! Third time ... money come
out to me now! Now you shout about it. (You need Internet Explorer to hear
this file. Go to this page, read the instructions, then click on "Slot
Machine Gospel!").
"... He (Jesus) was the first man to every be born from death to spiritual
life ... if He hadn't been spiritually born again, how in the world do you
think you ever got it?..." (You need Internet Explorer to hear this file.
Go to this page, read the instructions, then click on "Jesus Was The First
Born Again Man!").
See this article for many more quotes by Kenneth Copeland:
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/copeland/general.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAUL CROUCH
Head of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christians are little gods. (Praise the Lord (TBN), recorded 7/7/86)
God draws no distinction between Himself and us. God opens up the union of
the very godhead (Trinity), and brings us into it. (Paul Crouch,
Praise-a-thon (TBN), November 1990)
Paul Crouch will shoot heresy hunters (theology) if God doesn't
(Praise-a-thon (Paul Crouch, TBN), 4/2/91)
Heresy hunters (theology) are to go to Hell. (Paul Crouch, Praise-a-thon
(TBN), 4/2/91)
Does not want to see the ugly faces of heresy hunters (theology). (Paul
Crouch, Praise-a-thon (TBN), 4/2/91)
"(Paul Crouch) Heretic hunters, these guys who spend their lives
straightening us all out doctrinally, their gonna go straight to hell ...
(Kenneth Copeland) Some of the people that I know who have criticized, some
of them are dead right today in an early grave because of it and there's
more than one of 'em got cancer." (Paul Crouch with Kenneth Copeland on TBN)
"Do you know what else that's settled then tonight? This hue and cry and
controversy that has been spawned by the devil to try to bring dissension
within the body of Christ that we are gods. I am a little god. I have His
name. I am one with Him. I'm in covenant relation. I am a little god.
Critics be gone! (You are everything that He is.)" (Paul Crouch, "Praise the
Lord" program, July 7, 1986).
"I think God's given up on a lot of that old rotten Sanhedrin religious
crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. I think they're damned and on
their way to hell and I don't think there's any redemption for them...the
heresy hunters that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some
Christian's eye and pluck that little mote out of their eye when they've got
the whole forest in their own lives and in their own eyes. I say to hell
with you! Oh hallelujah. Get out of God's way, quit blocking God's bridges
or God's gonna shoot you if I don't! 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 out somebody over here, if you want to criticize Ken
Copeland for his preaching on faith, or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I
don't even want to talk to you or hear you. I don't want to see your ugly
face! Get out of my face in Jesus' name." (Paul Crouch, "Praise-a-thon"
broadcast on TBN, recorded 4/2/91)
"Read the parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13:24-30 and you
will see that at the end of this age the "ANGELS" are sent forth to remove
evil from the earth. That word "ANGELS" also means messengers. So God may
use some of us to finish up the work of this age." (Paul Crouch, PTL
Newsletter, March, 1994, as cited in "Year 2000: Latter Rain" file, Alabama
Discernment Ministries, (P.O. Box 632, Madison, AL 35758)
Paul Crouch said (on the TBN show "Praise The Lord" during their
money-raising telethon) "if you have been healed or saved or blessed through
TBN and have not contributed to (the) station, you are robbing God and will
lose your reward in heaven." (Witnessed by Ed Tarkowski, e-mail Mon, 04 Aug
1997 20:34:13 -0600)
"Ah, dear Partners, can you see why God has called this TBN ARMY together in
these last days? YOU and I are HIS VOICE to this dying generation! Help Jan
and me - all of us - to cry out -HELLO WORLD! There is hope; there is help;
there is deliverance; there is SALVATION! ... Please let us hear from you
this month! The future of Christian Television, as we have known and loved
it, is in the balance!" By "let us hear from your this month" Crouch means
"send in your donations quickly" or "Christian television, as we have known
it and loved it" will go down the tubes and people will have no way to hear
about "salvation". If TBN and the TBN "Joels Army" is the only way for
people to hear about salvation, then God help us all. Salvation by signs and
wonders is no salvation at all. This kind of appeal for funds is yet another
example of the shameful high pressure tactics of this "anointed" television
syndicate. (Paul Crouch, Praise The Lord Newsletter, August 1997, emphasis
in the original; with comments by Sandy Simpson, 1997)
"The first evidence to many of us was the great stirring of the Spirit in
Toronto, Canada, about two years ago. Then, spontaneous revival broke out in
Pensacola, Florida. Hungry souls sometimes wait in line all day just to get
into the services at Brownsville Assembly of God Church. Signs, wonders and
miracles, just like the Book of Acts, are happening there and many other
places at home and abroad!" Here is yet another connection between and
endorsement by a Faith Movement guru and the "counterfeit" revivals of
Toronto and Pensacola. This should prove yet again that these movements are
all connected in one "river". (Paul Crouch, Praise The Lord Newsletter,
August 1997; with comments by Deception In The Church, 1997)
"God, we proclaim death to anything or anyone that will lift a hand against
this network and this ministry that belongs to You, God. It is Your work, it
is Your idea, it is Your property, it is Your airwaves, it is Your world,
and we proclaim death to anything that would stand in the way of God's great
voice of proclamation to the whole world. In the Name of Jesus, and all the
people said Amen!" (Paul Crouch, TBN, 11/7/97)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JACK DEERE
Former co-pastor with John Wimber at the Vineyard Church and writer of such
books as "Surprised by the Voice of God".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Deere, a graduate of Dallas Seminary was, until recently, the primary
theologian in the Vineyard churches, having forsaken much of the theology
taught at Dallas. John Wimber, who mentored Jack Deere away from sound
biblical doctrine into experiential theology, nonetheless depended upon Jack
Deere for advice on matters of doctrine in how to counter objections to the
weird manifestations in the Vineyard/Toronto movement. Jack Deere later left
to join the First Presbyterian Church in Whitefish, Montana. After some
problems arose at this church, Jack Deere resigned from the Pastorship on
June 20, 1996. On March 11, 1997. His association with the Presbyterian
church was ended when he renounced jurisdiction of the Presbytery of
Glacier. Jack Deere is now the director of Grace Training Center and an
instructor in Biblical studies at the Metro Christian Fellowship (formally
Kansas City Vineyard) as well as an associate pastor at a Vineyard church in
Amarillo, TX.. One of his goals is to "change the understanding and
expression of Christianity in the whole earth in one generation." (The
Interactive Bible)
Jack Deere said: "You see why we're excited about someone like Paul Cain or
Bob Jones coming on the scene? Or others that we've met.you know those two
powerful witnesses in Revelation 11:3? You know what they are, first and
foremost? They are prophets. He said they will prophesy for 1,260 days. He's
going to end the last days just before His Son returns with a prophetic
movement that will sweep the entire face of the earth and will eclipse
anything we have ever seen before.the significance of these signs and
wonders.But they don't just happen on the earth. They come because they are
prayed for and they are predicted by God's people." ("Joel's Army," op.
cit., Jewel van der Merwe.)
Jack Deere on the subject of modern day prophesy: "But you know what? God is
in the process of offending our minds in order to reveal our hearts. And I
don't know any place where it's going to be 100% right. There's going to be
stumbling blocks in every ministry that the Holy Spirit is really
responsible for." (Jack Deere, TACF, 11/20/94, audiotape)
Jack Deere says that with the third wave would come endtime apostles and
prophets who would "do greater works than the apostles, than Jesus, or any
other Old Testament prophets." (Jack Deere, "Intimacy With God and the End
Time Church," Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Denver, CO, 1989, audiotape
(session 2A)
In 1990, at a Charismatic Conference in the States, where Wimber and Deere
were the speakers, Dr. Deere was questioned in a friendly conversation, as
follows:
Questioner: I wonder if you might tell me why you felt my explanation of the
Gospel given yesterday was defective. [I said that Christ died for our sins,
was buried, raised on the third day, and that it is this Gospel by which we
are saved.]
Dr. Deere: I am not prepared to talk about that.
Questioner: Well, just offhand, what do you think the Gospel is?
Dr. Deere: I am not prepared to make a formal statement about that.
Questioner: Could you tell me informally what the Gospel is?
Dr. Deere: I am not sure.
Questioner: I find that surprising -- that you are not sure just what the
Gospel is.
Dr. Deere: I used to be just like you -- thinking the Gospel was simply
justification.
Questioner: Are you saying that the Gospel is more than justification by
faith?
Dr. Deere: Yes.
Questioner: What would you add to it?
Dr. Deere: Deliverance.
Questioner: What do you mean by deliverance?
Dr. Deere: Things like demons and healing and....
Questioner: You would add as an essential part of the saving Gospel things
like exorcising of demons and healing?
Dr. Deere: Yes.
Questioner: But you are not sure exactly what should be included?
Dr. Deere: No, not yet.
Questioner: Would it be fair to say that you are in a state of flux since
joining the Wimber thing?
Dr. Deere: We are always in a state of flux -- you are....
Questioner: But in the Gospel message? Surely that is one thing we should
have worked out. Don't you think we can reduce the Gospel to some sort of
summary statement like Paul does in say 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, or 15; or 1
Thessalonians 4, or Romans 5?
Dr. Deere: [No response, except a shrug of the shoulders.]
Questioner: Do you think the Apostle Paul had anything particular in mind
when he wrote to Timothy and asked him to guard the Gospel that had been
entrusted to him? Are you saying that you couldn't go back into that
pavilion and tell those people the Gospel?
Dr. Deere: No, not yet.
Questioner: When do you think you could do it?
Dr. Deere: Maybe five years, maybe ten....
(From Biblical Perspectives, July-Aug. 1990, p. 5.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KENNETH HAGIN
Head of Kenneth Hagin Ministries and RHEMA Bible Training Center.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We (the church) are Christ. (Kenneth Hagin, As Christ is -- So are we, Tape
#44H06)
Christ's physical death on the cross was not enough to save us. (Kenneth
Hagin, How Jesus obtained His Name, Tape 44H01)
Jesus tasted spiritual death. (Kenneth Hagin, How Jesus obtained His Name,
Tape 44H01)
The Christian "is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." (Kenneth
Hagin, "The Incarnation," THE WORD OF FAITH (Dec. 1980), 14.)
"The 22nd Psalm gives a graphic picture of the crucifixion of Jesus-more
vivid than that of John, Matthew or Mark who witnessed it. He utters the
strange words "But thou are holy." What does that mean? He is becoming sin.
. . . His parched lips cry, "I am a worm and no man." He is spiritually
dead-the worm. Jesus died of a ruptured heart. When it happened, blood from
all parts of His body poured through the rent into the sack which holds the
heart. As the body cooled, the red corpuscles coagulated and rose to the
top, the white serum settled to the bottom. When that Roman spear pierced
the sack, water poured out first, then the coagulated blood oozed out,
rolling down his side onto the ground. John bore witness of it." (Kenneth
Hagin, "Christ our Substitute", The Word of Faith [March 1975]), pp.
1,4,5,7)
"What does identification mean? It means our complete union with Him in His
Substitutionary Sacrifice. This gives us the key which unlocks the great
teachings of identification. Christ became one with us in sin that we might
become one with Him in righteousness. He became as we were to the end that
we might become as He is now. He died to make us live. He became weak to
make us strong. He suffered shame to give us glory. He went to hell to take
us to heaven. He was condemned to justify us. He was made sick that healing
might be ours." (Kenneth Hagin, "The Resurrection! What it Gives Us. . ."
The Word Of Faith [April 1977], p.5)
"Here is a picture of Christ in awful combat with the hosts of darkness. It
gives us a glimpse of the tremendous victory He won before He rose from the
dead. The margin of King James reads, "He put off from Himself the
principalities and the powers." It is quite obvious and evident that whole
demon hosts, when they had Jesus within their power intended to swamp Him,
to overwhelm Him, and to hold Him in fearful bondage. But the cry came forth
from the throne of God that Jesus had met the demands of Justice, that that
man's redemption was a fact. And when that cry reached the dark regions,
Jesus arose and threw back the host of demons and met Satan in awful combat.
God has made this investment for He has made this deposit on which the
church has a right to draw for. Oh that our eyes would open, that our souls
would dare to rise in the realm of the omnipotent where that name would mean
to us all that God the Father intended it to mean! In one sense, this is
practically unexplored table land in Christian experience." (Kenneth Hagin,
"The Name Of Jesus: The More Excellent Name," The Word of Faith [April
1976], pp. 4-6)
"God's method of physical healing is spiritual. It is not mental as
Christian Science, Unity and other metaphysical teachers claim. Neither is
it physical as the medical world teaches. When man heals, he must do it
either through the mind or through the physical body. When God heals He
heals through the human spirit, Life's greatest forces are spiritual forces.
. . . Love and hate, faith and fear, joy and peace, are all of the spirit."
(Kenneth Hagin, "Spirit, Soul, & Body; Part Three: God Heals through the
Spirit of Man," Word of Faith [December 1977], p.5)
"The fact that there is enmity between Satan and the woman is seen through
woman's history. . . . She has been bought and sold as common chattel. Only
where Christianity has reached the heart of the country has woman been
elevated above the brute creation. Woman's seed is Christ. Christ was hunted
from His babyhood by Satan's seed until finally He was nailed to the cross.
From the resurrection of Jesus until this day, the church has been the
subject of the bitterest persecution and enmity of the world. "and it ...
shall bruise thy head" (the head of Satan). In Oriental languages "bruising
the head" means breaking the lordship of a ruler. "The heel" is the Church
in its earth walk. . . .The long ages of persecution of the Church by the
seed of Satan are today merely a matter of history." (Kenneth Hagin,
"Incarnation," Word of Faith [December 1978], p. 4)
"Here in Genesis, God refused to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until He had
talked it over with Abraham, His blood covenant friend. Abraham's prayer is
one of the most suggestive and illuminating prayers of the Old Testament.
Abraham was taking his in the covenant. Abraham had, through the covenant,
received rights and privileges which we very little understand. The covenant
Abraham had just solemnized with Jehovah gave him a legal standing with
God.... we hear him speaking so plainly... "Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right?" All through the Old Testament we find men who understood
and took their place in the covenant. Joshua could open the Jordan. He could
command the sun, moon and stars to stand still in the heavens. Elijah could
bring fire out of heaven to consume the altar as well as the sacrifice.
David's mighty men were utterly shielded from death in time of war as long
as they remembered the covenant." (Kenneth Hagin, Plead Your Case [Tulsa:
Faith Library, 1979]), pp. 4-9; cf. pp. 23-32)
"In John 1:4 we get the first intimation of what this life will do for us:
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men."" There are four
different Greek words translated "life" in the New Testament. First, there
is zoe. Then there is psuche. That means natural or human life. Bios means
manner of life. And anastrophee means confused behavior. It seems strange
that the Church has majored in "manner of life" or "behavior" rather than
eternal life, which determines in a very large way the manner of life.
Receiving eternal life is the most miraculous incident in life. Often we
call it conversion or the new birth. Some call it "getting religion," but
that's not what it is really. It is, in reality, God imparting His very
Nature, substance, and being to our human spirits." (Kenneth Hagin, The God
Kind of Life [Tulsa: Faith Library, 1981], pp. 1-2, 9)
"Man is a spirit who possesses a soul and lives in a body...., He is in the
same class with God. ...We know that God is a Spirit. And yet [He] took upon
Himself a man's body....when God took upon Himself human form, He was no
less God than when He didn't have a body. Man, at physical death, leaves his
as he was when he had his body." (Kenneth Hagin, Man of Three Dimensions
[Tulsa: Faith Library, 1973], no page)
"[Man] was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in
God's presence without any consciousness of inferiority...God made us as
much like Himself as possible...He made us the same class of being that He
is Himself...Man lived in the realm of God. He lived on terms equal with
God...[The] believer is called Christ...That's who we are; we're Christ"
(Kenneth Hagin, Zoe: The God-Kind of Life, 1989. pp. 35-36, 41)
"Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a
miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth"
(Kenneth Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith 13, December, 1980).
"You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was...the believer
is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth". (Kenneth Hagin, "Word
Of Faith" Dec. 1980, p. 14)
"Why did He need to be begotten or born? Because He became like we were -
separated from God. Because He tasted spiritual death for every man. And His
spirit and inner men went to hell in my place. Can't you see that? Physical
death wouldn't remove your sins. He's tasted death for every man. He's
talking about tasting spiritual death. Jesus is the first person that was
ever born again. Why did His spirit need to be born again? Because it was
estranged from God." (Kenneth Hagin, "How Jesus obtained His Name" (Kenneth
Hagin Ministries, audio tape #44-H01)
"Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a
miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth."
(Kenneth Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith (December 1980), p. 14)
Despite solid evidence to the contrary, Hagin insists: "Kenyon's influence
on my ministry has been minute. Only his teachings on the name of Jesus have
mushc to do with my theology. I absolutely deny any metaphysical influences
from Kenyon. I teach not Christian Science, but Christian sense." (Hank
Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997 citing Vinson Synan, "The Faith Of
Kenneth Hagin", Charisma & Christian Faith, 15:11 (June 1990), 68)
Animal sounds: Redhead "mooing" at Kenneth Hagin meeting. See actual
video!
Spiritual Drunkenness: See where the Rodney Howard-Browne and Kenneth
Copeland spiritual drunkeness came from. "Dad" Kenneth Hagin explains,
defends and demonstrates it! See video Hagin slaying in spiritual
drunkeness! Listen for his hissing, sticking out his tongue like a serpent
and his claim that the Apostles on Pentecost were actually acting like
drunks!
Slaying in the Spirit: Kenneth Hagin passed it down to a whole generation!
See actual video!
Occult-like Trance: Kenneth Hagin See actual video!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compiled by Deception In The Church, 1997
This article may be freely distributed as long as the content is not altered
in any way.
Carl
QUOTES FROM THIRD WAVE LEADERS
[from http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/quotes.html]
Go the above website for links described in the article.
[PART TWO]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARILYN HICKEY
TBN Televangelist and often one of the guest speakers at International
Chrismatic Bible Ministries (ICBM) conferences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marilyn Hickey, much like Tilton, employs a broad range of tactics to
manipulate followers into sending her money. Among her many ploys are
anointed prayer cloths, ceremonial breastplates, and ropes that can be used
as points of contact. In one of her appeal letters, Hickey promises she will
slip into a ceremonial breastplate, "press your prayer request to my heart,"
and "place your requests on my shoulders" -- all for a suggested
donation.(Marilyn Hickey Ministries, direct-mail piece, on file at CRI)
For the most part, Hickey's tricks and teachings are recycled from other
prosperity peddlers like Tilton, Hagin, and Copeland. Her message is
peppered with such Faith jargon as "the God-kind of faith," "confession
brings possession," and "receiving follows giving." (From numerous TBN
shows)
Marilyn Hickey, chairman of the board of regents of Oral Roberts University
and author of "God's Seven Keys To Make You Rich", was mightily touched by
Rodney Howard-Browne in Lakeland ... Hickey -- who dispenses miracle prayer
cloths ... and demonstrates how Christians can create wealth by speaking to
their wallets -- got extraordinarily excited about the laughter in Lakeland
(a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting). Hickey's life and that of her daughter
Sarah were "dramatically changed" as she "spent the entire time on the floor
laughing". (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997 citing Charles and
France s hunter, "Holy Laughter" (Kingwood, TX: Hunter Books, 1994), 35-36)
"What do you need? Start creating it. Start speaking about it. Start
speaking it into being. Speak to your billfold. Say, "You big, thick
billfold full of money." Speak to your checkbook. Say, "You, checkbook, you.
You've never been so prosperous since I owned you. You're just jammed full
of money." (Marilyn Hickey, "Claim Your Miracles" (Denver: Marilyn Hickey
Ministries, n.d.), audiotape #186, side 2)
Marilyn Hickey was a Trinity Music City. She had people hold their hands
palm side up and had the audience say, "there are miracles in my hands."
Marilyn helped solidify that the manifestations of miracles are in the hands
of the people with the cry, "Don't give up until you get your
manifestation." (E-mail from Ed Tarkowski, Wed, 23 Jul 1997 22:47:20)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEVE HILL
Head evangelist at Brownsville Assembly Of God Church in Pensacola, FL --
the church where the "Brownsville Outpouring" began.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Hill said "Don't leave me now ... just hang in there ... we'll get to
the good stuff soon" (stopping to speak of the "anointing" every so often
while teaching from Scripture.) (Revival ... or Satanic Counterfeit?, Jimmy
Robbins, 1996)
Steve Hill said "If you must analyze, then look at me, look at the musicians
and singers, look at the congregation, look at the person to the left of you
and to the right of you, and just analyze, analyze, analyze get it out of
your system. Now let yourselves go: don't even think about what you are
doing, forget about those around you and what they are doing. Release your
mind release your spirit and let the mighty river of the "Holy Ghost" take
you wherever He wants you to go." (Revival ... or Satanic Counterfeit?,
Jimmy Robbins, 1996)
Steve Hill said "Don't analyze this "move of God", and you had better
receive it if you don't want a stamp of disapproval from Jesus." (Neal &
Darlenn H visit to Brownsville AOG., 2/19/97)
Steve Hill said "In these latter days preaching and simply teaching the word
is no longer sufficient, the Spirit has to get involved, through signs and
wonders due to much sin that abounds." (What We Saw, Robert C. Gray,
12/14/96)
Steve Hill was very upset when he came to the pulpit to preach that night.
He said that he had to get something said before he could preach. Then he
talked about the "FBI," which he defined as the "Fault-finding Brothers
International." He spoke so arrogantly about anyone questioning this "move
of God". (The End Times and Victorious Living, March/April 1997, Vol. 11 No.
2, page 14.)
Evangelist Stephen Hill says that "conviction of sin and reaching the
lost--not charismatic hoopla--is what this revival is all about." (The
Pensacola "Outpouring", David W. Cloud, 11/18/96)
Pastor Daniels also said, "God is destroying denominational lines." His
statement was echoed by Evangelist Steve Hill. (The Pensacola "Outpouring",
David W. Cloud, 11/18/96)
"When you ridicule those whose bodies are twitching or shaking under the
influence of God's glory, beware! Have you forgotten that God's Word and the
annals of Church history are filled with the supernatural dealings of our
supernatural God?" God does deal with his creatures supernaturally, but
God's Word is silent about God ever sending His Holy Spirit to produce these
types of manifestations, except in judgment, and certainly not as a blessing
or by laying on of hands. Church history is full of stories of these
manifestations which have been roundly dismissed as unbiblical and demonic
by former church leaders such as Edwards, Spurgeon, Tozer and many others.
(Stephen Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997 with comment by Deception In
The Church)
"The second mark of a God mocker is a fear of confrontation and change. They
are so stuck in religious tradition that they are closed to new revelation.
The pastor who mocked God as he left the Brownsville Revival was steeped in
religious legalism. He was in bondage and totally closed to the moving of
the Holy Ghost. (How anyone can come into a revival meeting in Brownsville
and fail to feel Jesus is beyond me! I can't imagine it.)" Christians are
not to be open to "new revelation" that is extra-Biblical in nature. We
believe in the finished revelation of the Word of God and are told many
times to remain in sound doctrine. You can be sure that the pastor who had
objections to what is happening at Brownsville was not being legalistic, but
decided to stand firm on God's Word. As to the ascertain that you cannot
possibly attend Brownsville meetings without feeling Jesus -- many have
attended and sensed just the opposite there. But the most important point is
that we are not called to "feel Jesus" as much as we are to "know Jesus". If
we base our doctrines on feelings we can be led astray by any wind of
doctrine that blows through. This statement by Hill illustrates the height
of egotism to which these false teachers and false prophets have aspired.
(Stephen Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997 with comment by Deception In
The Church)
"These God mockers are writing "position papers" about external physical
manifestations while totally ignoring the deeper work of God that is saving
hundreds of thousands of souls and permanently changing lives." The deepest
work of God is the work of salvation, not signs and wonders, lest Hill
forget. People who disagree with this movement are trying to warn people of
the awful danger of listening to a "different gospel" and coming away
thinking they are saved but may have believed "in vain" because the gospel
message is overshadowed many times over by false signs and wonders. (Stephen
Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997 with comment by Deception In The
Church)
"God mockers have disturbed and confused this country. Most unsaved folks
are trying their best to find somebody who really lives for God. If they
could just find one person who lives holy and practices what they preach,
they would have a standard, and they would get on fire for God too! However,
all they find is a mockery." If this statement isn't the height of mockery,
I don't know what is! How dare Hill judge what God is doing through His
people by saying things like everyone who is outside of this "counterfeit"
revival is unholy and does not practice what they preach. I have news for
Hill -- many more people have been, are, and will be saved by the preaching
of the gospel than by this mockery of true Christianity, this "counterfeit"
that has disturbed and confused many, many churches, families and
individuals. Hill has no idea what kind of damage this "revival" has already
done. (Stephen Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997 with comment by
Deception In The Church)
"I'll stand alone (before God, the Judge), and you will stand alone before
Him too. You will stand alone to answer for every seed of disunity and
discord you have sown among the brethren, for every occasion you cursed
another man's ministry." Those who question this movement are, for the most
part, not mockers. They are good "Bereans" and are not cursing the people
involved but are trying to warn others about the false teaching and prophesy
going on there and praying for Christians who are involved to wake up.
HOWEVER, John Kilpatrick falsely prophesied and cursed Hank Hanegraaff TO
DEATH from the Brownsville pulpit while Steve Hill stood by and agreed with
everything he was saying, even calling anyone who disagrees with them
"devils". I don't see people who question this movement putting curses on
the people at Brownsville. As for myself, I spend a lot of time in prayer
for my friends who have been sucked into this maelstrom of chaos. (Stephen
Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997 with comment by Deception In The
Church)
"Then these men sat through my message on "Mistaken Identity," which is
based on the Lord's rebuke of those who claim to have done many great things
in His name thinking they were right when they were dead wrong. They sat
through all of that untouched and unmoved ..." So now all Christians are
supposed to be moved by Hill's messages or they are not in tune with the
Spirit? Apparently Hill has proclaimed himself the "pope" of Christianity.
Could it be that "these men" simply did not sense any "anointing" whatsoever
on Hill or his message because they had not been zapped into submission to
his will? (Stephen Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997 with comment by
Deception In The Church)
"Only one thing really matters. You can go to hell with baptismal waters on
your face and a confirmation certificate hanging on the wall behind your
desk. You can go to hell even though you were the most faithful Sunday
school teacher in your denomination and a founding member of the largest
church in the city!" I would like to add to this statement -- you can also
go to hell writhing around on the floor or laughing hysterically, thinking
that you are justified and sanctified because Steve Hill said you were, when
you are not. Only God knows the heart. If you were "saved" in a church that
preaches false doctrine and elevates signs and wonders above salvation, I
think you had better take a good look at yourself before you judge others.
(Stephen Hill, The God Mockers, chapter 1, 1997, with comment by Deception
In The Church)
Steve Hill from his book "God Mockers" speaking about anyone who opposes the
Brownsville "Revival". "We are mocking Almighty God ... We are opposing God
... We are mocking the blood and power of the Cross ... We are taunting
Christ ... We fear confrontation and change ... We are stuck in religious
tradition ... Those who have attended BAG and still come away with
Scriptural concerns in opposition to it have failed to "feel" Jesus ...
(What does it mean, I wonder, to "feel Jesus"?) We reject the Spirit's work.
We make a mockery of the things of God ... We hang out with other "God
mockers" and feed on one another like spiritual carnivores ... We happily
gather like a bunch of buzzards moving in for the kill ... We ignore the
deeper work of God ... We sign "declarations of mockery" and disseminate
them amongst the brethren, sowing strife and discord all along the way ...
Our own congregations are dwindling away ... We have much to fear ... The
movement at BAG is [according to Hill] God's revival and we are cursing it
... We are blasphemers ... We are disturbing and confusing the entire
country ... We are "touching" the "Lord's anointed." (I want to know who
said these men are the "Lord's anointed"? Moreover, the verse to which Hill
alludes dealt with David's not literally killing Saul when he had the
opportunity and has nothing whatsoever to do with leaders in the context in
which Hill is attempting to apply it ... It is simply a proof-text, and one
which has been frequently used by those who "criticize the critics",
obviously intended to manipulate, intimidate, instill fear of God's
forthcoming wrath and retribution and coerce those who have grave Biblical
concerns about the movement at BAG into silence.) We are messing with God.
We better back off." (Steve Hill, God Mockers, 1997)
"... Demons have not been able to hold back under the anointing several
times last week and deliverance team along with Steve Hill had to deal with
some of them on the spot. The ministers, staff and workers had been under
horrific trials and attacks as we seek to give more of our hearts and lives
to the Lord. We seemed to have come to the highest escalation of praise and
worship last night since the beginning of the revival. I was so excited
this whole week because of the way God had been showing up. The praise sent
us bouncing all over the building last night. The shape of our building and
the way people were popping up and down gave me the image of us being in one
of those little pans of Jiffy Pop. Popcorn that you put on the burners and
shake. As we got happier and happier and bouncing higher and higher.. it was
like someone was shaking the handle of the pan... and the foil began to
swell with the build up of praise. Then God reached down and ripped the foil
cover between us and him and the steam ... the sweet aroma of praise went
rushing to heaven. The only thing God to do with his perfect "pop corn" was
to pour butter on us!!! And that he did! The Glory fell on us suddenly as
Steve stood up to attempt to preach. The only words he could get out of his
mouth was "Holy, holy , holy, holy"... and it went on for a LONG time. We
began to leave our surroundings and go in the spirit to another place. The
words, holy and worthy seemed to be the only words we sang." (in an e-mail
from Cathy Wood at Siste...@aol.com, 2/98, caps in the original) This is
an apt description of the unbiblical behavior and doctrine eminating from
Brownsville, no matter how the church leaders there try to cover it over by
producing videos that purposely do not show this kind of stuff. Demons not
able to "hold back the under the anointing"? Are we to believe that demons
respond to this "anointing" too? Anointed demons? What a concept! God
"showing up"? Where was God previous to His supposedly "showing up" at
Brownsville for this service? One would hope in their hearts but since they
are seeking to "give more of (their) hearts and lives to the Lord"
apparently they have not had Him there yet. People "bouncing" like "Jiffy
Pop"? "The Glory" falling on them? How do they know it was the Glory of God
and not an emotional delusion from the "anointed" demons present? But the
kicker here is that Steve Hill was not able to preach but could only say
"Holy ...". This again demonstrates that systematic preaching and
exposition of the Scriptures is not being done at Brownsville. We can all
be thankful that Jesus, Paul, Peter or any of the apostles did not get up,
bounce around like Jiffy Pop, and then spend long periods of time repeating
over and over a mantra of "Holy ..." or "Worthy ...", or any other word,
until its meaning is obscured by the misuse of it. (Comments by Deception In
The Church, 1998)
Steve Hill, an Assemblies of God evangelist and chief speaker of the revival
often pretends he's across Florida at Cape Canaveral: "You've got 20 seconds
to come down!" Hill yells. "Come on down! Make up your mind! Who are you
going to serve? Come on down! Eight seconds! Six, five, four, three. Come
on! Yes, Lord!" (Quoted by Carlson, Washington Post, Sunday, April 27, 1997,
p. F01.)
"Did you know, friend, there are people that talk about the revival and sway
people away from the revival that are going to stand on judgment day-they're
going to stand on judgment day for their blindness. The blind leading the
blind! There are people that want to get saved at the Brownsville Revival.
They wanted to get saved tonight! But before they got out the door, some
blind guide got ahold of them and said, "You don't need to go over there;
God can touch you right here." (Steve Hill, White Cane Religion, video)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENNY HINN
Television evangelist for Benny Hinn Ministries who can be seen on TBN and
author of the bestselling "Good Morning, Holy Spirit".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God has 9 parts (tri-theistic).
A. God has a body, soul and spirit.
B. Jesus has a body, soul and spirit.
C. Holy Spirit has a body, soul and spirit. (Benny Hinn, Benny Hinn
broadcast, recorded 10/13/90)
(NOTE: Allegedly Hinn later recanted this ascertion, but his view of the
Godhead is still unclear.)
Christians are little messiahs. Christians are little gods. (Benny Hinn,
Praise-a-thon (TBN), recorded November 1990)
Jesus at His death became one with Satan. (Benny Hinn, Benny Hinn broadcast,
recorded 12/15/90)
Poverty comes from Hell. Prosperity comes from Heaven. Adam had complete
dominion over the earth and all it contains. A. Adam could fly like a bird.
B. Adam could swim underwater and breathe like a fish. Adam went to the
moon. Adam walked on water. Adam was a super being, He was the first
superman that lived. Adam had dominion over the sun, moon & stars.
Christians do not have Christ in their hearts. Sow a big seed, when you
confess it, you are activating the supernatural forces of God. (Benny Hinn,
Praise-a-thon (TBN), recorded November 1990)
When you don't give money, it shows that you have the devil's nature. (Benny
Hinn, Praise-a-thon (TBN), recorded 4/21/91)
Wants to use Holy Ghost machine gun to kill Heresy Hunters. (Benny Hinn,
Praise-a-thon (TBN), 11/8/90)
"He [Jesus] who is righteous by choice said, 'The only way I can stop sin is
by Me becoming it. I can't just stop it by letting it touch Me; I and it
must become one.' Hear this! He who is the nature of God became the nature
of Satan where He became sin!" (Benny Hinn, TBN, 12/1/90).
Hinn revealed that he periodically visits (Kathryn) Kuhlman's grave (click
here for a photo of her grave site) and that he is one of the few with a key
to gain access to it. He also visits Aimee (McPherson's) grave (click here
for photos of her grave site), where he says: "I felt a terrific anointing
... I was shaking all over ... trembling under the power of God ... `Dear
God,' I said, `I feel the anointing.' ... I believe the anointing has
lingered over Aimee's body." (Benny Hinn, April 7, 1991 sermon)
Benny Hinn said:
(1) Never, ever, ever go to the Lord and say, 'If it be thy will';
(2) No Christian should ever be sick;
(3) We Christians possess 'power in our mouths' to heal or kill just as
witches possess it;
(4) Job tapped into the negative side of the faith force by a negative
confession;
(5) Christ 'became one with the nature of Satan' and was 'born again' in
hell;
(6) Christ would have sinned without the Holy Spirit and would have remained
in the grave 'if the Holy Ghost had changed His mind about raising Him from
the dead' [Jesus said, 'I have power to lay down my life and I have power to
take it again' (Jn 10:18) for He is God];
(7) We are 'little gods' and even part of God with all the power of God; and
(8) We are 'little messiahs,' everything that Jesus ever was."
[Adapted and/or excerpted by permission from the 2/94 The Berean Call (P.O.
Box 7019, Bend, OR 97708, and from a 1992 Media Spotlight Special Report
(P.O. Box 290, Redmond, WA 98073).]
Benny Hinn claims to actually be a channel for God--that God enters him and
takes over his mind and tongue to the point where he is unaware of what he
has said. After his sermon on December 31, 1989, at Orlando Christian
Center, during which he gave several future prophecies, Hinn expressed that
he was drunk--presumably on the Holy Spirit--and asked someone to tell him
what he had just said. (Biblical Discernment Ministries - 5/92)
"When one is born again by faith in Jesus, he is given a new spirit man that
wasn't there before--a spirit man that is divine in nature and God-like"
(Benny Hinn, Our Position in Christ [sermon tape]).
"Though we are not Almighty God Himself, nevertheless, we are now divine"
(Benny Hinn, 12/1/90, TBN)
"He [Jesus] who is righteous by choice said, 'The only way I can stop sin is
by Me becoming it. I can't just stop it by letting it touch Me; I and it
must become one.' Hear this! He who is the nature of God became the nature
of Satan where He became sin!" (Benny Hinn, TBN, 12/1/90).
"What was the appearance of God the Father? Like that of a man...God has the
likeness of fingers and hands and a face." (Good Morning Holy Spirit, (Benny
Hinn, Word, 1991) p. 82)
"What does God the Father look like? Although I've never seen Him, I
believe - as with the Holy Spirit - He looks like Jesus looked on earth."
(Benny Hinn, Good Morning Holy Spirit, (Word, 1991) p.87)
"Had He (Jesus) not offered Himself through the Holy Ghost, He would not be
accepted in the eyes of God the Father. Nor would He have endured the
sufferings of the cross. Had He not presented Himself through the Holy
Ghost, His blood would not have remained pure and spotless. And let me add
this: Had the Holy Spirit not been with Jesus, He would have sinned." (Benny
Hinn, Good Morning Holy Spirit, (Word, 1991) p.135)
"Do you know that every unbeliever is filled with a demon spirit?" (Good
Morning Holy Spirit, (Benny Hinn, Word, 1991) p.146)
"Christians are "Little Messiah's and "little gods" on the earth. Thus
[Encouraging the audience]...say "I am a God-man....This spirit-man within
me is a God-man..." say "I'm born of heaven-a God-man. I'm a God man. I am a
sample of Jesus. I'm a super being. Say it! Say it! Who's a super being? "I
walk in the realm of the supernatural." Say it!...You want to prosper? Money
will be falling on you from left, right and centre. God will begin to
prosper you, for money always follows righteousness....Say after me,
"everything I ever want is in me already." (Benny Hinn, TBN, 1990)
Benny Hinn says that Christians confessing they are "a sinner saved by
grace" only insult God with such "garbage" (The Toronto Blessing, Stephen
Sizer, 1990)
"Poverty is from the devil and that God wants all Christians prosperous."
(Benny Hinn, TBN, 11/6/90)
"I am a 'little messiah' walking the earth" (Benny Hinn, Praise-a-Thon" on
TBN, November 6, 1990).
"Are you ready for some real revelation knowledge....you are god" (Benny
Hinn, "Our Position In Christ", tape # AO31190-1)
"You are a little god on earth running around". (Benny Hinn, "Praise-a-thon"
broadcast on TBN, November, 1990)
"You think you're in this church to hear things you've heard for the last 50
years?" (Benny Hinn, Benny Hinn broadcast, recorded 10/13/90)
"If you have attacked me, your children will pay for it." (Benny Hinn, TBN
"Heresy Hunters" October 23 1992)
"The anointing is the power of God" (Benny Hinn, The Anointing. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson. 1992. 74.)
" . . . the anointing is dependent upon my words. God will not move unless I
say it. Why? because He has made us coworkers with Him. He set things up
that way." (Benny Hinn, The Anointing. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 1992. 82.)
" . . . the anointing increases. He gives you a little and watches you. Then
He gives you more." (Benny Hinn, The Anointing. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
1992. 81.)
Benny Hinn said: "This spirit-man within me is a God-man. Say after me, he's
born of heaven, he's a super-being.Say I'm born of heaven - God-man. I'm a
God-man. I'm a sample of Jesus. I'm a super being. Say it! Say it! Who's a
super being? I walk in the realm of the supernatural. Get the spirit-man
renewed.when he's strong, he'll hold off sickness.you want to prosper? Money
will be falling on you from left, right and center. God will begin to
prosper you, for money always follows righteousness.Say after me, I hold my
destiny." ("Joel's Army," Jewel van der Merwe, Discernment Ministries)
"You have so much today that is pure flesh, yet people have labeled it as
the Spirit. It's not the Spirit, because it's not centered on Christ. It's
pure emotionalism. Some of what is happening today, some of these
manifestations where people are barking, making sounds of animals - I can
tell you, that is not the Holy Spirit. It is purely demonic. The Holy Ghost
does not bark. Only a devil barks. If somebody barks in my meeting, I'll
cast the devil out of that man." That's all fine and good, but it is not
Benny Hinn who can cast demons out. Only by the authority of Jesus Christ
can a believer cast out demons. Also, we haven't seen Hinn do this and don't
expect him to, because people in his audience are having weird
manifestations also. On top of this, Hinn was kicked out of the Assmeblies
of God in October of '96 for his heresy. Since the bulk of his comments on
this show seemed to be aimed at Brownsville AOG, one has to wonder if this
new seemingly non-heretical Benny Hinn is drunk on the wine of sour grapes.
(Benny Hinn Condemns Toronto Blessing/Pensacola Phenomena Praise The Lord
July 4, 1997 videotape transcript, with comment from Deception In The
Church)
"You watching TBN here. If you're doing such nonsense, get back to the
Bible. And don't you dare experiment with what is not Scriptural, checking
out if God is in it. My brother, if it's not in the Bible, He's not in it!!
If it's not in the Word of God, He is not in it." Benny Hinn is preaching to
Christians who have been listening to him teach things that are so far away
from Scripture that they are ridiculous. Now he expects us to believe, after
he has preached heretical sermons and written heretical books that he is
going "back to the Bible"? In my opinon, this is a ruse. But we shall see.
(Benny Hinn Condemns Toronto Blessing/Pensacola Phenomena Praise The Lord
July 4, 1997 videotape transcript, with comment from Sandy Simpson)
"Holy Spirit said something to me and I had to go like a mad man and looking
in the Word. He says, 'God's original plan is that the woman was to bring
forth children out of her side.' What? You know that there is nowhere in the
Bible but where God gives birth out of His side. Jesus gives birth to the
church out of His side. Adam gives birth to his wife out of his side. It was
sin that turned the thing around. And it was sin that transformed her flesh
and her body." (Transcribed From A Message Given By Benny Hinn, Paw Creek
Ministries)
I recently heard (Benny Hinn) say "when we breathe out we breathe ourselves
out and when we breathe in we breathe in the Spirit".(E-Mail, Ed Tarkowski,
Fri, 11 Jul 1997 02:09:43 -0600)
"God sent Jesus as an example to see if we could retain and maintain the
Holy Spirit in human flesh." (Benny Hinn as observed by Ed Tarkowski in an
e-mail Wed, 23 Jul 1997 23:02:03)
Interestingly, Hinn says, "You see, we are not seeking a move, not an
experience. We are seeking Jesus, and when you seek Jesus, He'll breathe
that mighty power of the Spirit." Apparently, Hinn is not a Christian, he
says he is "seeking" Jesus. This is no testimony of knowing Jesus. He who
believes on the Son has life, he who does not have the Son abides in
darkness. ....instead of arguing "sound" doctrine with him, we need to share
the gospel with him. If he doesn't know Jesus whom God sent, and He isn't
abiding with him still, (which is the testimony of the saints), then he
actually needs to know the Lord...be born again. "...except a man be born of
water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." John 3:5 (Benny
Hinn Condemns Toronto Blessing/Pensacola Phenomena Praise The Lord July 4,
1997 videotape transcript, commentary by (name withheld) in an e-mail to
Stef O'Grady, Wed, 23 Jul 1997 22:27:21)
"Pastor Benny shares this testimony, whenever he comes to a CITY, the demons
over that city will FLEE, crying, "The man of God is coming; the man of God
is coming!" Can Hinn produce proof of this claim? Since Hinn has been proven
many times over to be a false teacher and false prophet, it follows
logically that any demons over a city he enters would be rejoicing that more
Christians may be led astray. (Benny Hinn, Praise The Lord Newsletter, TBN,
August 1997; with comment by Deception In The Church, 1997)
Benny Hinn speaking in tongues: "Demon, demon, demon ... glory, glory,
glory!" (Benny Hinn, TBN)
Benny Hinn sounds like he says: "Lord Jesus, give them sin ... holy
laughter to the people, I pray!" (Benny Hinn, TBN)
"Don't tell me you have Jesus. You ARE everything He was, and everything He
is and shall be." (Benny Hinn, TBN)
"If Benny Hinn is real, he'll go into the hospitals and cure everyone
there," asks WFTV's Marla Weech. "I've been told that many times," responds
Hinn. "What I tell them is quite simple. Healing most times needs an
atmosphere of faith." And that atmosphere is created again and again by
those attending his national and international healing crusades, such as in
a recent service to a capacity crowd in Orlando. "I have gone to hospitals.
I've done it actually many times," says Hinn. "Or people's homes and pray
for them. Most times, they cannot get healed. You've got to understand
something. I'm not the healer. I cannot make it happen. God's people make it
happen; bring this atmosphere of faith, but like I said, there have been
times when I did go and God did heal them. But these have been very few."
Straight from the "horse's mouth" folks! These Third Wave hucksters need an
"atmosphere" in which to ply their trade. If this were ever a call for
Christians and anyone else to avoid these circus events, I don't know what
further evidence you need. Notice that it is not God who heals, but "God's
people make it happen." This is further evidence of his continued teaching
that Christians are "God" and when we get together, whatever we speak into
existence with our mouths God is obligated to do. (Interview with Benny
Hinn by Marla Weech, WFTV Anchor as reported in Inside Central Florida, with
comment by Deception In The Church,
http://www.insidecentralflorida.com/news/1998/11/19/WFTV_hinn.html, 1999 )
"Here's something that's amazing, Paul (Crouch), He was kept sinless by the
Spirit, because the Bible says that He offered Himself spotless through the
Spirit. What? This is right here. "How much more shall the blood of Christ,
Who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot". So had the
Holy Ghost not been there, then Jesus would have sinned. (Paul Crouch: Jesus
have mercy!) Yeh. Now I know some of the, well, the heretic hunters won't
like it, some won't like it but it's in the Bible. (Paul Crouch: I've never
heard that.) The Holy Spirit is the one who kept Christ sinless, because
without the Holy Spirit, Christ would have sinned." (Benny Hinn and Paul
Crouch on TBN)
"Just know this, that Jesus could not have remained sinless without the Holy
Ghost...." (Benny Hinn and Paul Crouch on TBN)
"... I'm gonna read one Scripture, and then I'm gonna preach and the devil
is gonna drop dead ..." (Benny Hinn, tape of crusade)
"... and I love Copeland. He's my friend. And anybody who's attacking him
is attacking the very presence of God." (Hinn on Kenneth Copeland)
"There's a groups here in Califonria that thinks they are the judgement seat
of Christ. Dear God in heaven, I wish I just could just ... they call it a
ministry, my foot. You know I've looked for one verse in the Bible, I just
can't seem to find it. One verse that said, "If you don't like 'em, kill
'em." I really wish I could find it." (Benny Hinn on "heretic hunters")
"You see, frankly, that's the way I think about it. I'm sorry, I'm not
exactly the normal kind of guy, you know, I'm from Israel. Sometimes I wish
God would give me a Holy Ghost machine gun, I'd blow your head off." (Benny
Hinn talking about "heresy hunters") Comment: first this is blasphemous.
Second, Hinn is not an Israeli, he's an Arab Palestinian.
"... When the anointing of God hits in about a half hour bring him right up
and I'll pray for him right here ..." (You need Internet Explorer to hear
this file. Go to this page, read the instructions, then click on "Benny
Hinn Waiting On The Anointing!").
"... I was in Ghana recently preaching one night, they broguht a man, and
this man was put on the platform, and he was dead, the man was dead. And it
was a very scary thing, because nobody told me he was dead ... suddenly the
people went wild ... behind my back the man was getting up and moving ..."
(Later)"I was in Ghana just recently where half a million people showed up
and a man was raised from the dead on the platform, that's a fact people."
(Later)"I would not limit God, God can raise the dead, absolutely. I have
not seen in, in that one case we did hear about it." Read this article
called "Benny Hinn Claims "A Dead Man Raised" In Ghana" (You need Internet
Explorer to hear this file. Go to this page, read the instructions, then
click on "Benny Hinn Fabricating Stories Of Miracles!").
"... When a person comes forward and testifies that they are healed, we give
that testimony. You can call it a claim. We don't claim it but we testify
to that fact ..." (You need Internet Explorer to hear this file. Go to this
page, read the instructions, then click on "Morris Cerullo/Benny Hinn Never
Say 'You're Healed'!").
See this article for many more quotes by Benny Hinn:
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/hinn/general.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RODNEY HOWARD-BROWNE
Evangelist with Revival Ministries International, the man who laid hands on
practically everybody in the laughing revival.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'd rather be in a church where the devil and the flesh are manifesting
than in a church where nothing is happening because people are too afraid to
manifest anything... and if the devil manifests, don't worry about that,
either. Rejoice, because at least something is happening." (Rodney
Howard-Browne, The Coming Revival. 1991, p.6)
Rodney Howard-Browne said "You can't understand what God is doing in these
meetings with an analytical mind,' he says. 'The only way you're going to
understand what God is doing is with your heart." (Holy Laughter, Albert
James Dager, 1996)
Rodney Howard-Browne said "'Either You come down here and touch me, or I
will come up there and touch You" (The prayer Howard-browne prayed before he
got the "anointing") (Holy Laughter, Albert James Dager, 1996)
Rodney Howard-Browne said "Stop praying now and let the joy bubble out your
belly. Joy. Joy. Joy. Don't pray! Laugh!" (Holy Laughter, Albert James
Dager, 1996)
"I remember one service where I just went and sat down for an hour and a
half. I just went and sat down. Well, there was nothing else I could do.
Total pandemonium--people falling off of their chairs, people crying, people
laughing and some were wailing--some were shaking. So, I just said to the
people, I said, 'Look, just come up when you're ready and lift your hands
and God will touch you.' I was sitting on the platform--just sat there and
watched them for about an hour and a half. People came right up, got to the
front, lifted their hands--BAM!--on the floor. I just sat there. I didn't
even pray. You say, 'What'd you do?' I just sat there and twiddled my
thumbs. I thought, 'Lord, I wish every meeting was as easy as this.' Now I
had preached the word already and taught the word of God, and then I went
and sat down. And they came walking up, got to the front, lifted their
hands--BAM!--under the power of God." (Rodney Howard-Browne, TBN video-taped
service which was broadcasted on May 1994, p.23-24.)
Rodney Howard-Browne calls himself the "Holy Ghost bartender." (Joel C.
Gerlach, "Holy Laughter Is No Laughing Matter," Christian News (April 17,
1994, Vol. 33, No. 16), p.4; Dager, op. cit., p.10.)
Rodney Howard-Browne said "Take another drink...the bar is open....Be
filled! We loose the power! Have another drink!" (Ed Tarkowski quoting
Howard-Browne, 1994)
"You can't have revival without stirring up the flesh....When revival comes
you will see manifestations of these three things in meetings: (1) the Holy
Spirit; (2) the flesh, and (3) the devil. But, I'd rather be in a church
where the devil and the flesh are manifesting than in a church where nothing
is happening because people are too afraid to manifest anything...Don't
worry about it. And if a devil manifests, don't worry about that, either.
Rejoice, because at least something is happening!" (Bill Randles quoting
Rodney Howard-Browne, op. cit., p.162.)
"Fill, fill, fill, come to me, fill, fill" (Howard Browne shouts at the Holy
Spirit to fill Randy Clark) (Rodney Howard-Browne, Taken from a Toronto
Vineyard video and included in "A Plague in the Land" a video recording of a
talk by Alan Morrison (1995)
"Tomorrow night were going to have a Holy Ghost blow out" (Rodney
Howard-Browne, Taken from a Toronto Vineyard video and included in "A Plague
in the Land" a video recording of a talk by Alan Morrison (1995)
Rodney Howard-Browne said "Drink and get drunk on the "new wine of the
Spirit."" (The Toronto Curse, Sydney Allen Hunter, 1996)
"'One night I was preaching on hell,' Howard-Browne says, 'and [laughter]
just hit the whole place. The more I told people what hell was like, the
more they laughed'" (Rodney Howard-Browne, Charisma, August 1994, pg. 24).
(Rodney Howard-Browne) names numerous people, calling them "great men of
God". Among them is William Branham - an anti-Trinitarian. ("The Coming
Revival", written by Howard-Browne, page 13)
Rodney Howard-Browne: "I'm telling your right now," he hissed, "you'll drop
dead if you prohibit what God is doing!" Dramatically he gestured toward the
crowd and warned them that those like me, who would dare to question that
what he was doing was of God, had committed the unpardonable sin and would
not be forgiven in this world or the next." (Rodeny Boward-Browne,
Melodyland Christian Center, Anaheim, CA, 1/17/95 - Comment from Counterfeit
Revival, Hank Hanegraaf, 1997, pg. 22)
"It felt like my fingertips came off. I felt a full volume of the anointing
flow out of my hand. The only way I can explain it is to liken it to a
fireman holding a fire hose with a full volume of water flowing out of it.
The anointing went right into her. It looked like someone had hit her in the
head with an invisible baseball bat and she fell to the floor." (Rodney
Howard-Browne, Touch Of God, 76)
"I tell them never to preach salvation, because they're suggesting people
get saved," he said. "I'll guarantee anybody, I'll give them a congregation
of 1,000 people and tell them to get up and suggest all they want and see
what will happen." One of the other pastors cut in on the interview to say
he read the story of Ananias and Sapphira to his church the other night and
everyone ended up on the floor laughing. "One night I was preaching on
hell," Howard-Browne said, continuing, "and it just hit the whole place. The
more I told people what hell was like, the more they laughed, and when I
gave an altar call, they came forward by the hundreds to get saved." "Then,"
I replied, "as to what you're preaching on, it's almost irrelevant what
you're saying." He nodded. (An Evening with Rodney Howard-Browne, Copyright
1995 by the Christian Research Institute, from the Newswatch column of the
Christian Research Journal, Winter 1995, page 43) by Julia Duin.)
Howard-Browne takes no credit for the Vineyard-driven "Toronto blessing"
phenomenon ... and claims to be unable to analyze the current movement at
all. "You really cannot understand what God is doing in these meetings with
an analytical mind," he said. "It's not a move of man, it's a move of God.
The mind is never going to understand what God's doing....The only way
you're going to understand what God's doing is with your heart." ("An
Evening with Rodney Howard-Browne" (from the Newswatch column of the
Christian Research Journal, Winter 1995, page 43) by Julia Duin)
"I'm just the Holy Ghost bartender," he informed us. "I just serve the new
wine and tell them to come drink." ("An Evening with Rodney Howard-Browne"
(from the Newswatch column of the Christian Research Journal, Winter 1995,
page 43) by Julia Duin)
Howard-Browne then began pumping us up to do just that. He led us in a song
with these words: "I am drunk, I am drunk. Every day of my life I am drunk.
I've been drinking down at Joel's place every night and every day. I am
drunk on the new wine." Then he asked us all to lift our hands and "let that
river of joy come out of your belly." ("An Evening with Rodney
Howard-Browne" (from the Newswatch column of the Christian Research Journal,
Winter 1995, page 43) by Julia Duin)
Though (A.A. Allen) was excommunicated by Pentecostal leaders in his day, he
is extolled by endtime restorationists in ours. Rodney Howard-Browne, for
one, urges devotees: "Read the life stories of some of the great men of God,
men like A.A. Allen." (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997 citing
Rodney Howard-Browne, "Fresh Oil From Heaven" (Louisville, KY: RHBEA
Publications, 1992), 23)
This audio clip is from a Kenneth Copeland revival with Rodney
Howard-Browne. It was seen by a live stadium audience of 30,000 in
attendance as well as millions of TV viewers. The woman started to laugh
after she was "slain in the spirit" by laying of hands by Rodney
Howard-Brown. At the end she breaks out into tongues. Does this sound like
something from the Holy Spirit? Many Pentecostals believe that this is a
manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Hear the audio clip!
"It started with a dream. Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne, a minister based in
Tampa, Fla., had a dream in 1998 in which he was talking to Dr. Billy
Graham. Dr. Graham spoke about the crusade he conducted in 1957 at Madison
Square Garden. He rented the arena for what started as a six-week crusade,
but extended for three and a half months. During that time, 55,000 people
gave their lives to God at Madison Square Garden. While Dr. Graham was
speaking in the dream, Dr. Howard-Browne wept for New York and America. As
he wept, he felt the compassion of God for America. When he awoke, his
pillow was soaked with tears. He knew at that moment that God had
commissioned him to launch the largest soul-winning crusade of the
millenium." Billy Graham appeared to RHB in a dream? Isn't that rather
occultic? Does Billy Graham approve of this? Does he know he has been
appearing in RHB's dreams lately? Are these dreams of soul winning or
dreams of granduer? Most of all, how come RHB is not weeping over all the
people he has deceived with false teaching and a false anointing not of the
Holy Spirit? It would seem that he should repent of this first for God to
use him in any way to preach the "gospel". In any case, we doubt very much
that RHB understands what the gospel even means. (Good News New York, 1999
at http://www.gnny.com/about_gnny.htm with comments from Deception In The
Church)
"... We've been taught that revival is sovereign, it's a sovereign move of
God. Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, the future's not mine to see,
the Doris Day doctrine. If God wants revival He'll do it, and we just
wondering if we'll just keep having srvices until one day He comes ...
revival is something that can be planned, revival is something that can be
scheduled ..." (You need Internet Explorer to hear this file. Go to this
page, read the instructions, then click on "Revival Can Be Planned!").
"... I speak by the Holy Ghost, no man will be able to stand in the way of
the glory of God, this is a mighty wave of the glory of God ... these are
the days of signs and wonders ... and say God, I'm gonna get in middle the
river of the move of the Spirit of the mighty God ... prepare your hearts
for the coming of the Lord ..." (You need Internet Explorer to hear this
file. Go to this page, read the instructions, then click on "Signs And
Wonders!").
See this article for many more quotes by Rodney Howard-Browne:
http://www.pfo.org/intoxic.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICK JOYNER
Editor of MorningStar Magazine and Third Wave prophet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What is about to come upon the earth is not just a revival, or another
awakening; it is a veritable revolution. The vision was given in order to
begin to awaken those who are destined to radically change the course, and
even the very definition of Christianity. The dismantling of organizations
and disbanding of some works will be a positive and exhilarating experience
for the Lord's faithful servants. A great company of prophets, teachers,
pastors and apostles will be raised up with the spirit of Phineas." (Rick
Joyner, The Harvest, op. cit. "Joel's Army.")
Rick Joyner reports visions of "a bloody civil war" in the Church. (Latter
Rain Revival, 1996)
Rick Joyner has identified "Antichrist" as the orthodox church. (Weighed and
Found Wanting, Bill Randles, p. 64.)
Rick Joyner on the subject of the latter-day apostles and prophets who will
be greater than the apostles and prophets of Biblical times: "In the near
future we will not be looking back at the early church with envy because of
the great exploits of those days, but all will be saying that He certainly
did save Hi best wine for last. The most glorious times in all of history
have not come upon us. You, who have dreamed of one day being able to talk
with Peter, John and Paul, are going to be surprised to find that they have
all been waiting to talk to you." (Rick Joyner, The Harvest (Pineville, NC,
MorningStar, 1990, 9)
"Like the American Civil War, the coming spiritual civil war will also be
between the Blue and the Gray. In dreams and visions blue often represents
heavenly mindedness - the sky is blue - and gray speaks of thos who live by
the power of their own minds - the brain is often called gray matter - this
will be a conflict between those who may be genuine Christians, but who live
mostly according to their natural minds and human wisdom, and those who
follow the Holy Spirit." (Rick Joyner, The Morning Star Prophetic Bulletin,
May 1996, 2)
"There will also be some new wonders coming to the church. We had some of
these just recently where Bob Jones and I heard angels singing twice in a
meeting. This didn't even take any faith, it was so loud and so clear, it
was like a choir singing. Another time, we had the odor of incense fill a
meeting for about 15 minutes. It was so intense that you couldn't help but
smell it...He gave it as a witness that He was receiving the intercession
from these people, the prayers and their intercession. He had said He would
come with a sign that we would smell the incense. It came so powerfully
faith was hardly needed. And we saw the wind of the Spirit blow so hard at a
meeting you could see people's hair blowing! So He is coming a whole lot
more dramatically. As one brother said, 'This hardly takes any faith, it is
so obvious.' But when He comes in ways like that, it is always to give a
message. He is not just trying to tickle our curiosity or our interest in
supernatural things, He is trying to say something to us." One of the major
points I have tried to make through (my) book, is that there has been a
"conditioning" of God's people over the years. They have been conditioned to
become more attuned to sensual manifestation than to the Word of God. Joyner
ends this paragraph by saying that "He (God) is trying to say something to
us." God has spoken already through His Son and through the Word of God, He
doesn't need to give you scents of honeysuckle to let you know He heard your
prayers. He wants us to come by faith. Heb 11:6 "But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." I could go on
and on about the damage done to the Charismatic church and the Body as a
whole, through the Kansas City Prophets affair, but I think I've made my
point. I contend that what we are seeing in Toronto, through Rodney
Howard-Browne, and all over the world, is merely the logical next step, to
what was begun in the 1940's, carried on by the Latter Rain/Manifested Sons
teachers, progressing into the Dominion Now, Kingdom Now crowd, The Faith
Message, the prophetic move, up to this day. Where is this "river" taking
us? Into delusion and apostasy! (Rick Joyner, Faith Hardly Needed From
Fullness, Jan/Feb 1990 "The Unfolding of a Prophet." Page 13, with
commentary by Bill Randles, Weighed And Found Wanting, 1994, appendix)
"From the first Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has proven that He will
only come to the degree that we have unity." Joyner makes this statement
without regard to the fact that every person who beleives in Jesus Christ
receives the Holy Spirit, therefore He has already "come" to every believer.
"Unity" is not the criteria for the Holy Spirit to "come". Belief is. Eph.
1:13 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit." 1 Cor. 12:13 "For we were ALL baptized by
one Spirit into one body whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free and we were
ALL given the one Spirit to drink." (Emphasis mine) (Rick Joyner, "Azusa
Street - The Fire That Could Not Die", The Morning Star Journal, Volume 7,
Number 1, with comment by Deception In The Church, 1997)
"At the height of the Azusa Street revival Seymour prophesied, "We are on
the verge of the greatest miracle the world has ever seen." The miracle he
was referring to was a true love and unity between races and creeds that he
considered to be fundamental Christianity. When it does, William J. Seymour
must be considered as one who sowed the seeds for this greatest miracle of
all. Possibly more than any other man in church history, he promoted that
which alone can bring it to pass, seeking the fulness of the Holy Spirit in
our midst." I have news for Joyner and Seymour (although, since Seymour is
now dead he will know this to be true), the "greatest miracle" of all is the
salvation of a lost soul, not some kind of ecumenical "unity between races
and creeds". Lu 15:10 "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in
the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Angels
rejoice over repentant sinners. The Bible does not say they rejoice over
"unity between races and creeds" or false signs and wonder.. (Rick Joyner,
"Azusa Street - The Fire That Could Not Die", The Morning Star Journal,
Volume 7, Number 1, with comment by Sandy Simpson, 1997)
"We must be vigilant and able to quickly recognize the enemy, but not be too
quick to call someone the enemy until we are sure of what we see. A friend
of mine who was a close associate of Jack Coe, one of the greatest of the
healing evangelists, told me how he died quickly and unexpectedly at the age
of just 39 after publicly referring to Kathryn Kuhlman as a witch. Years
later, Kuhlman died quickly and unexpectedly after publicly calling Bob
Mumford a false teacher. Were these the judgments of God? I believe both of
these died because of the mercy of the Lord, to keep them from crossing the
line to becoming a stumbling block, something the Lord Himself warned should
be the last thing we ever want to become." This is used as an illustration
by Joyner of true prophets calling someone else a false prophet and dying.
First of all "too quick to judge"? It apparently took these people most of
their lives to make these judgments. Secondly, from the list he mentioned,
this is a classic example of false prophets calling each other false
prophets and God taking them out. Just read a little about the lives of Jack
Coe and Kathryn Kuhlman and their heretical practices and statements, if you
are in doubt. Joyner is also wrong about judging. We are called to judge the
words of Christians, as good "Bereans". Paul called people to judge his
words. 1Co 10:15 "I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I
say." We are also called to test the spirits for the express purpose of
finding out who the false prophets are. 1 Jo 4:1 "Dear friends, do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world." If people are
found to be false prophets and false teachers, we are to have nothing
further to do with them as Christians. Jeremiah 23:16 "This is what the LORD
Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not
from the mouth of the LORD." (Rick Joyner, "False Prophets and False
Prophecy", The Morning Star Journal, Volume 6, Number 4, with comment by
Deception In The Church, 1997, emphasis mine)
"One of the greatest hazards affecting maturing prophets is the erroneous
interpretation of the Old Testament exhortation that if a prophet ever
predicted something which did not come to pass he was no longer to be
considered a true prophet (see Deut. 18:20-22). The warning was that if this
happened, the prophet had been presumptuous and the people were not to fear
him. If one predicts something in the name of the Lord and it does not come
to pass, he probably has spoken presumptuously and needs to be repented of,
but that does not make him a false prophet. No one could step out in the
faith required to walk in his calling if he knew that a single mistake would
ruin him for life." How conveneint an interpretation! First of all, to our
knowledge, Rick Joyner has never repented of any of the false prophesies ...
excuse me ... "mistakes" he has made. Furthermore, by his interpretation,
there can be no such thing as a false prophet at all, since he has just
stripped away one of the main ways to discern false prophesy -- lies.
Either a prophet is telling the truth or he is a lying, false prophet.
Simple. Add to this the fact the Rick Joyner ignores the dire indictment
against false prophesy in following in Duet. 18, as do other self-proclaimed
Third Wavers with fertile imaginations. Lucky for him we no longer follow
the sentence imposed under the Law for false prophesy. The Law of Christ is
enough for us to discern those who greive the Spirit by throwing grace back
in the face of our precious Lord Jesus Christ by teaching and promoting
lies. (The Prophetic Ministry, The Morning Star Prophetic Newsletter, Rick
Joyner, n.d., Vol 3, No. 2, pg. 2. with comment by Deception In The Church)
"Bob [Jones] was told that the general level of prophetic revelation in the
church was about 65% accurate at this time. Some are only about 10%
accurate, a very few of the most mature prophets are approaching 85% to 95%
accuracy. Prophecy is increasing in purity, but there is still a long way to
go for those who walk in this ministry. This is actually grace for the
church now, because 100% accuracy in this ministry will bring a level of
accountability to the church which she is too immature to bear at this time;
it would result in too many 'Ananias and Sapphiras.' That so many the (sic)
prophetic ministries are still missing so much is also meant to work
humility and wisdom in them so that they will be able to handle the
authority and power coming in the near future." If you can't handle truth in
the first place, what makes you think you can handle authority, let alone
power? (The Prophetic Ministry, The Morning Star Prophetic Newsletter, Rick
Joyner, n.d., Vol 3, No. 2, pg. 4 with comment from Deception In The Church)
"... I think you people are in danger of getting out of control. Wouldn't
that be something if we got out of control. I believe that's where we're
headed." Joyner was not saying this in a negative sense, but that it would
be GOOD to be out of control. (You need Internet Explorer to hear this
file. Go to this page, read the instructions, then click on "Out Of
Control!").
See this article for many more quotes by Rick Joyner:
http://www.powerup.com.au/~shaneph/rick_joyner__christian_gnostic.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESSEK WILLIAM KENYON
The true father of the modern-day Faith movement. (deceased)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Essek William Kenyon's life and ministry were enormously impacted by such
cults as Science of Mind, the Unity School of Christianity, Christian
Science, and New Thought metaphysics. (E. W. Kenyon, The Father and His
Family, 17th ed. (Lynnwood, WA: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1964),
100; cf. Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith, December
1980, 14)
Many of the phrases popularized by present-day prosperity preachers, such as
"What I confess, I possess," were originally coined by Kenyon. Kenneth Hagin
... plagiarized much of Kenyon's work, including the statement, "Every man
who has been 'born again' is an Incarnation, and Christianity is a miracle.
The believer is as much an Incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." (E. W.
Kenyon, The Father and His Family, 17th ed. (Lynnwood, WA: Kenyon's Gospel
Publishing Society, 1964), 100; cf. Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation," The
Word of Faith, December 1980, 14)
"If Jesus' physical death could pay the penalty for Sin as some contend,
then why is it necessary that a Christian die? If a Christian dies
physically, does he not pay the penalty of his own sin? If physical death is
the penalty for sin, then why do not the whole human race pay their own
penalty, and save themselves, for all die? But we hold that the physical
death of Jesus did not touch the sin issue at all." (Daniel R. McConnell, A
Different Gospel (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988), 23, 28 note
23)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN KILPATRICK
Head pastor at Brownsville Assembly Of God Church in Pensacola, FL -- the
church where the "Brownsville Outpouring" began.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My God, church, get in! This is it! Revival's come! This is what we've been
praying for! Get in!" This is a revealing statement made by John Kilpatrck
on the first day of the Pensacola "Outpouring". This brings up many
questions that every Christian should ask themselves about this movement.
Questions such as: Do we take men's words over God's Word as an indicator of
"revival"? Is there any Biblical precedant for a man to state categorically
that "revival has come"? Is there any Biblical evidence of men "putting
things in God's ears" such as ordering God to bring or continue revival? How
can one "get in" a revival when revival is something that happens primarily
on the inside of a person that results in inward and outward renewal? Is
"revival" a tangible force? Is it a substance that can be transfered? Can
you "get in" to it like you would jump in a river? Is it something to wallow
in, rolling on the floor and oinking like pigs? Or is the only way you can
be revived to have repentance in your heart and obey God's will for your
life? (John Kilpatrick, Counterfeit Revival, Hank Hanegraaff, audiotape
version, 1997; with comment by Deception In The Church, 1997)
John Kilpatrick said "Let (yourselves) go" ... "do not think about what you
are doing" ... "just give yourselves completely to the `spirit'". (Revival
... or Satanic Counterfeit?, Jimmy Robbins, 1996)
Kilpatrick stood on the platform praying with Hill and another man when he
suddenly heard a sound like a "rushing mighty wind" sweep over his right
shoulder. As Kilpatrick looked over his shoulder, he said his ankles
slipped, his knees bowed out, and a sudden "river of the glory of God" moved
between his legs. "It felt like a telephone pole," he said. "An endless
telephone pole was coming through my legs and it was coming in the church."
With some help from another man on the platform, Kilpatrick stepped back and
listened to the sound of the "rushing mighty wind" and what he described as
the "river of the glory of God" as it swept into the church. He suddenly
jumped to the pulpit and screamed, "My God, church, get in! This is it! This
is what we've been praying for! Get in!" (The Brownsville/Pensacola
Outpouring. Revival or Pandemonium?, Matt Costella, Staff Writer ©FOUNDATION
Magazine, March-April 1997) - Note: I saw the video tape of this very night
and there was no sound of a rushing wind, no 1000 people at the altar. There
were only a couple hundred or so people who slowly came forward who had been
coerced to come and receive the "anointing" Steve Hill had received from
Sandy Millar at the Holy Trinity Brompton, England.
"God sent pandemonium in the church," he said. "I think it's time that we
have grand pandemonium in the Baptists, in the Lutheran, the Episcopal, the
Assembly of God [churches]. God send pandemonium!" Kilpatrick exclaimed.
(The Brownsville/Pensacola Outpouring. Revival or Pandemonium?, Matt
Costella, Staff Writer ©FOUNDATION Magazine, March-April 1997)
"Let me tell you something else about this revival," Kilpatrick said. "This
move of God is not about preaching." He said that while he and evangelist
Steve Hill do preach sermons that are simple and easy to understand, the
signs and miracles are what actually turn people to Christ, not the Word of
God. "We've heard so many sermons and so much of the Word of God that we've
grown fat," he said, "but there's been no power and no anointing and no
miracles. So, I just want to tell you, that's why tonight I don't feel bad
about not coming up here and preaching a great sermon." (The
Brownsville/Pensacola Outpouring. Revival or Pandemonium?, Matt Costella,
Staff Writer ©FOUNDATION Magazine, March-April 1997)
Kilpatrick said that those who question this outpouring of the spirit are
just accustomed to the status quo and are afraid of anything "new" that
comes along. He explains: "See, we've become so used to the abnormal that
now that the normal has come it seems abnormal." These strange signs,
wonders and manifestations are the norm, according to Kilpatrick. (The
Brownsville/Pensacola Outpouring. Revival or Pandemonium?, Matt Costella,
Staff Writer ©FOUNDATION Magazine, March-April 1997)
Kilpatrick himself seems unsure at times what these supernatural powers are,
but he concludes that they must be the "glory of the Lord." He oftentimes
describes a phenomenon that occurred either to him personally or to the
entire congregation and prefaces it by saying, "I don't know what it was."
He then continues by either saying, "I believe it was God," or "I think it
was the glory of God." He has no basis for this assumption, but, for some
reason, he concludes that these manifestations and feelings are of God even
though they can be found nowhere in God's written Word. (The
Brownsville/Pensacola Outpouring. Revival or Pandemonium?, Matt Costella,
Staff Writer ©FOUNDATION Magazine, March-April 1997)
I would like to note that there was a statement made (by John Kilpatrick)
that in these latter days that preaching and simply teaching the word was no
longer sufficient, the Spirit had to get involved, through signs and wonders
due to the much sin that abounded. This is unscriptural. If I'm not mistaken
the Holy Spirit is involved in the preaching, and teaching of the word, and
that it was through the foolishness of preaching that men would come to know
the Lord (1 Cor 1:18-25). This passage also states that Christ is the power,
and wisdom of God. (Robert C. Gray, 1996)
Prophesies against Hank Hanegraaff, the "apology" letter of 6/17/97 and the
original message of 4/6/97:
(Kilpatrick Letter 6/17/97:) "When I said, "I'm going to prophesy as a man
of God that the Lord bring you down in 90 days," I was not speaking that as
a prophet but as a shepherd putting something in the ears of God. I did not
say, "Thus saith the Lord"; it was a "Thus saith John Kilpatrick," putting
these words into God's ears in the context of the message I was bringing.
Let me reemphasize again that was me speaking."
(Kilpatrick Message 4/6/97:) "You're all gonna have to pardon me for being
beside myself, but I got a word from the Lord last night."
(Kilpatrick Letter 6/17/97:) "This is by no means to be interpreted as an
attempt to wiggle out of a prophecy. I would like to grant you the right to
continue to count down the days and continue to comment about the 90 days.
It's ammunition that I gave you in April. I only want you to know -- it was
me speaking that and not a "thus saith the Lord."
(Kilpatrick Message 4/6/97:)"If you want to keep any kind of a semblance of
a ministry, you better back off from this revival and what God is doing. You
better back off, because I'm going to prophesy to you that if you don't, and
you continue to put your tongue in your mouth on this move of God, within 90
days the Holy Ghost will bring you down. I said, within 90 days the Holy
Ghost will bring you down." (John Kilpatrick gave a message condemning
false prophesy. You need Internet Explorer to hear this file. Go to this
page, read the instructions, then click on "Steve Hill Condemns Kilpatrick".
This is erroneous as this is not Steve Hill speaking but John Kilpatrick
condemning himself.)
(Kilpatrick Letter 6/17/97:) "I want to emphasize also that I did not wish
you any harm personally. I was talking about your ministry, I was saying,
"God bring down your platform for crying out and associating us with a
cult." I did not nor do I wish you any harm. I ask your forgiveness if you
thought I meant any harm to you personally. Honestly, before the Lord, I had
your platform in mind, not the person Hank Hanegraaff."
(Kilpatrick Message 4/6/97:) "And I want to tell you something else. If you
don't want your head to start shaking - you make fun of somebody in the
choir shaking [Note: Hank Hanegraaff has never made fun of her, but has
repeatedly expressed concern due to the physical and mental problems that
can come out of shaking one's head so vigorously for hours at a time for
over a year and a half] - come here a minute, girl. Come down here a minute.
Hurry up. Hurry up. [Note: Would you want to be spoken to in that way?] If
you don't want your head to do like this, you better lay your mouth off of
her. I know this girl. She's a godly girl. She's a school teacher, and she
lives a godly life."
After John Kilpatrick completed his anecdotal stories about manifestations,
things went from bad to worse. His "speaking in tongues" for a long period
without an interpretation was a red flag. I guess that what he was doing
would have been labeled "speaking in tongues," but it sounded more like an
Indian chant "Oo-ee-ah-oo-ee" (with occasional "whoosh" and "shew . . . Holy
Ghost" sounds made into the microphone etc.). This "chanting" went on for a
period of over twenty minutes. (I Experienced the "Pensacola Outpouring" and
Came Home Crying Tears and Praying, Shawn Paul Sauve, 1997)
In John Kilpatrick's entire sermon not a single Scripture was referenced,
the Gospel was not preached, and the bizarre manifestations appeared to be
the point of the whole evening. John Kilpatrick's description of the
beginning of the Brownsville revival seemed very similar to the service that
I attended. The gospel was not preached (a message was not given according
to Kilpatrick), and the evidence that revival had come was not that people
were saved, but because people fell down on the floor out of control. (I
Experienced the "Pensacola Outpouring" and Came Home Crying Tears and
Praying, Shawn Paul Sauve, 1997)
"You need to understand friends, your words are like containers. When they
come up out of the innermost part of your belly, out of the heart, the mouth
speaketh. As these things come out of your heart, they are spirits, by the
time the come out of your mouth, that spirit is encapsulated in some little
package and when you begin to speak this stuff out whether it is good or
evil, it comes out in the way of little containers in your home and it goes
out in your home and it begins to burst. As they burst life is either
released or death is released. Blessings are released or cursings are
released." (John Kilpatrick, Glory on Your House, 1997)
"Your words contain power. . . . As your words leave your mouth, the
"spirit" of what you just said fills the air and begins to rumble around in
your home. . . . Like bubbles of air, your words burst and begin to affect
the atmosphere. . . . These influences or spirits then move from one person
to the next, to the next, and so on ... One day the Holy Spirit showed me my
error. From that time on, I began to pray the solution instead of the
problem. I began to speak into existence those things that were not. . . .
Jacob [in blessing his sons] spoke powerful things that called into being
things that were not yet visible." (John Kilpatrick, When the Heavens Are
Brass, 109 ... Ibid., 128)
".. I'm speaking prophetically tonight. I rarely do this, but some of you,
if you don't come right now, the Lord's gonna put you out to pasture. You
have never known a spooky feeling until you've not felt the presence of God.
If you don't come in this sixty second period right now, friend listen to
me, some of you, you're not gonna hear His voice no more ... you've got
sixty seconds to respond to Jesus right now, starting now." (You need
Internet Explorer to hear this file. Go to this page, read the
instructions, then click on "Sixty Seconds Prophesy" and "Sixty Seconds").
Carl
QUOTES FROM THIRD WAVE LEADERS
[from http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/quotes.html]
Go the above website for links described in the article.
[PART THREE]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KATHRYN KUHLMAN
Faith healer and evangelist (decesased), mentor for John Arnott and Benny
Hinn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benny Hinn recounts a story where an associate of Kathryn Kuhlman told him
that Kuhlman "in the earlier days . . . didn't have any anointing on her
compared to what she had when she died." (Benny Hinn, The Anointing.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 1992. 59.)
The personal account of a doctor who investigated the alleged supernatural
healing powers of Kathryn Kuhlman, Norbu Chen, and the Fillipino psychic
surgeons. One chapter on each -- includes a number of case examples. The
author shows clearly how both suggestion and outright fraud tend to play a
role in supernatural healings.(Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle,
William A. Nolen 1974, Fawcett; 272p.)
The second event was pentecostal healer Kathryn Kuhlman's audience with Pope
Paul. After the meeting, she said, "When I met Pope Paul there was a
Oneness." This "oneness" was carried into and through her
interdenominational healing services until her death.(Part One Foundations
For Apostasy: 1950-1985, Ed Tarkowski)
Dr. Nolan concentrated his efforts on a nationally known faith healer known
as Kathryn Kuhlman. She was an ordained minister who had been "healing"
about 30 years at that time, and claimed to have treated app. one and one
half million patients. Dr. Nolan interview Miss Kuhlman, and secured
permission to follow up on the people who attended her services at
Minneapolis in June 1973. He used two legal secretaries to secure names,
addresses, phone numbers and diagnosis of everyone who was willing to
cooperate. In July of 1973 letters were sent by Dr. Nolan requesting those
who claimed a "cure" to come to Minneapolis. Twenty three responded. In
every case examined by Dr. Nolan there was not found one case of a
miraculous cure. Note this quote: "Kathryn Kuhlman's lack of medical
sophistication is a critical point. I don't believe she is a liar or a
charlatan or that she is, consciously, dishonest. I think that she believes
the Holy Spirit works through her to perform miraculous cures. I think that
she sincerely believes that the thousands of sick people who come to her
services and claim cures are, through her mini-strations being cured of
organic diseases. I also think--and my investigation confirms this--that she
is wrong." (Quotes and facts are from an article in McCall's 9/74)
Dr. Nolen, in his book Healing, did long-term follow-ups on 23 of Kuhlman's
claimed healings. There were no cures among these cases. One woman who was
sadi to have been cured of spinal cancer threw away her brace and ran across
the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the next day, according
to Nolen, and she died four months later. (James Randi, The Faith Healers,
1989, p.201)
Kathryn Kulhman developed her own explanation for being "slain in the
spirit": "All I can believe is that our spiritual beings are not wired for
God's full power, and when we plug into that power, we just cannot survive
it. We are wired for low voltage; God is high voltage through the Holy
Spirit." (Warner, Kathryn Kuhlman, 220)
Among the thousands who tapped into the high voltage flowing through Kuhlman
were Richard Roberts, Charles and Frances Hunter (the "Happy Hunters"),
ex-priest Francis MacNutt, and a young immigrant named Benedictus ("Benny")
Hinn. (Wayne E. Warner, Kathryn Kuhlman (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Books,
1993), 214-215)
(Benny) Hinn revealed that he periodically visits (Kathryn) Kuhlman's grave
(click here for a photo of her grave site) and that he is one of the few
with a key to gain access to it. He also visits Aimee (McPherson's) grave
(click here for photos of her grave site), where he says: "I felt a terrific
anointing ... I was shaking all over ... trembling under the power of God
... `Dear God,' I said, `I feel the anointing.' ... I believe the anointing
has lingered over Aimee's body." (Benny Hinn, April 7, 1991 sermon)
(Kathryn Kuhlman as a young woman) meticulously studied (Aimee Semple
McPherson) "taking in every movement, every song, every dramatic
presentation, every altar call" from the vantage of the Angelus Temple
balcony. (Wayne E. Warner, Kathryn Kuhlman (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Books,
1993), 205)
For much of Kathryn Kuhlman's early ministry, she lived in the shadow of her
role model, the most famous woman preacher of all, Aimee Semple McPherson
... although she never met Aimee at the Angelus Temple, "enough of the
glitter rubbed off to start her toward her own superstar status." (Wayne E.
Warner, Kathryn Kuhlman (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Books, 1993), 203-205)
Sister Kathryn (had a) flamboyant lifestyle. Not only (did she have a) love
for "expensive clothes, precious jewles, luxury hotels, and first class
travel," but (she was also married) "to an evangelist, who divorced his wife
to marry Kuhlman." (Burgess and McGee, Pentecostal and Charismatic
Movements, 529-530)
Vim Malgo's conclusion is that it was not the Holy Spirit who was at work
(in Kathryn Kuhlman meetings), but other spirits. The so-called baptism of
the Spirit is usually a baptism with spirits. Malgo says: "The spirits find
one another." In English we have the saying, "Birds of a feather flock
together." It is therefore characteristic that Kathryn Kuhlman was one of
the main speakers and drew the largest number of hearers. This point has
troubled me more and more over the years: Kathryn accepted invitations from
wild extremists and stood on the same platform with them. (Kurt Koch, Occult
ABC, 1978, p. 118)
There is a long report about Kathryn Kuhlman's appearances in Vancouver and
Seattle. Lack of space again compels me to mention only the main points.
This observer writes, "Kathryn Kuhlman calls herself an instrument of the
Lord. In reality, she is a medium of the lord of this world. A person cannot
receive a second birth from the Holy Spirit when someone touches his face
and says a few words to him. I believe in the charismata gifts of the
Spirit. But what Kathryn Kuhlman displays is not a gift of the Holy Spirit
of God, but a gift of the spirits who rule in the air. These spirits make
use of her, herself deceived and deceiving others ... She is a medium of
Satan." (Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, 1978, p. 118)
(Kathryn Kuhlman:) "You've had cancer in the hip and now your pain is gone.
Is that right?" (Man with cancer:) "Yes," (Kathryn Kuhlman:) "Bend over so
everyone can see." He bent over. "Walk around." He walked around. "Isn't the
Holy Spirit wonderful?" she cried. A sound Of rejoicing went round the hall.
Afterward, the doctor inquired of this man. Nothing had changed in his
condition. But in Christian circles, the news was spread everywhere that a
man in a wheelchair had been healed. (Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, 1978, p. 119)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON
Faith healer and evangelist (deceased). Mentor for Benny Hinn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While the Dictionary of Pentacostal and Charismatic Movements deals with the
controversial aspects of "Sister Aimee's" life -- her mysterious
disappearances and alleged affairs, multiple marriages (two of which ended
in divorce), and death from an apparent drug overdose -- it is strangely
silent about her theatrical preoccupation with the slain in the spirit
phenomenon. (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 1997, 168)
(Benny) Hinn revealed that he periodically visits (Kathryn) Kuhlman's grave
(click here for a photo of her grave site) and that he is one of the few
with a key to gain access to it. He also visits Aimee (McPherson's) grave
(click here for photos of her grave site), where he says: "I felt a terrific
anointing ... I was shaking all over ... trembling under the power of God
... `Dear God,' I said, `I feel the anointing.' ... I believe the anointing
has lingered over Aimee's body." (Benny Hinn, April 7, 1991 sermon)
"The Voice of the Lord spoke tenderly: "Now, child, cease your strivings and
your begging; just begin to praise Me ..." All at once my hands and arms
began to tremble gently at first, then mor and more, until my whole body was
atremble with the power ... Almost without my notice my body slipped gently
to the floor, and I was lying under the power of God, but felt as thought
caught up and floating." (Aimee Semple McPherson, This Is That (los Angeles:
Echo Park Evangelistic Associaton, 1923), 90-91)
"It should be obvious to any man who is not one himself that the land is
overrun with messiahs. I refer not to those political quacks who promise in
one election to rid the land of evil, but rather to those inspired fakirs
who promise to reduce the diaphram or orient the soul through the machinery
of occult religion. Each of these has seriously made himself the centre of a
new theophany, has surrounded himself with a band of zealous apostles, has
hired a hall for a shrine, and has set about busily to rescue Truth from the
scaffold and put it on the throne. The average man knows nothing of these
new messiahs, unless perchance he reads that Swami Yogananda had been ridden
out of Florida or hears of the plans of Aimee Semple McPherson for the
Foursquare Gospel Mission, or unless his wife is a Theosophist, his
emancipated daughter a member of the Liberal Catholic Church, his aunt a
devotee of the School of Silent Unity, and his son a Buchmanite, or unless
he receives gratis the literature of the Rosicrucian Fellowship. If,
however, he will take the Saturday edition of any metropolitan daily and
scan the page devoted to the announcment of religious services, the extent
and intensity of these quixotic cults will be clear to him. In the New York
Sun for November 20, 1927, announcements were made of over one hundred and
forty religious services for the one borough of Manhattan. Of these, fully
half had to do with cults and sects of cults bearing no relation to any form
of orthodox Christianity." (The Confusion Of Tongues, Chales W. Ferguson,
1927, p. 1)
Aimee Semple McPherson, nationally known healing evangelist in the 1920's -
1930's. Founded and headed the Foursquare Gospel Church, led a controversial
life and died of a drug overdose in 1944. She thought that her organization
was in fact restoring true Christianity which had been lost over the years.
All of these groups initially believed in a restoration of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit including prophecy. She is without doubt the most controversial
of all the Pentecostal women. She got the baptism in 1907 and soon went with
her husband to China, where he died. She came back to the United States and
traveled as an evangelist. In 1919 she settled in Los Angeles where she
built the Angelus Temple. She served as the pastor of the temple until her
death in 1944. She is controversial because she faked her own kidnapping in
order to carry on an adulterous affair in 1926. During the outcry against
her over this affair she incorporated The International Church of the
Foursquare Gospel, which later grew into a large Pentecostal denomination.
The Foursquare denomination exists today. Sister Aimee died of a barbiturate
overdose in 1944. (The Interactive Bible, 1998)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EARL PAULK
Bishop and television preacher on TBN.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"That's what we're doing as the five-fold ministry - the apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers - is equipping the saints, maturing the
Body of Christ. But see, even that frightens us because we say we've got
pastors, we've got evangelists - we talk about apostles and prophets, we get
afraid. And yet they've got to come back with authority and power. Ephesians
2:20 says the Church is built not on Jesus (a lot of folk don't know that),
but it's built on the apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ being the
chief cornerstone. He's the cornerstone, but the apostles and the ministry
of the prophets is [sic] the foundation. What God is doing today is raising
up prophets. I don't have any doubt in my mind that Oral Roberts is a
prophet to the Church to bring us back to the healings. Many of them -
Branham and many others - I believe that the Hagins and the Copelands, we
have varying doctrines here, but I believe they brought us back to
understanding the power in God's Word. They were apostles toward that. I
believe there are other apostles and prophets God is raising up." (Earl
Paulk, guest appearance on "Praise The Lord," Trinity Broadcasting Network,
March 4, 1986.)
"THE FOURTH ISSUE AT STAKE IS THE TRUE UNITY WITHIN THE BODY OF CHRIST. To
build upon anything less than the true Rock, the only lasting foundation,
would be only to see the entire building fall. Paul made it clear that the
Cornerstone had been 'rejected by the builders.' The only solution was to
bring forth new builders - whom Paul defined as apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers - to build up a people fitly joined
together whose head is Jesus Christ Himself. We are further given the
warnings as to how we build on this foundation. To talk of unity without
truth is to build with wood, hay and stubble (I Corinthians 3)." ( Earl
Paulk, 'The Betrothed' (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers, 1985), p.7.)
"The book of Revelation makes it clear that John wrote his letters to the
angels of the Church. Who are the angels that God will use? They are
ministers called by God to boldly proclaim the Word of God. They will sound
the trumpet. One should never separate prophecy of the New Testament from
prophetic Old Testament scriptures. The trumpet sounded in the Old Testament
as a warning. Today the trumpet sounds from the angels of the Church, God's
ministers who cry out, 'It is harvest time!' Witnesses to God's power will
shine as never before. God will gather righteous people together to raise up
a witness of Jesus Christ and judge the kingdoms of this world." (Earl
Paulk, "Thrust in the Sickle and Reap" (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers,
1986), p.103,104.)
"THE FIFTH FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH IS TO CONQUER THE LAST ENEMY, WHICH IS
DEATH, AND TO BRING REDEMPTION TO THE BODY OF CHRIST. When the Apostle Paul
says that redemption has not yet taken place, he speaks, I believe, of the
redemption of the individual body; yet in my spirit I perceive that he
speaks also of the redemption of the Body of Christ. [Boldface Paulk's
throughout.] "Jesus Christ Himself overcame death individually, and WHEN THE
CHURCH BECOMES SO CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE THAT THOSE WHO DIE DO NOT PASS
THROUGH THE GRAVE, BUT BECOME INSTEAD GLORIOUSLY CHANGED IN THE TWINKLING OF
AN EYE, IT WILL BE THAT CHURCH WHICH WILL BRING THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO PASS
ON THE EARTH. [Paulk then quotes Romans 8:18,22-23, and Ephesians 1:13-14.]
"We have received the earnest of the EXPECTATION through the baptism of the
Holy Spirit, but we must move on to the POSSESSION, which is overcoming the
last enemy, death. Sometimes the interpretation has been made that Jesus
Christ conquered death, but if that were so, why would Paul's epistle to the
Corinthians, written at least ninety years later, say that the last enemy
that SHALL be destroyed is death (I Corinthians 15:26)? JESUS CHRIST
CONQUERED DEATH INDIVIDUALLY, BUT IT IS LEFT TO THE CHURCH TO CONQUER DEATH
ON A CORPORATE BASIS.. "Is it possible that there will be a people who so
possess the authority of Almighty God, as Elijah did, that they, as a group,
will say to death, hell, and the spirit of Satan, 'We will NOT die. We will
stay here and be changed, and we will call Jesus Christ to return to this
earth as King of Kings and Lords of Lords'? Yes, that is what I believe the
church must do! But it will not be easy, because GOD IS LOOKING FOR THE
MANIFESTATION OF A MATURE CHURCH WHO CAN SPEAK WITH THE AUTHORITY JESUS HAD
WHEN HE STILLED THE WINDS AND CALLED LAZARUS FORTH FROM THE GRAVE. "An
exciting prospect? Oh, yes! We are God's people, called to do the will of
God in the world today and to see the King of Glory return to establish His
Kingdom on earth! Jesus Christ had the authority to say 'No' to death on
earth, and He is waiting for us to come to that same authority He had so we
can say, 'The last enemy - death - has been conquered!' [Paulk then quotes I
Corinthians 15:20-26.] "Jesus Christ, as the firstfruit of the Kingdom,
began the work of conquering death on an individual basis, but we, as His
church will be the ones to complete the task. Jesus said (Matthew 28:18),
'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,' and the church today
has that same power. Death will not be conquered by Jesus returning to the
earth. It will be conquered when the church stands up boldly and says, 'We
have dominion over the earth!' How else will God be able to show Satan a
people for whom death holds no fear, over whom death no longer has any
power? When God can do that, Satan's hold on us will be broken forever!"
(Earl Paulk, "The Proper Function of the Church" (Atlanta: K Dimension
Publishers, undated), p.13.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PETER POPOFF
Televangelist huckster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God's Frequency is 39.17 Mhz. Peter Popoff Fake Healer and Fraud! See
actual video of Popoff in the act of fraud! Why is this fraud still on
TV???? Why do many Pentecostals think he is saved and that the Holy Spirit
is performing miracles through him?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRED PRICE
Televangelist.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can have what you say. (Fred Price, Praise the Lord (TBN), 9/21/90)
You can't glorify God if you are sick. (Fred Price, Is God Glorified Through
Sickness?, Tape #FP605)
Man has made God violate His own word. Have a "Rolls Royce" Faith. (Fred
Price, Praise the Lord (TBN), 9/21/90)
God has displeasure in poverty. (Fred Price, Ever Increasing Faith, recorded
11/16/90)
Jesus and the disciples were rich, only rich people could take off for 3.5
years. (Fred Price, Ever Increasing Faith, recorded 11/23/90)
"Yes! You are in control! So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God"
(Fred Price, "Prayer: Do You Know What Prayer Is...and How to Pray?," The
Word Study Bible, 1990. p. 1178).
"Jesus was rich and that He left us with an example to follow. That is why
Fred drives a Rolls Royce; he is following Jesus' example!" (Fred Price, An
Examination Of The Word-Faith Movement, Richard J. Vincent, 1991)
" ... how can you glorify God in your body, when it doesn't function right?
How can you glorify God? How can He get glory when your body doesn't even
work? ... What makes you think the Holy Ghost wants to live inside a body
where He can't see out through the windows and He can't hear with the ears?
What makes you think the Holy Spirit wants to live inside of a physical body
where the limbs and the organs and the cells do not function right? ... And
what makes you think He wants to live in a temple where He can't see out of
the eyes, and He can't walk with the feet, and He can't move with the hand?
... The only eyes that he has that are in the earth realm are the eyes that
are in the body. If He can't see out of them then God's gonna be limited
..." (Frederick K.C. Price, "Is God Glorified Through Sickness?" (Los
Angeles: Crenshaw Christian Center, n.d.), audiotape #FP605)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ORAL ROBERTS
Faith healer and founder of Oral Roberts University. (almost deceased if not
for 8 million dollars)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oral Roberts, you may recall, is the man who claimed that Jesus told him God
had chosen him to find an effective treatment for cancer. In a lengthy
appeal, Roberts avowed that the Lord told him, "I would not have had you and
your partners build the 20-story research tower unless I was going to give
you a plan that will attack cancer." Roberts then said that Jesus instructed
him to tell his partners that "this is not Oral Roberts asking [for the
money] but their Lord." The project was completed, but has since been "shut
down and sold to a group of investors for commercial development." And no
cure for cancer was found. (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, 1993,
pg. 31 citing Russell Chandler, "Talked with Jesus, Evangelist Says", The
Los Angeles Times (3 February 1983), 3, 16 and Clark Morphew, "What's to
become of Oral Roberts 'City Of Faith?'" St. Paul Pioneer Press (27 June
1992); reprinted in The Christian News (20 July 1992), 2.)
Prosperity teachers are so committed to presenting a Jesus who wears a Rolex
that they are willing to do whatever it takes to sell this myth to their
parishioners. Oral Roberts, for example, wrote a book titled "How I Learned
Jesus Was Not Poor." (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, 1993, pg.
187)
On January 4, 1987, Roberts launched his most notable campaign to date.
Roberts told his followers that if he did not raise a total of 8 million
dollars by March, God was going to take his life ... Comparing himelf to the
apostle Paul, Roberts begged not to let Satan defeat him. "God" he says,
"clearly told me he needs me here on earth. And here's why -- because of all
the ministries, this ministry is the only one God has on this earth that
owns a medical school." ... Some time later, Oral's son, Richard, took pen
in hand to warn of his father's impending doom. Without "the additional
$4,500.000." explains Richard, "God will not extend Dad's life" He then
pleads, "Partner, we cannot let this man of God die. There is no reason for
him to die." ... After sternnly warning, "IF YOU NEGLECT TO PAY ATTENTION
... then Satan will take advantage and hit you with bad things and you will
wish that 1985 had never come, " Roberts closed his letter with a hard sell.
Sending a seed-faith gift will not only enable you to "STOP SATAN IN HIS
HATE TO BRING YOU DOWN," it will also "help you get your hundredfold
return." (Roberts raised the money and did not die.) (Hank Hanegraaff,
Christianity In Crisis, 1993, pg. 196-198)
(Jesus allegedly) instructed Robert's partners to take (a) picture of Oral
and Richard (Roberts) "AND HOLD IT OVER the prayer sheet and your Seed-Faith
gift so that the shadow of the picture COVERS THE ENTIRE SHEET." According
to Jesus, this "becomes the point of contact for you to loose your faith."
(Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, 1993, pg. 204 citing Oral and
Richard Roberts, direct-mail letter (August 1984), 2-3 capitalization in
original)
(Oral Roberts used the KJV translation of 3 John 2 to say to) his wife,
"Evelyn, now this means that we're supposed to prosper" (as Christians).
Roberts goes on to recount how, after discovering this verse, God gave him a
brand-new Buick. ... Evelyn enthusiastically agreed with Oral that to
propser "is God's highest wish for us." (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In
Crisis, 1993, pg. 223 citing Roberts, "A Daily Guide to Miracles" (Tulsa,
OK: Pinoak Press, 1975), 36-38 passim.)
Son Richard, as usual, had to face a press and try to explain his father's
atrocious claims (about raising people from the dead). He said that there
were "dozens upon dozens upon dozens" of documented cases of such
resurrection, and I decided to switch the direction of my inquiries. Knowing
full well that a mere healing is nothing compared to a resurrection, I sent
this telegram to Oral Roberts on June 30, 1987: "Please provide me with one
identifiable case of a resurrection from the dead brought about by Oral
Roberts, regardless of the sources of the power used to accomplish this
wonder. Since resurrections are not considered commonplace, I will accept
documentation of such an event in place of any of the other evidences of
healing by Reverend Roberts that I have been seeking." Need I tell you that
no response was ever received? (James Randi, The Faith Healers, 1989, p.195)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAT ROBERTSON
Host of the "700 Club" on CBN/TBN.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"God spoke through a word of prophecy in May 1968, and said, 'I have chosen
you to usher in the coming of My Son.'" (Sermon on Satellite Network
Seminar, Word of Faith Outreach Center, Dallas, TX, Dec. 9-12, 1984, as
cited in "The Freedom Writer," 1986)
Robertson also announced then that the Christian Broadcasting Network will
provide worldwide coverage of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ from the
Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. (Sermon on Satellite Network Seminar, Word of
Faith Outreach Center, Dallas, TX, Dec. 9-12, 1984, as cited in "The Freedom
Writer," 1986)
"The mission of the Christian Coalition is simple," says Pat Robertson. It
is "to mobilize Christians -- one precinct at a time, one community at a
time -- until once again we are the head and not the tail, and at the top
rather than the bottom of our political system." Robertson predicts that
"the Christian Coalition will be the most powerful political force in
America by the end of this decade." And, "We have enough votes to run this
country...and when the people say, 'We've had enough,' we're going to take
over!"-- Pat Robertson
(http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/7027/quotes.html)
One formal declaration boldly documents the Evangelical and Catholic
commitment to work together to evangelize and bring about social reform in
the world. The Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in
the Third Millennium has, in effect, laid the groundwork for Evangelicals to
set aside their distinctive doctrines and unite with the Catholic Church and
other religions which are coming together by 2000 A.D. The ECT Document was
authored and presented in May of 1994 by Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship
and Roman Catholic priest, Richard John Neuhaus. In 1993, Chuck Colson was
the recipient of the $1,000,000 "Prize for Progress in Religion," given
annually at the Parliament of World Religions by New Age financier, John
Templeton. Father Neuhaus is the director of the Institute on Religion and
Public Life who, as former Lutheran and a seminary student, rejected the
doctrine of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. The ECT Document was
signed by 20 Catholic leaders and 20 Evangelical leaders including Dr. Bill
Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, Pat Robertson, President of CBN, J.I.
Packer of Christianity Today, Richard Land and Larry Lewis of the Southern
Baptist Convention, Jesse Miranda of Assemblies of God, Dr. John White of
the National Association of Evangelicals and President of Geneva College, Os
Guiness of Trinity Forum and Dr. Mark Noll of Wheaton College. (Tom Barbaho,
The United Religions Organization citing "Evangelicals and Catholics
Together Document: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium", First
Things, (Institute on Religion and Public Life, 156 Fifth Ave., Suite 400,
New York, NY 10010), May 1994, p. 12-22. 29 and "Protestants Swear
Allegiance to the Pope of Rome," (Living Truth Ministries, 1708 Patterson
Rd., Austin, TX 78733)
Conforming to the world rather than the Word, evangelical leaders such as
Pat Robertson and Francis Frangipane have called visions of Mary and
animated statues "manifestations from God." Frangipane believes that, had
the message of Medjugorje to forgive Muslims been obeyed, the war in Bosnia
would have been averted. (Tom Barbaho, The United Religions Organization
citing "Signs, Wonder, and the Word," Francis Frangipane, River of Life
Ministries, August, 1995)
Commenting on the (The Evangelicals and Catholics Together Document or ECT)
debate, Pat Robertson said that the dispute over "minor points of doctrinal
differences" shouldn't obscure the document's goals. Robertson's political
action organization, Christian Coalition, defends his endorsement of ECT
because its objective is to fulfill the Church's "responsibility for the
right ordering of civil society." (Tom Barbaho, The United Religions
Organizaton citing "Catholics and Protestants: Can We Walk Together?," Joe
Maxwell, Charisma Magazine, July, 1995, p. 22. and a letter from William H.
Miles, Manager, Membership Services, Christian Coalition, March 6, 1996)
Gerry Straub, a former associate of Pat Robertson and his television
producer, pointed out that in his book Salvation for Sale the astonishing
fact that God seemed able to time miracles to conform with standard
television format. God would stop speaking to Pat and stop healing exactly
in time with the theme music. He described his former employer's "Word of
Knowledge" performance: "There was nothing "mystical" to understand; it was
simply "statistical". Robertson's little faith-healing procedure is a
charade -- he simply "calls out" an illness and predicts its cure, and with
millions of viewers the statistical probabilities are that someone will have
the disease named and that they they will naturally recover. People put
their faith in the belief that God speaks to Pat. (James Randi, The Faith
Healers, 1989, p.201)
(Gerry) Straub relates a nonmiracle he witnessed while still a believer in
the ministry he worked for. He describes Robertson, at the close of a "700
Club" videotaping, shaking hands with members of the studio audience: "He
stopped when he reached a man sitting in a wheelchair ... Pat ... laid hands
on him as everyone prayed for healing ... at Pat's urging the man stood up.
The people cheered as the man took a couple of very shaky, small steps.
While everyone applauded God, I feared the man might fall. The next day we
showed the nation the miracle (on the "700 Club" broadcast). I simply wanted
to know if the old man in the wheelchair was permanently healed by God or if
he temporarily thought that he was healed. A few weeks later I had an
assistant track down the man's family in order to see if the cure had
lasted. He had died 10 days after his visit to [the Christian Broadcasting
Netwark]. We reported his "healing" but not his death. (James Randi, The
Faith Healers, 1989, p.201)
(Gerry) Staub sums up his experience with faith-healing in the Robertson
ministry with these words: "During my two and a half years at [Christian
Broadcasting Network], I never saw one clear-cut, "beyond a shadow of a
doubt" type of healing; however, I did see a tremendous amount of faith in
healing -- cleverly created, I believe, by Pat Robertson ... The
prophet-turned-healer could have been described as prophet-turned-fake for
the sake of profit." (James Randi, The Faith Healers, 1989, p.202)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN SCOTLAND
Pastor of Bethesda Church in Liverpool, England - a Toronto "Blessing"
church. He claims he has been "drunk in the spirit" for three years
straight.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Scotland shows his contempt for the Bible. Here are his introductory
comments about the reading! "I want to read from from Luke chapter 1. Some
of you don't think I give readings. Well I was brought up in the Baptist
church. Isn't this pulpit good? Shupdaduoo. We will get to the reading for
those that like the reading. I've just got to go with the flow. Notice this
ladies and gentlemen. If your taking notes. heeheheh. [Obviously no one was
taking and he knew it, just more mockery] and for you that have chose this
night to check the place out you've chosen the wrong night." See and hear
the video clip!
Scotland tells us that these chicken sounds are a manifestation of the Holy
Spirit. Such is ridiculous to blame such foolishness on the Holy Spirit. He
then interprets it as a "wake-up call". We agree! It is a wake-up call these
Pentecostals to come to their senses! "Ok before we take off, clapping, lets
get the reading done. Luke, LUKE. (Laughing) Chapter TWOOOOOOO. I tell you
what... Lets look at chapter 1. Settle down please, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Luke chapter 1 and verse 5. Lets go back to the reading... Luke chapter 1
verse, verse, verse, Chockadodaldoooo. Oh dear, haahah. Luke chapter 1 verse
CHOCKADODALDO. For those of you having difficulty with that manifestation
like myself... That's a wake up call. Zacharius was in the sanctuary when,
ZACHARI. Zacharius was a member of the Dubabupida. Division. service corpse.
One day Zacharius was going about his work in the temple Cockadodaldoo.
Verse 10. praying, PRAYING!! for I have come to the god has herd your prayer
WOW... WOWWWWW. God hears PRAYER! Verse 14 ladies and gentlemen, settle down
now, settle down." See and hear the video clip!
John Scotland explains the manifestation of spiritual drunkenness. He calls
it "the gift of offending people" and refers to it as an "anointing" With
absolute certainty, the Holy Spirit would never cause a man to act as if
literally drunk. Drunkenness is condemned in the Bible! Such behavior makes
us wonder if he is demon possessed, because the source surely is not divine!
Offending people is not a gift from God, For the Holy Spirit condemns
offending people: 1 Cor 10:32; 2 Cor 6:3. "You know I . WOWHOO. I've been
going through different stages of drunkenness. and the stage I'm at, at the
moment is Slouching. I've gone through the hick up stage. I've gone through
the phase of heckling the preachers. um. I am a sign and a wonder.When a
prophet told me there was an anointing for me coming pre-1994, I thought
great. But when that anointing came, it came in a package I didn't expect.
It came in a package of offence. I've come to the conclusion that my gift is
offending people. what can you do? You know I mean. I think Christians are
to sensitive anyway you know, always winging. but it is a gift. I don't need
to even say anything. um. I SHOT THE SHERIFF. AND I SHOT THE DEPUTY TOO!
WOW, the sheriff is legalism. and the deputy is religion.(cheering) Um.
that's good isn't it? that's copyrighted now. you can't copy it. heheh. I
didn't ask for this. no I didn't. The problem was when I came through the
doors November 1994. And the Lord said to me, "What do you want John"? I
said I want to get drunk. I just forgot to tell him how long. Now I don't
mind being drunk. Its great. But I said to the Lord. I don't like looking
drunk, you know your eyes get blood shot. and he said to me. John, You see
some of think Goddoesn't talk like that but he's very, he is a fun God. Lets
get the fun back into church. And he said John, you see the rock stars on
breakfast TV, they always wear sunglasses. so he said get yourself a pair of
sunglasses. I call these glasses glory shades. I'm sure Moses would have
worn them if they had them in the old testament. Whoahhh, Now hang in
please, hang in. fasten your seat belt. we may have a bit of turbulence
tonight. and you might want to run, but hang on in. lets go back to the
reading." See and hear the video clip!
Here is new one! Scotland is led by the Holy Spirit to sound like a bugle
playing"charge". While he blames such repulsive behavior on the Holy Spirit,
it is nothing more than cheap theatrics. "They had no children for a
...dutututututudododototo (audience responds with charge) verse 14 now
settle down ladies and gentleman settle down. And your wife Elizabeth will
bear you a son and you are to name him John and will both have great
dutututututudododototo (audience responds with charge, this is reapeated
many times. Then Scotland returns to the pulpit quite out of breath and
says:) Its hard work taking the reading" See and hear the video clip!
Emotionalism, Anti-Intellectual, Anti-doctrine attitude that permeates most
of Pentecostalism. [Some Pentecostal groups feel that doctrine is quite
important.] "See some of us are saying, I can't get my head around this.
your not supposed to get your head around it. your supposed to get your
heart around it. You've got PhD "Permanent Head Damage" Listening to too
many sermons. For 20 years I've preached 3 point sermons. Nobody set free.
Now I get drunk and ramble and God offends people to reveal their hearts. I
was at another service and I had the bag with my bottles in it. And I
staggered to the front, and I am going through my bag looking for my bottles
and I know the spirit of God is doing something. And my natural mind is
saying get on with the sermon. and the spirit of God is carry on, go with
the flow. what do you want? you want religion. you want sermons? Tickle your
ears? or do you want the foolishness? Do you want the foolishness of the
holy spirit to come in? In Power. Isn't it great to shout in church. Isn't
it? Its great, you know all these years, you've been told. When you walk
into church SHHH. SHHH. you might wake god up." See and hear the video clip!
LEGALISM: Scotland's revelation contradicts his own Bible reading 3 minutes
later! Pentecostals generally feel that Legalism is heresy. Yet Zecharius
was praised for being a legalist: "careful to carry out God's laws in
spirit and letter." To some Pentecostals, being anti-legalistic means that
they can throw out the need to follow the Bible! "I shot the sheriff! And I
shot the deputy too! WOW the sheriff is legalism. And the deputy is
religion. [5 minutes later he quoted from Luke 1] Zacharius and Elizabeth
were godly folk. Careful to carry Gods laws in spirit and in letter." See
and hear the video clip!
Reveling, drinking parties condoned. This incredible clip speaks for
itself. Notice that jab against non-Pentecostal churches being equated with
Joy Killers! For Scotland to claim that God upheld a wicked drinking party
as a model for "how to party" is blasphemous! Even the slightest spiritual
discernment can see the evil in John Scotland. But remember, 3000 people
were in attendance and millions of Pentecostals all over the world view the
Toronto Blessing as a movement from God. This should remove all doubt! "Isn't
it great to shout in church? It is isn't it? Its great its you know. All
these years you've been told when you walk into church. SHHH. SHHH you might
wake god up. Ladies and gentle men. The Angels are serving wine. There
serving wine as I speak. There bringing, bringing. BIG barrels. The party
has just BEGAAAAN. A couple of years ago. 2 years ago, A couple was living
together. and there daughter died of cancer at 23. I think she was. 6 months
before she died. he walked up and asked me, can I use the church hall to
throw a party for my daughter. what was I to do? I said Yes. They were an
ungodly family. and the along with the party they wanted drink. and the lord
said go along, let them drink. and they invited me to the party and gee. and
it was about 1 am and the party had just beguuuuun. and the disco was
playing. and they had this machine that puffed out smoke and flashing lights
and I sat there in the party and the place was heaving. and you know what
the lord said to me? he said, John this is how you party. This is how you
party. I've been to church for 20 odd years. Looking at your watch wondering
when the preacher was going to finish. Church were only just learning how to
party. you know we were never invited to parties. because we were joy
killers. yeah. yeah. JOY KILLERS! Now we get invited all the time. Jesus
said I've come to give you life. LIFE! LIFE! and that more abundantly." See
and hear the video clip!
Use of secular music in his performance. Scotland quoted more from secular
rock bands more than the Bible. Apart from the 14 verses in the Luke 1
reading, (a reading that had no relevance, nor did he make any spiritual
application) He quoted the Bible only one other time, yet he quoted these
rock stars 4 times! "Strawberry fields forever." "the party has only just
begggaaaaann." "All we need is love. All we need is love." "I shot the
sheriff. And I shot the deputy to." See and hear the video clip!
Vision of the dead churches: Scotland claims this vision came from God.
What spiritual value is there in a bishops daughter crawling as a drunken
harlot down the street? This vision is certainly not from God! see Col 2:18
"taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his
fleshly mind". "When I was in Norway I had a vision and they had a big tent
and they had a service called blow up the church. Started at 11:30 P.M. went
on till 3:30 A.M. people drunk in the spirit. bishops daughter crawling in
the street. That night I had problems, I vomited 3 times. God said as your
vomiting that's how I feel about the luke warmchurch. that's my job to blow
up the church. isn't it great to shout in church? no, its great isn't it?
All these years you've been told when you walk into church. SHHH.SHHH you
might wake god up." See and hear the video clip!
Spiritual supremacists! This little clip reveals the true attitude that
most Pentecostals feel about non-charismatic churches who follow God's
command to "do all things decently and in order" 1 Cor 14:40. It is quite
common for Pentecostals to refer to non-charismatic churches that do not
speak in tongues, "dead churches" or "spiritless churches". see this link
also: Pentecostals are spiritual elitists "Isn't it great to shout in
church? no, its great isn't it? All these years you've been told when you
walk into church. SHHH. SHHH you might wake god up." See and hear the video
clip!
This is the text of his official testimony on the TACF web site: "I had a
mighty power encounter with God. I've been intoxicated -- completely drunk
with the Holy Spirit. He's a person, and he's so wonderful. When I was
baptized in the Holy Spirit some 20 years ago, it made Jesus real to me.
This move has made the Holy Spirit and the Father's heart real. It has
completely turned us around as a church. It's given us a real hunger for
souls, a love for people, and a desire to be relevant to the community where
we live -- to show them the love of God. All the programs in our church have
gone out the window and all my plans have completely changed. Now they're
not mine. They're God's plans. He only gives them to me a step at a time."
(John Scotland, Pastor, Bethesda Church, Liverpool, England) Is it "God's
plan" for John Scotland to be "drunk" for three years straight? Was it
"God's plan" for their church to pattern their worship after a drunken
wedding party held there, as Scotland relates in his TACF "message"? Maybe
it would be a good idea to actually read the Bible instead of crowing like a
rooster and annoying people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBERT TILTON
Telemoneymaker formerly on TBN, currently residing in the "where is he now"
file.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being poor is a sin. (Robert Tilton, Success in Life, recorded 12/2/90)
Forget your church. (Robert Tilton, Success in Life, recorded 3/4/91)
The only time people were poor in the Bible is when they were under a curse.
(Robert Tilton, Success in Life, recorded 12/2/90)
Do not say "Lord if it be thy will". (Robert Tilton, Success in Life,
recorded 12/14/91)
When ABC profiled Tilton his Success-N-Life broadcast was in all 235 U.S.
markets, buying 5,000 hours per month of airtime, and pulling in at least
$84 million per year. Tilton's distinctive pitch was the $1,000 "vow of
faith," for which he promised innumerable miracles and blessings from God.
He also sent mountains of sanctified trinkets to his mailing list, promising
to personally touch and pray over such items if they were returned with a
donation. Then Prime Time revealed that thousands of Tilton-bound prayer
requests had been dumped in the trash behind his Tulsa bank -- with the
money gone and no sign that he had ever laid a finger on them. His ministry
collapsed. Now, nearly three years later, Tilton is completely off the air.
He divorced his wife, Marte, and sold both his waterfront mansion in Florida
and his 12,000 square-foot Dallas "parsonage." Sunday attendance at his
once-thriving Word of Faith Family Church has dropped from some 5,000
members to an average of 320. Tilton laid off 70 percent of his Dallas
staff, leaving 32 at a ministry that once employed over 800. Prime Time
unleashed a legal storm, and Tilton has been on the receiving end of more
than 10 lawsuits and assorted government investigations. On March 16 a judge
dismissed Tilton's civil-rights suit against ABC-TV, Diane Sawyer, and other
perceived Tilton enemies (he later refiled, repositioning it as a federal
racketeering suit). On April 21 a Dallas jury ordered Tilton to pay $1.5
million to former supporters Vivian and Mike Elliott of Tampa, Florida for
fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. Tilton
is desperately attempting a comeback from the bottom up as an itinerant
evangelist, visiting small, obscure churches that still support him.
(Christian Research Institute)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOHN WIMBER
Originator of the Vineyard Movement from which sprang the "Toronto
Blessing", and author of numerous books including "Power Evangelism".
(deceased)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Founder of the Vineyard churches. Prior to the ministry, he was manager of
the pop singing group, The Righteous Brothers, he chose to go into ministry,
into the Quaker church. As time went on, he pulled a group of people
together, and unilaterally announced formation of a church with himself as
pastor. He formed this church under the umbrella of the Calvary Chapel
churches in California, but a few years later, took his church, and several
others out to form his own denomination, the Vineyard. His theology appears
to have consisted of: (1) "New Breed"/Manifest Sons of God (See note 25).
(2) Joel's Army : We are to conquer the world as the manifested sons of God
(i.e. in our glorified bodies) to bring in the Millennium.(3)
Dominion/Kingdom Now theology (4) Opposed to testing manifestations by
scripture (5) Believed in the "corporate Christ". (Christ is not required
during the millennium since we are Christ (the body thereof)). Christ needs
us, because without his body he is incomplete. (6) Accepted use of relics
for healing. (per Roman Catholic Church). (7) Paradigm Shift: A shift in the
way that Christians think from a rationalistic view, to an approach where
doctrine is developed using experiential approach. (8) Claimed (along with
C. Peter Wagner) that the Laughter Movement is the "Third Wave", the
Reformation being the first and the Charismatic Renewal being the second.
(The Interactive Bible, 1998)
"There is no place in the Bible where people were lined up and Jesus or Paul
or anyone else went along and bapped them on the head and watched them go
down, one after another, and somebody else ran along behind. Can you picture
Peter and James -- "Hold it, hold it, hold it!" -- running along behind
trying to catch them? And so the model that we're seeing, either on stage or
on television, is totally different from anything that's in Scripture."
(John Wimber, "Spiritual Phenomena: Slain In The Spirit -- Part 1," Vineyard
Christian Fellowship, Anaheim, CA, 1981, audiotape) John Wimber subsequently
said: 'There's nothing in Scripture that supports these kinds of phenomena
that I can see, and I can't think of anything throughout the church age that
would,' Wimber writes. 'So I feel no obligation to try to explain it. It's
just phenomena. It's just people responding to God.'" (Holy Laughter, Albert
James Dager, 1996) Now John Wimber ... claims to have found ample validation
for this phenomenon (weird revival manifestations) in Scripture, church
history, and his own experiences. (Counterfeit Revival, Hank Hanegraaff,
1997, pg. 15-16)
On Calvary Chapel: "Calvaryites are sometimes a little too heavily oriented
to the written Word." (John Wimber, "Healing: An Introductions," (audiotape
no. 5) and "Church Planting Semnar," as quoted in Stephen F. Cannon, "Kansas
City Fellowship Revisited")
"So in 1978 I left the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church
Growth to become pastor of what is now called the Vineyard Christian
Fellowship of Anaheim, California. It was in this environment, a small group
of fifty people, that "I first tested my theories of power evangelism." Note
that John Wimber, the pragmatist, admits he was testing his theories, not
expounding the Scriptures. Wimber continues this dangerous practice even to
this day. He is continually trying to find out "what works" in the realm of
healing, prophetic messages, casting out demons, etc., so that he can then
teach it to others. Pragmatism is the exact opposite of faith. Pragmatism
says, "If it works, I'll accept and believe it." Faith says, "What I accept
and believe is based entirely upon God's written Word, the Bible."
(Commenting on John Wimbers theories of "Power Evangelism", False
Prophets...Pseudo Apostles, & A New Gospel, Fundamental Evangelistic
Association, 1996)
"In the final chapters I address the implications of power evangelism for
conservative evangelicalism, Pentecostalism and the charismatic renewal in
mainline denominations and the Roman Catholic Church. Though I write about
power evangelism, the most powerful evangelism will come only when Jesus'
prayer for Christian unity is fulfilled." The eventual unity of this
incredible doctrinal diversity is a recurring theme found in the supposed
prophecies coming out of the Third Wave. Could God possibly be the Author of
any form of ecumenism where fidelity to the doctrinal Truth of the Word is
abandoned? Absolutely not! (Commenting on John Wimbers theories of "Power
Evangelism", False Prophets...Pseudo Apostles, & A New Gospel, Fundamental
Evangelistic Association, 1996)
"The face of evangelicalism is changing and it is changing quickly.
Fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals who are noncharismatic no
longer can afford to ignore the first two waves of the Holy Spirit in this
century. They are surrounded.... The fundamentalists, have insulated
themselves from and charismatics. Most fundamentalists (though not all)
stand outside of the first two great waves of the Holy Spirit, holding on to
fifty-year old criticisms of Pentecostal excesses. As the move of the Holy
Spirit grows around them, I believe many of them could become more vocal in
their opposition to Pentecostals and charismatics, while some will be
anointed and transformed." (John Wimbers on the "Third Wave", False
Prophets...Pseudo Apostles, & A New Gospel, Fundamental Evangelistic
Association, 1996)
"He holds a radical Arminianism (some might well argue it is Pelagianism).
Wimber seems to have little or no appreciation of the doctrine of the Fall
and speaks of being involved in "restoring the Edenic state" in and through
his ministry." (Assessing the Wimber Phenomenon, Dr. Don Lewis)
(Wimber's claim) that the phenomena associated with Christ's appearance to
Paul on the road to Damascus are common is patently false. While he attmepts
to bolster his position through anecdotes -- such as his story that Christ
appeared to prophet Paul Cain on the road to Santa Maria -- there is no
evidence to validate his claims ... one wonders how many of Wimber's
devotees would line up to experience the slain in the spirit phenomenon if
they truly believed that there was a chance that they, like (Apostle) Paul,
would end up blinded for three days. (Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival,
1997 citing John Wimber, "Speaking on Paul Cain and the Office of the
Prophet," Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Anaheim, CA, 2/19/89, audiotape.)
See this article for many more quotes by Wimber:
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/hiebert.html
Carl
Orthodox and Heretical Views on the Deification of Man
by Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
Is the belief that men were created to be "gods," either in this life or in
some future exaltation, a Christian teaching? Is it in any sense Christian
to speak of the "deification" of man - to say that God created or redeemed
man in order to become deity? What do various religious groups who use such
language today mean? Are they all saying the same thing? Are all who use
such terminology heretics? If not, how do we tell the difference? All of
these questions will be addressed in this article.
DIFFERENT IDEAS OF DEIFICATION
The first step in answering these interrelated questions is to recognize
that talk about men being gods cannot be isolated from basic world views, or
conceptions of the world and its relation to God. Norman Geisler and William
Watkins have pointed out that there are seven basic world views: atheism (no
God), polytheism (many gods), pantheism (God is all), panentheism (God is in
all), finite godism (a finite god made the world), deism (a God who does not
do miracles created the world), and theism, or monotheism (a God who does
miracles created the world), which is the biblical view (and is held by
orthodox Jews and Muslims as well as Christians).[1] Not all doctrines can
be neatly categorized into one of these seven world views, since some people
do hold to combinations of two views; but such positions are inherently
inconsistent, and usually one world view is dominant.
In this article our concern will be with doctrines of deification
which claim to be strictly Christian. (This means that we will not discuss,
for example, New Age concepts of deification.) Varieties of such "Christian"
views on deification can be found among adherents of monotheism, polytheism,
and panentheism.
Monotheistic Deification
It may surprise some to learn that a monotheistic doctrine of deification
was taught by many of the church fathers, and is believed by many Christians
today, including the entire Eastern Orthodox church. In keeping with
monotheism, the Eastern orthodox do not teach that men will literally become
"gods" (which would be polytheism). Rather, as did many of the church
fathers,[2] they teach that men are "deified" in the sense that the Holy
Spirit dwells within Christian believers and transforms them into the image
of God in Christ, eventually endowing them in the resurrection with
immortality and God's perfect moral character.
It may be objected that to classify as monotheistic any doctrine
which refers to men in some positive sense as "gods" is self-contradictory;
and strictly speaking such an objection is valid. Indeed, later in this
study it shall be argued that such terminology is not biblical. However, the
point here is that however inconsistent and confusing the language that is
used (and it is inconsistent), the substance of what the Eastern Orthodox
are seeking to express when they speak of deification is actually faithful
to the monotheistic world view. The language used is polytheistic, and in
the light of Scripture should be rejected; but the doctrine intended by this
language in the context of the teachings of the fathers and of Eastern
Orthodoxy is quite biblical, and is thus not actually polytheistic.
Thus, it should not be argued that anyone who speaks of
"deification" necessarily holds to a heretical view of man. Such a sweeping
judgment would condemn many of the early church's greatest theologians
(e.g., Athanasius, Augustine), as well as one of the three main branches of
historic orthodox Christianity in existence today. On the other hand, some
doctrines of deification are most certainly heretical, because they are
unbiblical in substance as well as in terminology.
Polytheistic Deification
Two examples of polytheistic doctrines of deification are the teachings of
Mormonism and Armstrongism, although adherents of these religions generally
do not admit to being polytheists.
The Mormons are very explicit in their "scriptures" that there
are many Gods; for example, the three persons of the Trinity are regarded as
three "Gods."[3] Since they believe that many Gods exist but at present
worship only one - God the Father - at least one Mormon scholar has admitted
with qualifications that their doctrine could be termed "henotheistic."[4]
Henotheism is a variety of polytheism in which there are many gods, but only
one which should be worshipped. Thus, the meaning of deification in
Mormonism is radically different than that of the church fathers who used
similar terms, despite Mormon arguments to the contrary.[5]
The Worldwide Church of God of Herbert W. Armstrong (who died
early in 1986) claims to believe in only one God. However, Armstrongism
defines "God" as a collective term (like "church" or "family") referring to
a family of distinct beings all having the same essential nature. Presently
this "God family" consists of two members, God the Father and Christ, but it
is their plan to reproduce themselves in human beings and so add millions or
even billions to the God family.[6] Therefore, by the normal use of words on
which our categorizations are based, Armstrong's world view is also
polytheistic.
Panentheistic Deification
An important example of a panentheistic doctrine of deification within
professing Christianity is Union Life, founded by Norman Grubb, who at one
time was a respected evangelical leader. In 1980 Cornerstone, an evangelical
magazine, ran an article arguing that Union Life was teaching pantheism or
panentheism.[7] Union Life has attempted to argue[8] that panentheism,
unlike pantheism, is not heretical (despite Grubb's admission that he does
not know the definition of pantheism![9]). However, neither pantheism nor
panentheism separates the creation from the essential nature of the Creator,
though panentheism does posit a differentiation in which the creation is the
expression of the Creator. The heretical nature of Union Life is made
evident by such statements as, "there is only One Person in the universe,"
"everything is God on a certain level of manifestation," and "Nothing but
God exists!"[10] Therefore, Union Life's claim to following the tradition of
the church fathers[11] is no more valid than that of the Mormons.
Positive Confession: Monotheistic or Polytheistic?
Not all views of the deification of man are easily classifiable. Perhaps the
most difficult doctrine of deification to categorize into one of the seven
basic world views is that of the "positive confession" or "faith" teachers,
including Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Frederick K.C. Price, Charles
Capps, Casey Treat, and many others.
In brief, the "faith" teaching maintains that God created man in
"God's class," as "little gods," with the potential to exercise the "God
kind of faith" in calling things into existence and living in prosperity and
success as sovereign beings. We lost this opportunity by rebelling against
God and receiving Satan's nature. To correct this situation, Christ became a
man, died spiritually (receiving Satan's nature), went to Hell, was "born
again," rose from the dead with God's nature, and then sent the Holy Spirit
so that the Incarnation could be duplicated in believers, thus fulfilling
their calling to be little gods. Since we are called to experience this kind
of life now, we should experience success in everything we do, including
health and financial prosperity.
Some aspects of this teaching have been documented and compared
with Scripture in articles published in previous issues of this journal.[12]
Regarding the claim that men are "little gods," there is no question (as
shall be demonstrated shortly) that the language used is unbiblical, but are
the ideas being conveyed contrary to Scripture as well? Specifically, is the
world view of the "faith" teaching monotheistic or polytheistic?
A simple answer to this question is somewhat elusive. The
positive confession teachers have made statements that seem polytheistic,
and yet often in the same paragraph contradict themselves by asserting the
truth of monotheism.[13] At least two positive confession teachers,
Frederick K.C. Price and Casey Treat, have admitted that men are not
literally gods and have promised not to use this terminology again.[14] In
many cases, the dominant world view appears to be monotheism, with their
teachings tending at times toward a polytheistic world view. It seems best,
then, to regard the "faith" teaching as neither soundly monotheistic nor
fully polytheistic, but instead as a confused mixture of both world views.
This means that the "faith" teaching of deification cannot be
regarded as orthodox. Their concept of deification teaches that man has a
"sovereign will" comparable to God's, and that man can therefore exercise
the "God kind of faith" and command things to be whatever he chooses.[15] At
least one "faith" teacher, Kenneth Copeland, seems to regard God as finite,
since he says, speaking of Adam, "His body and God were exactly the same
size."[16] Again, it is the context in which the doctrine appears that
determines whether the teaching is orthodox or heretical. In this case,
there seems to be significant evidence to show that some, at least, of the
"faith" teachers have a heretical view of God, as well as a heretical view
of the nature of the believer. Nevertheless, there also appears to be
evidence that not all of the "faith" teachers are heretical in the same
sense as, say, Mormonism or Armstrongism.
At this point we will turn to the biblical teaching relating to
this subject to see whether the Bible teaches deification at all.
THE BIBLICAL TEACHING
All of the various doctrines of deification discussed above appeal to the
same passages of Scripture and the same biblical themes to validate their
teaching. Besides the passages where men are called "gods" or "sons of God,"
there are the biblical themes concerning men in the image of God; the close
relationship between Christ and Christians; and the statement in 2 Peter 1:4
that Christians are "partakers of the divine nature." In this article we
shall discuss briefly each of these texts and themes.
Are Men Called "Gods" in Scripture?
The Bible in both Old and New Testaments explicitly and repeatedly affirms
that there is only one God (e.g.,Deut. 4:35-39; Isa. 43:10; 44:6-8; 1 Cor.
8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5; James 2:19). Therefore, the Bible most definitely rejects
any sort of polytheism, including henotheism.
The Scriptures also very clearly teach that God is an absolutely
unique being who is distinct from the world as its Creator (e.g.,Gen. 1:1;
John 1:3; Rom. 1:25; Heb. 11:3). This teaching rules out pantheism and
panentheism, according to which the world is either identical to God or an
essential aspect of God. Since He is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and
omniscient, God is totally unique, so that there is none even like God
(e.g.,Ps. 102:25-27; Isa. 40-46; Acts 17:24-28).[17] The Bible, then,
unmistakably teaches a monotheistic world view.
In the face of so many explicit statements that there is only one
God, and in light of His uniqueness, it may seem surprising that anyone
would claim that the Bible teaches that men are gods. However, there are a
few passages in Scripture which seem to call men "god" or "gods." Most or
all of these, however, are irrelevant to any doctrine of deification. In
practice, the question of whether the Bible ever calls men "gods" in a
positive sense focuses exclusively on Psalm 82:6 ("I said, 'you are gods'")
and its citation by Jesus in John 10:34-35.
The usual view among biblical expositors for centuries is that
Psalm 82 refers to Israelite judges by virtue of their position as judges
representing God; it is, therefore, a figurative usage which applies only to
those judges and does not apply to men or even believers in general. If this
interpretation is correct, Psalm 82:6 is also irrelevant to any doctrine of
Christian deification.
An alternative interpretation agrees that the "gods" are
Israelite judges, but sees the use of the term "gods" as an ironic figure of
speech. Irony is a rhetorical device in which something is said to be the
case in such a way as to make the assertion seem ridiculous (compare Paul's
ironic "you have become kings" in 1 Corinthians 4:8, where Paul's point is
that they had not become kings). According to this interpretation, the
parallel description of the "gods" as "sons of the Most High" (which, it is
argued, is not in keeping with the Old Testament use of the term "sons" of
God), the condemnation of the judges for their wicked judgment, and
especially the statement, "Nevertheless, you will die as men," all point to
the conclusion that the judges are called "gods" in irony.
If the former interpretation is correct, then in John 10:34-35
Jesus would be understood to mean that if God called wicked judges "gods"
how much more appropriate is it for Him, Jesus, to be called God, or even
the Son of God. If the ironic interpretation of Psalm 82:6 is correct, then
in John 10:34-35 Jesus' point would still be basically the same. It is also
possible that Jesus was implying that the Old Testament application of the
term "gods" to wicked judges was fulfilled (taking "not to be broken" to
mean "not to be unfulfilled," cf. John 7:23) in Himself as the true Judge
(cf. John 5:22,27-30; 9:39).[18] Those wicked men were, then, at best called
"gods" and "sons of the Most High" in a special and figurative sense; and at
worst they were pseudo-gods and pseudo-sons of God. Jesus, on the other
hand, is truly God (cf. John 1:1,18; 20:28; 1 John 5:20) and the unique Son
of God (John 10:36; 20:31; etc.)
Neither the representative nor the ironic interpretation of
Psalm 82 allows it (or John 10:34-35) to be understood to teach that men
were created or redeemed to be gods. Nor is there any other legitimate
interpretation which would allow for such a conclusion. The Israelite judges
were wicked men condemned to death by the true God, and therefore were not
by any definition of deification candidates for godhood.
If, then, the deification of man is to be found in Scripture, it
will have to be on the basis of other biblical texts or themes, as Scripture
gives men the title of "gods" only in a figurative or condemnatory sense.
The Image of God: An Exact Duplicate?
One biblical teaching upon which great emphasis is usually laid by those who
teach some form of the deification of man is the doctrine of man as created
and redeemed in the image of God. Of the many examples that could be given,
two will have to suffice. Casey Treat's claim that man is an "exact
duplicate" of God is based on his understanding of the meaning of "image" in
Genesis 1:26-27.[19] The Mormon apologetic for their doctrine that God is an
exalted Man and that men can also become Gods typically appeals to the image
of God in man, and to the parallel passage in Genesis 5:1-3 where Adam is
said to have begotten Seth "in his own likeness, after his own image"
(Genesis 5:1-3).[20]
These claims raise two questions. Does the creation of man in
the image of God imply that God Himself is an exalted man (as in Mormonism),
or perhaps a spirit with the physical form or shape of a man (as in
Armstrongism)? And does the image of God in man imply that men may become
"gods"? There are several reasons why such conclusions are incorrect.
First, there are the biblical statements which say that God is
not a man (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Hos.11:9). Second, there is the
biblical teaching on the attributes of God already mentioned, according to
which God obviously cannot now or ever have been a man (except in the sense
that the second person of the triune God became a man by taking upon Himself
a second nature different from the nature of deity). Third, in the context
of Genesis 1:26-27 and 5:1-3 there is one very important difference between
the relationship between God and Adam on the one hand and Adam and Seth on
the other hand: Adam was created or made by God, while Seth was begotten by
Adam. To create or make something in the image or likeness of someone means
to make something of a different kind that nevertheless somehow "pictures"
or represents that someone (cf. Luke 20:24-25). It is therefore a mistake to
reason backwards from the creation of man in God's image to deduce the
nature of God. Genesis 1:26-27 is telling us something about man, not about
God.
Besides the passages in Genesis (see also 9:6), the Old
Testament says nothing else about the image of God. The New Testament
teaches that man is still in God's image (1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9), but also
says that, in some unique sense, Christ is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4;
Col. 1:15). Christians are by virtue of their union with Christ being
conformed to the image of God and of Christ resulting finally (after this
life) in glorification (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29-30), which includes moral
perfection (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10) and an immortal physical body like
Christ's (1 Cor. 15:49; cf. Phil. 3:21).
Orthodox biblical theologians and scholars do have some
differences of opinion as to how best to define and explain what these
passages mean by the "image of God."[21] However, these differences are
relatively minor, and do not obscure the basic truth of the image, which is
that man was created as a physical representation (not a physical
reproduction or "exact duplicate") of God in the world. As such, he was
meant to live forever, to know God personally, to reflect His moral
character - His love - through human relationships, and to exercise dominion
over the rest of the living creatures on the earth (Gen. 1:28-30; cf. Ps.
8:5-8).
From the biblical teaching on the image of God, then, there is
nothing which would warrant the conclusion that men are or will ever be
"gods," even "little gods," as the "faith" teachers often put it.
Sons of God: Like Begets Like?
Although men are never called "gods" in an affirmative sense in Scripture,
believers in Christ are called "sons" or "children" of God (John 1:12; Rom.
8:14-23; Gal. 4:5-7; 1 John 3:1-2; etc.). Based on the assumption that sons
are of the same nature as their father, some conclude that since believers
are sons of God, they must also be gods. This reasoning is thought to be
confirmed by those passages in John's writings which speak of believers as
being "begotten" or "born" of God (John 1:13; 3:5-6; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7;
5:1,4,18).
As convincing as this argument may seem, it actually goes beyond
the Bible's teaching and is at best erroneous and at worse heretical. The
above Scriptures do not mean that the "sonship" of believers is a
reproduction of God's essence in man for the following reasons.
1/ In one sense all human beings are God's "offspring" (Acts
17:28), so that even Adam could be called God's "son" (Luke 3:38); yet this
cannot mean that human beings are gods or have the same nature as God, for
the reasons already given in our analysis of the "image of God".
2/ Paul speaks of our sonship as an "adoption" (Rom. 8:15,23;
Gal. 4:5), which of course suggests that we are not "natural" sons of God.
3/ John, who frequently speaks of Christians as having been
"begotten" by God, also tells us that Jesus Christ is the "only-begotten" or
"unique" Son of God (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). At the very
least, this means that we are not sons of God in the same sense that Christ
is the Son of God, nor will we ever be. Christ was careful to distinguish
between His Sonship and that of His followers (e.g., John 20:17). For this
reason Kenneth Copeland's assertion that "Jesus is no longer the only
begotten Son of God"[22] must be regarded as false doctrine.
4/ Finally, the New Testament itself always interprets the
spiritual birth which makes believers sons, not as a conversion of men into
gods, but as a renewal in the moral likeness of God, produced by the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and resulting in an intimate relationship
with God as a Father who provides for His children's needs (Matt. 5:9, 45;
6:8, 10, 32; 7:11,21; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6-7; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7;
5:1-5).
The biblical doctrine that believers in Christ are children of
God is a glorious teaching, to be sure, and what it means we do not yet
fully know (1 John 3:2). But we do know something about what it means, as
well as what it does not mean. It does mean eternal life with Christ-like
holiness and love, in which the full potential of human beings as the image
of God is realized. But it does not mean that we shall cease to be
creatures, or that "human potential" is infinite, or that men shall be gods.
Union with Christ: Are Christians Incarnations of God?
The doctrine that Christians are adopted sons of God is closely related to
the doctrine of the spiritual union between Christ and Christian believers.
This union is expressed both as a union between Christ and the individual
believer and as a union of Christ and the church. Paul in particular teaches
that Christians are "in Christ" (a phrase which occurs over 160 times in
Paul's letters), "with Christ" in His death, burial, resurrection, and
ascension (Rom. 6:3-8; Eph. 2:5-6), corporately the "body" of Christ (Rom.
12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:12; Col. 1:18), that they have
Christ, or the Spirit of Christ, dwelling within (Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 3:16;
6:17-20; 2 Cor. 13:5; Eph. 3:16-17), and that Christ Himself is their "life"
(Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:4). On the basis of this teaching, many have concluded
that Christians are in fact either a corporate extension of the Incarnation
(as the church) or replications of the Incarnation (as individual
Christians). Such a conclusion is often tied to the teaching of some concept
of deification. The question is, does the Bible support such a conclusion?
As with the doctrine of Christians as the sons of God, such ideas
go far beyond the teaching of Scripture. To say that believers are "in
Christ" means that they are somehow spiritually united to Christ, not that
they are Christ. When Paul says that we have been crucified, buried, raised,
and ascended with Christ, he is not speaking literally, but means simply
that by virtue of our legal identification and close spiritual relationship
with Christ we benefit by His death and resurrection. The teaching that the
church is the body of Christ is also not to be taken literally, and should
not be pressed to imply that the church is Christ or even an essential part
of Christ. That the relationship between Christ and the church involves a
substantial union without the church becoming Christ is best seen in the
figure of the church as the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:28-32): the bride is
physically united to her husband, yet they remain distinct. The Spirit
indwells the believer, to be sure, but the believer does not become divine
as a result, any more than the temple under the old covenant became a part
of God simply because His presence filled it (cf. 1 Cor. 3:17). Christ is
our life, not in the sense that our individuality is replaced by His person,
but in the sense that we have eternal and spiritual life through our union
with Him.
Finally, the notion that each believer is somehow a duplicate of
the Incarnation deserves a closer look. The rationale for this view is that
an "incarnation" is defined as the indwelling of God in a human being; and
since, we are told, this is as true of the Christian as it was of Christ, it
follows that the Christian, as Kenneth Hagin puts it, "is as much an
incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth."[23] The error in this reasoning lies
in the definition of "incarnation." Christ was not merely God dwelling in a
human being, a heresy (known as Nestorianism) the early church condemned
because it meant that the Word did not actually become flesh (John 1:14) but
only joined Himself to a human being. Rather, the incarnate Christ was one
person in whom were perfectly united two natures, deity and humanity; the
Christian is a person with one nature, human, in whom a separate person, God
the Holy Spirit (and through Him, the Father and the Son as well), dwells.
Does Partaking of the Divine Nature Make Us Gods?
In 2 Peter 1:4 we are told that through God's promises Christians may
"become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world by lust." This text, even more so than Psalm 82, has
suggested to many a doctrine of deification. And indeed, if by deification
one means simply "partaking of the divine nature," then such "deification"
is unquestionably biblical. The question, then, is what does Peter mean by
"partakers of divine nature"?
Since the word "divine" is used earlier in the same sentence
("His divine power", verse 3), where it must mean "of God," "divine nature"
must mean God's nature. The word "nature," however, should not be understood
to mean "essence." Rather, as the context makes evident, Peter is speaking
of God's moral nature or character. Thus Christians are by partaking of the
divine nature to escape the corruption that is in the world because of
sinful lust, and are instead to exhibit the moral attributes of Christ (cf.
verses 5-11).
DISCERNING ORTHODOX FROM HERETICAL TEACHINGS
It is not always easy to tell the difference between heretical and orthodox
doctrines. Often people of different religions use the same or nearly the
same words to express widely different ideas. One of the marks of the
"cults," in fact, is the use of Christian terminology to express
non-Christian concepts.[24] This is very much the case with deification.
How, then, can Christians tell the difference? There are four
essential elements to an orthodox view of the relationship between God and
man, and any doctrine which compromises or denies these teachings is less
than soundly orthodox. These four elements are monotheism, trinitarianism,
incarnationalism, and evangelicalism.
Monotheism, as has already been explained, is the view that a
single, unique, infinite Being (called God) created all other beings out of
nothing, and that this Creator will forever be the only real, true God.
Trinitarianism is the distinctive Christian revelation of God, according to
which the one God exists eternally as three distinct but inseparable
persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.[25] Incarnationalism is
the teaching that the second person of the Trinity (called the "Word" in
John 1:1, 14, and the "Son" in Matthew 28:19), without ceasing to be God,
became flesh, uniting uniquely in His one undivided person the two natures
of deity and humanity. Evangelicalism is the belief that salvation is by
grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
With these four criteria of orthodoxy in mind, how do the
various doctrines of deification measure up? The doctrines of the church
fathers, as well as of Eastern Orthodoxy, are, as we have already indicated,
thoroughly orthodox on all four points. Mormonism and Armstrongism fail on
all four counts, and are therefore heretical. Union Life appears to hold to
the Trinity and salvation by grace, but sets these doctrines in the context
of panentheism; therefore, it too is heretical.
But what shall we say about the "faith" teachers? They do affirm
a monotheistic world view and generally affirm the Trinity (though there is
some evidence of confusion on that score). Some at least of these teachers
consider the Christian to be as much an incarnation as Jesus, and thus fail
the third test. Most speak unguardedly of man as existing in "God's class,"
of being the same "kind" as God, and so forth, even while occasionally
making disclaimers about men never becoming equal to God. Are these teachers
heretics, or are they orthodox?
It may be that a simple black-or-white approach to this question
is inappropriate in some cases. Certainly these teachers are not to be
placed in the same category as Mormonism and Armstrongism, since the "faith"
teachers affirm monotheism and trinitarianism. Yet too many statements have
been made by these teachers which can only be called heretical, though it
may be that such statements are due to carelessness or hyperbole and not
actual heretical belief. It is to be hope that the "faith" teachers will
recognize the errors of their unbiblical statements and repent of them.
Until that time, their doctrine of men being "little gods" is so far from
being orthodox that it should not be placed in that category either. How,
then, should we categorize such teachings?
In recent years ministries which specialize in discerning
orthodox from heretical teachings have been using the term "aberrational" to
describe teachings which do not fit neatly into either the orthodox or
heretical category. Specifically, "heretical" teaching explicitly denies
essential biblical truth, while "aberrational" teaching compromises or
confuses essential biblical truth. Both are in error, but a heresy is an
outright rejection or opposition to truth, while an aberration is a
distortion or misunderstanding of truth only. Aberrational teachers affirm
the essential doctrines of orthodoxy, and then go on to teach doctrines that
compromise or are otherwise inconsistent with orthodoxy, while heretics
actually deny one or more of the essentials.
It we apply this distinction to the cases at hand, their
usefulness becomes apparent. Mormonism and Armstrongism both explicitly
reject certain essential teachings of orthodoxy; they are therefore
heretical. Union Life rejects monotheism in favor of panentheism; it is also
heretical. Many of the "faith" teachers affirm the essentials, but then go
on to teach doctrines which undermine their professed orthodoxy; their
doctrine is aberrational and false. On the other hand, there are,
unfortunately, at least some "faith" teachers (for example, Kenneth
Copeland) whose teachings are so opposed to orthodoxy that they can only be
regarded as heretical.
It is not always easy to decide whether a teaching is orthodox,
aberrational, or heretical. Nevertheless, it can be done, and we should not
allow the unpopularity of making doctrinal judgments to deter us from the
necessary (if sometimes unpleasant) task of evaluating questionable
teaching. In doing so, we must avoid the extreme of labeling as heretics
absolutely everyone who uses the term "deification," as well as the extreme
of regarding as Christian any doctrine of deification which makes reference
to Christ. It is the substance of each doctrine which must be examined as
the basis for discerning whether it is orthodox, aberrational, or heretical.
Only in this way can the church's calling to "test the spirits, to see
whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1) be fulfilled.
NOTES
1 Norman Geisler and William Watkins, Perspectives: Understanding and
Evaluating Today's World Views (San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life, 1984).
2 See, for example, Gerald Bonner, "Augustine's Conception of Deification,"
Journal of Theological Studies, n.s., 37 (Oct. 1986): 369-386.
3 Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City, UT:
Bookcraft, 1966), 317.
4 Van Hale, "Defining the Mormon Doctrine of Deity," Sunstone 10, 1 (1985),
25-26.
5 See especially Philip Barlow, "Unorthodox Orthodoxy: The Idea of
Deification in Christian History," Sunstone 9 (Sept.-Oct. 1984), 13-18.
6 See "A Summary Critique: Mystery of the Ages, Herbert W. Armstrong,"
elsewhere in this issue of CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL.
7 "A Case in Point: Union Life," Cornerstone, 9, 52 (1980), 32-36.
8 Norman Grubb, "The Question Box," Union Life 6 (May-June 1981), 23.
9 Norman Grubb, "The Question Box," Union Life 6 (July-Aug. 1981), 23.
10 See "A Case in Point: Union Life," 32-33.
11 Tom Carroll, "The Mystery According to St. Augustine," Union Life 10
(Nov.-Dec. 1985), 20-21.
12 Brian A. Onken, "A Misunderstanding of Faith," FORWARD 5 (1982), and
Onken, "The Atonement of Christ and the 'Faith' Message," FORWARD 7 (1984).
13 E.g., Casey Treat, Complete Confidence: The Attitude for Success
(Seattle, WA: Casey Treat Ministries, 1985), 319-324.
14 At private meetings between Walter Martin and Larry Duckworth with
Frederick K.C. Price on May 1, 1986, and between Walter Martin and Casey
Treat in early April, 1987.
15 Treat, 82-83, 306-327; Holy Bible: Kenneth Copeland Reference Edition
(Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1972), iii.
16 Holy Bible: Kenneth Copeland Reference Edition, lvi.
17 On the biblical teaching on the nature of God, see The Nature and
Attributes of God, by Robert and Gretchen Passantino of CARIS (write to
CARIS, P.O. Box 2067, Costa Mesa, CA 92628), or this author's outline study,
"The Attributes of God," available from CRI (order #DA-250).
18 E. Jungkuntz, "An Approach to the Exegesis of John 10:34-36," Concordia
Theological Monthly 35 (1964):560.
19 Casey Treat, Renewing the Mind: The Arena for Success (Seattle, WA: Casey
Treat Ministries, 1985), 90.
20 Barlow, 17.
21 See G.C. Berkouwer, Man: The Image of God, Studies in Dogmatics (Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), 37-118.
22 Kenneth Copeland, Now We Are in Christ Jesus (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth
Copeland Ministries, 1980), 24.
23 Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith (Dec. 1980), 14.
24 Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, rev. ed. (Minneapolis, MN:
Bethany House Publishers, 1985), 18-24.
25 Introductory literature on the Trinity is available from CRI.
Carl
by Rob Bowman
Once upon a time, long long ago, on a faraway planet, there lived a good
God. . . . Because Jesus was recreated from a satanic being to an
incarnation of God, you too can become an incarnation - as much an
incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth! And, as an incarnation of God, you can
have unlimited health and unlimited wealth - a palace like the Taj Mahal
with a Rolls Royce in your driveway. You are a little messiah running around
on earth! All it takes is to recognize your own divinity.
Hank Hanegraaff (summarizing the Word-Faith teaching)
It seems our friends, the book writers, have invented an entirely new
theology called the "born again Jesus" built upon a conglomeration of
quotations taken from 6 or 7 ministers, pulled out of context and combined
as though we all believed identically the same thing or were even speaking
about the same subject when quoted (which, in some cases, we were not). And
the reader is told we all believe this "born again Jesus" theology, believe
exactly alike about it, and we're all heretics. Yet I am diametrically
opposed to some of the doctrines held by those who are quoted on the same
page as me! Kenneth E. Hagin
He who gives an answer before he hears,
It is folly and shame to him.
Proverbs 18:13
If we are to evaluate the Word-Faith teaching, we first need to understand
it. As Solomon counseled, "He who gives an answer before he hears, it is
folly and shame to him" (Prov. 18:13). We need to grasp the Word-Faith
theology as a whole and understand how it all fits together from the
perspective of the Word-Faith teachers if we are to make an intelligent
decision as to whether it is biblical. Moreover, we need to look at the
movement from all sides and consider it from every relevant angle in order
to make our assessment as complete and balanced as possible. In this chapter
I will set forth an agenda for such a complete assessment and then explain
the Word-Faith teaching in order to make its basic message understandable.
The Roots, Shoots, and Fruits
A complete evaluation of any movement's teachings requires that we look at
three aspects of the teachings, which may be called the roots, shoots, and
fruits of a doctrine.
Exposing the Roots
The roots of a doctrine are the sources or origins of the teachings. Did the
ideas come from the Bible? Did they come from the biblically based teaching
of a sound Christian teacher? Did they come from a source that is clearly
cultic or non-Christian? Or did they come from a mixture of all three types
of sources? If certain ideas can be traced to non-Christian or cultic roots,
how were these ideas transferred?
An examination of the "roots" of a teaching is never sufficient by itself,
because non-Christians, after all, can express truths and can have genuine
insights. It is perfectly fine for a Christian teacher to "plunder the
Egyptians" by taking over ideas or formulations found in non-Christian
thought and putting them into a soundly Christian context. So we must be
careful not to argue that a particular doctrine is false merely because a
cultist or other non-Christian advocated it. In logic this is called the
genetic fallacy - attempting to dismiss an idea on the basis of its genesis,
or origin.
William DeArteaga, in his book defending the Word-Faith movement, claims
that Daniel R. McConnell's critique of the Word-Faith teaching commits the
"genetic fallacy" by arguing that "Hagin derived his teachings from Kenyon,
who in turn was associated with the Metaphysical movement." DeArteaga calls
this error "the pharisaical objection of origins," referring to his belief
that the Pharisees erred by rejecting any workings of the Spirit that
contradicted their theology or which they could not explain. This is an odd
theory: the Pharisees never criticized Jesus' teachings for supposedly
deriving from a suspect source (say, that Jesus got his ideas from the pagan
Greeks). They did accuse him of having a demon (Matt. 9:34; 12:24; John
7:20; 8:48, 52; 10:20), but this is a "genetic" argument of a very different
sort! Setting aside this strange reference to the Pharisees, DeArteaga's
criticism overlooks the fact that McConnell explicitly denies trying to
discredit the Word-Faith teaching by a simple exposé of its origins:
The historical origins of the Faith movement are not enough, however, to
justify the charge of cultism. That would be an example of theological guilt
by mere historical association. To prove cultism requires that it be
demonstrated in no uncertain terms that the beliefs and practices of the
contemporary Faith movement (not just those of Kenyon) are both cultic and
heretical.. . . The Faith movement is cubic not just because of where it
comes from. but also because of what it teaches.
DeArteaga elsewhere shows that he does take the question of the origins of
the Word-Faith teaching to be relevant. In answer to McConnell, he argues
that Kenyon's doctrines of revelation - knowledge and of the Christian life
are not really Gnostic at all but are instead rooted in the theology of the
apostle Paul.
If the genetic fallacy is to be avoided, then why examine the roots at all?
There are two reasons for doing so. First, sometimes teachers will
misrepresent the source of their teachings in order to exaggerate their own
originality or because the true sources are a potential embarrassment to
them. In some cases professing Christian teachers have been known to
plagiarize whole sermons or books from various cultic or questionable
sources. Obviously, if they pass off as new insights or revelations from God
ideas that they actually lifted word for word from a non-Christian or cultic
writer, this constitutes a serious problem. Exposing these teachers' lack of
honesty in this area serves its own purpose independent of evaluating the
teachings themselves.
Here again, DeArteaga argues that McConnell has criticized Kenneth Hagin
unjustly by accusing him of plagiarism. According to DeArteaga, "McConnell
also accuses Hagin of passing off his theology as pure 'revelation
knowledge' without any credits to human sources" (emphasis added). DeArteaga
points to the preface of The Name of Jesus in which Hagin acknowledges
drawing on Kenyon's The Wonderful Name of Jesus as proof that McConnell is
wrong. Yet McConnell himself quotes Hagin's preface and comments, "This is
one of the few candid, direct acknowledgments of Kenyon to appear in any of
Hagin's writings." McConnell also observes that "Hagin demonstrates the
ability to give credit where credit is due with regard to the sources that
he drew on to develop a particular idea," except concerning those sources
from which he plagiarized extensively. His contention is simply that Hagin's
repeated, massive plagiarism of the writings of Kenyon, along with those of
John A. MacMillan, demonstrate that Hagin's claim to have learned the
Word-Faith teaching directly from visitations and revelations from God is
patently false. DeArteaga's criticisms of McConnell in this matter are not
cogent.
Second, identifying the source of someone's questionable doctrines can aid
us in pinpointing the real problems in those doctrines. If certain doctrinal
errors have been taught before and have been answered by sound Christian
teachers, then finding these antecedents can be very helpful in identifying
and refuting the errors. Discovering the true roots of the Word-Faith
teaching, once it is shown to be unbibilcal and damaging to authentic
Christian faith, will then aid us in getting to the core of the problem. It
will also enable us to be better on guard against similar errors in the
future.
Again, we do not expose the roots of a doctrine to prove it false. We
examine the roots to help us diagnose the problems and prescribe a cure.
Examining the Shoots
The second aspect of any doctrine is the substance or idea of the doctrine
itself. This is what for convenience I call the shoots, though it would be
more precise to talk about the trunk and branches. More technically, the
shoots of a doctrine are the doctrine itself as a doctrine - what the
doctrine says in theory and the arguments or reasons given in its support.
Most of the time, we identify a tree by its shoots. That is, we can usually
tell what sort of a tree it is simply by looking at its overall appearance
as shaped primarily by its trunk and branches. A quick glance at the shoots
of a fir tree is enough to determine that it is not an oak.
Examining doctrines is often not as easy, of course, because doctrines are
not tangible entities that can be perceived with a single glance. What we
purpose to do in examining a doctrine, though, is not merely to identify it
but also to evaluate its soundness and strength. When examining a tree, for
example, we would check various branches to see if they are strong and well
connected to the trunk. If there was some doubt about the health of the
tree, we might cut through the bark to examine the interior of the wood.
When examining a doctrine, we would test its soundness and strength by
examining the reasoning used to support the conclusion and seeing if that
reasoning is firmly based on the Bible.
Examining the shoots, then, comes down to comparing the contemporary
teachings with the teachings of the Bible. The Word-Faith teachers tend to
resist this kind of critical examination, offering various reasons why their
teachings should not be critiqued. I have evaluated these objections to
doctrinal discernment in Orthodoxy and Heresy. Here I will point out simply
that this sort of study is strongly encouraged in the Bible itself (see
Matt. 22:29; Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 3:16). It is the basic method used by
Christians throughout the centuries to test novel and controversial
teachings as they have arisen in the church.
Looking at the Fruits
The third and final aspect of testing a doctrine is to look at its fruit.
This test is perhaps the best known because of the words of Jesus regarding
false prophets: "You will know them by their fruits" (Matt. 7:16, 20).
Unfortunately these words are among the most abused words in Scripture. They
are all too commonly cited to prove that testing someone's teachings by
comparing them with Scripture is either unnecessary or illegitimate. Yet
this claim is itself a doctrine that people try to prove by citing
Scripture!
What Jesus says here is absolutely true: One can know a false prophet by his
or her "fruits." We need to ask, though, what is included, and what is not,
in these fruits. One thing Jesus makes very clear in the context is that
prophetic utterances and miracles are not included (Matt. 7:22). This is
important because Word-Faith teachers and those who support them often point
to stories of healings, apparent supernatural revelations, and other amazing
incidents as proof that God has blessed their ministry. But Jesus
specifically excludes such things from the "fruits" by which we would be
able to tell a false prophet from a true one.
On the other hand, Jesus does not discourage testing doctrines by comparing
them with Scripture. Indeed, his focus is not on the truth or falsity of a
particular doctrine but on the divine calling of a professed prophet. The
purpose of the test is to tell apart true and false prophets, both of whom
seem to speak in the name of the Lord (Matt. 7:21-22). The implication is
that a true prophet must represent the Lord truly both in word and in
action. Thus the point here is not that true prophets can say anything they
want as long as their outward lives are good. Rather, it is that a prophet
is false if his fruit is evil, no matter how good or true his words seem to
be.
A short while later in the same passage, Jesus contrasts the wise person
with the foolish person. The wise person acts on Jesus' words, while the
foolish person fails to do so (Matt. 7:24-27). The implication is that one
may and should compare people's actions to the words of Jesus to see whether
their actions are wise or foolish.
One bad fruit that is always produced by false prophets is confusion and
division. When false prophets come along and teach false doctrines or make
false claims, it is their fault when confusion and division ensue. It is
certainly not the fault of those who oppose their unbiblical teachings.
The sum of the matter is this. The test Jesus sets forth in Matthew 7 is
intended to expose false prophets. It is not the only such test, but it is a
valid and crucial test. It cannot be used to avoid responsibility to teach
doctrine that is faithful to the same Bible in which this test appears.
False and unsound doctrine always contradicts biblical doctrine and results
in bad fruit.
On Defining the Word-Faith Teaching
Before explaining the Word-Faith teaching, I need to say some things about
the approach taken here. In discussing this subject with advocates of the
Word-Faith teaching and with its critics, I have learned that how one
approaches the discussion virtually determines whether communication and
understanding will ever take place.
Is There a "Word Faith Teaching"?
Some people object to any critique of the "Word-Faith teaching" on two
grounds. First, it is sometimes said that the Word-Faith teachers are
evangelists, healers, prophets, or pastors, not teachers or theologians, and
that they should not be judged as if they were theologians. Second, it has
been argued that the critics of the Word-Faith movement have created a
straw-man "Word-Faith teaching" from statements taken out of context or
shoe-horned into a theology that none of the Word-Faith teachers espouse. We
are told that the Word-Faith teachers differ markedly on a number of
doctrinal points, so that the doctrine attributed to them as a group is an
artificial construct of the critics' own imagination.
It is, of course, true that none of the Word-Faith teachers is a systematic
theologian or even a methodical teacher whose theological "system" is easily
encapsulated from his writings. This does not mean, however, that the
Word-Faith leaders are not teachers. Whatever they may see as their primary
calling, when they regularly present teaching on matters of Christian
belief, they make themselves teachers. It is silly to say that individual -
articles, and disseminate video and audiotapes of their messages on
doctrinal topics are not teachers.
In any case, at least some of these men do claim to be teachers. Kenneth
Hagin, who claims that his primary calling is to the ministry of a prophet,
also claims to serve in the ministry of a teacher. Thus it is perfectly
appropriate to hold the Word-Faith teachers to a higher standard of
doctrinal accuracy than we do persons in ministry who do not presume to
teach doctrine (James 3:1).
As for the second objection, it simply is not true that the Word-Faith
teachers have no theological system. The lack of a formal Word-Faith
"systematic theology" does not mean that there is no structural or thematic
unity in their teaching. If a Word-Faith teacher's teaching is at all
coherent or consistent, it should be possible to systematize his teachings
in order to bring out its coherence and essential ideas. If such
systematization is not possible, it only goes to show that his teaching is
chaotic and therefore that he is a poor teacher.
Kenneth Hagin has complained that the theology attributed to him and other
Word-Faith teachers is an invention of the critics (see the quotation at the
beginning of this chapter). Hagin's objection has some justice, but the
legitimate point he is making should not be exaggerated. There is a core of
doctrinal teaching that makes the Word-Faith movement distinctive and
identifiable, a core of teaching to which the Word-Faith televangelists
generally subscribe and that sets them apart from other Christian
traditions. I agree that some of the critics of the Word-Faith teachers have
erred in superimposing on the Word-Faith movement a greater degree of unity
than is actually there. But the error of this extreme does not justify the
opposite extreme of denying any distinctive doctrinal unity in the movement.
In this chapter, then, I will attempt to state that core theology of the
Word-Faith movement. It may be that some Word-Faith advocates will disagree
somewhat with the way their doctrine is presented here, but I believe that
overall this presentation of the Word-Faith theology is accurate and
representative of their teachings.
How Shall the Word-Faith Teaching Be Defined?
It is easy to make the Word-Faith doctrine sound silly or absurd. Indeed,
one can do so by just stringing together a number of the more colorful
statements that have been made by Word-Faith teachers. When critics of the
movement do this and then fill in the gaps with their own interpretative
embellishments, the result is a caricature.
This is the problem, as I see it, with the way in which the Word-Faith
teaching is represented in the section titled "Once Upon a Time . . ." in
Hank Hanegraaff's Christianity in Crisis. Hanegraaff himself makes the
following admission in a prefatory note in very small print:
The following tale is a composite of the erroneous teachings of individuals
like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Frederick Price, and many
others. While not all the Faith teachers hold to every aspect of this tale,
they have all made substantial contributions to both the production and the
proliferation of these aberrations and heresies. (emphasis added)
What Hanegraaff fails to acknowledge, unfortunately, is that none of the
Word-Faith teachers "holds to every aspect of this tale." The "composite"
fails to represent accurately the views of any of the Word-Faith teachers,
because none of them holds to the whole thing. Moreover, some of the
elements of this "composite" are not held by any of the Word-Faith teachers
but are Hanegraaff's own imaginative and colorful additions. Hanegraaff
describes the Word-Faith teachers' God as hoping to get "lucky." He
describes the Jesus of the Word-Faith teaching as becoming "a satanic being"
when he died. He claims that the Word-Faith teaching asserts that Christians
can have "a palace like the Taj Mahal. . . . All it takes is to recognize
your own divinity." These descriptions, however, make the Word-Faith
movement sound more akin to Eastern religions or the New Age movement than
it really is. In truth none of the Word-Faith teachers ever talk this way.
This way of presenting the Word-Faith teaching, while it has shock value,
unnecessarily offends those who embrace the Word-Faith teaching. Just as we
would not want our beliefs to be misrepresented, we must be careful not to
misrepresent the beliefs of those in the Word-Faith movement (Matt. 7:12).
When they hear the views of their favorite televangelists being exaggerated
or sensationalized, they use that to dismiss out of hand the many valid
criticisms of the Word-Faith teaching that critics offer.
We must never lose sight of the fact that many persons do, after all, find
in the Word-Faith doctrine a convincing and coherent message. I will
therefore be presenting the teaching in such a form as I think a
systematically minded advocate of the Word-Faith teaching might articulate
it. What I have attempted to do here is to set forth the Word-Faith teaching
in the best possible light, focusing on the most prominent and essential
aspects of that teaching. This way, what is being refuted is not the worst
possible representation of the teaching but the doctrine at its best.
I hasten to add that the more colorful and extreme ideas that have been
taught by Word-Faith teachers are certainly, in and of themselves, fair
targets for criticism. I will be critiquing some of them in this book. But
these more outlandish ideas need to be placed fairly in the context of the
Word-Faith teaching.
In order to be as fair to the Word-Faith movement as possible, I will base
my exposition of its teaching solely on the words of Kenneth Hagin and
Kenneth Copeland. Since these two men are the undisputed leaders of the
Word-Faith movement, any doctrine to which both of them subscribe may be
safely regarded as part of the Word-Faith teaching. With one important
exception, I have avoided mentioning in this summary any doctrine taught by
only one, and not the other, of these two men. Persons who acknowledge Hagin
or Copeland as teachers and who accept the general ideas of the Word-Faith
teaching, even if they deviate in one or a few particulars, may also be
regarded as part of the Word-Faith movement.
What follows, then, is a summary of the theology of the Word-Faith movement,
including the doctrinal issues that will be explored later in this book.
Human Beings Are Spirits
Basic to the Word-Faith theology is a particular understanding of human
nature as spirit, soul, and body. Spirit is more real than the physical,
according to the Word-Faith teaching, and therefore the spirit is the real
person. It is the spirit that is made in God's image, allowing the
Word-Faith teachers to conclude that human beings are exact duplicates of
God, or little gods.
Furthermore, it is the spirit to which God communicates (not the mind), and
the spirit that is supposed to control the soul and especially the body. The
problem with the human race is that we are allowing our bodies to control
our lives, or our reason to dictate to our spirits, rather than having our
spirits take control over our whole beings. This is fundamental for the
Word-Faith teachers, since in their view we should disbelieve our senses
when they tell us we are sick or poor, and disbelieve our reason when it
tells us that the Word-Faith teaching is illogical or false (see chapter 6).
God and Humanity
According to the Word-Faith teachers, God is much more like a man than
Christians generally have supposed. God is a God of faith; he created the
world by faith and accomplishes all that he desires by believing in his
heart and speaking the word of faith, thereby bringing things into existence
(see chapter 7).
There is another respect in which Word-Faith teaching makes God more like a
man than is traditionally thought. Although God is in essence a spirit, the
Word-Faith teachers hold that God, like human beings, is spirit, soul, and
body - albeit a "spirit body" (see chapter 8).
Likewise, the Word-Faith teachers insist that human beings are much more
like God than Christians have usually believed. Our creation in God's image
is interpreted to mean that we exist in God's "class" as the same kind of
being as God, though on a smaller scale (as "little gods"). Moreover, the
purpose of the coming of Jesus was to restore humanity to godhood by
creating a new race of humans who, like Jesus, would be God incarnate (see
chapter 9).
Humanity's potential as little gods was, according to the Word-Faith
teaching, thwarted by the fall. Adam forfeited his status as the god of this
world by obeying the devil and thereby making Satan the god of this world.
In sinning, Adam gave Satan legal dominion over this world and passed
Satan's nature of death, with its corresponding symptoms of sickness and
poverty, down to the rest of humanity (see chapter 10).
Jesus Christ
To correct the situation arising from the fall, God, according to Word-Faith
theology, implemented a strategy for reclaiming dominion from the devil. The
centerpiece of this strategy was his becoming a man. Although Word-Faith
teachers affirm that Jesus Christ was God incarnate, their understanding of
what this incarnation meant is in some respects highly unusual.
First, all Word-Faith teachers argue that Christians are just as much
"incarnations of God" as was Jesus Christ. This implies that "incarnation"
in Word-Faith teaching does not mean the same thing it means in traditional
Christian usage. Much of what the Word-Faith teachers say suggests that in
their view anyone who is indwelled by the Spirit is an incarnation.
Second, Word-Faith teachers are not altogether clear as to whether it was
the preexistent, eternal Son of God who became incarnate. Some Word-Faith
teachers, such as Hagin, seem to assume this traditional, biblical view.
Others, though, notably Kenneth Copeland and Charles Capps, teach that the
Word that became incarnate was God's Word of promise that he would redeem
humanity, and that this Word was "positively confessed" into personal
existence by the Virgin Mary (see chapter 11).
The Word-Faith teachers also have a distinctive view of what Christ did to
effect our salvation. In their view, what Jesus did that was unique was to
die, not merely physically but spiritually as well (thus taking on himself
Satan's nature), and go to hell. There, they say, he was "born again,"
rising from the dead with God's nature (which, it is sometimes implied, he
had lost in dying spiritually). By doing so, the Word-Faith teachers argue,
Jesus paved the way for us to be born again and exhibit God's nature in our
lives (see chapter 12).
As has already been mentioned, the Word-Faith teachers tend to interpret the
incarnation as the prototype of God's Spirit dwelling in a human being. In
this sense, they insist, Christians are as much an incarnation of God as was
Jesus Christ. This lends support, in their view, to the claim that all
Christians ought to be able to overcome difficulties in their lives and
perform miracles in just the same way Jesus did. In principle any of us can
do anything that Jesus did on earth (see chapter 13).
Faith, Prayer, and Confession
The distinctive ideas about God and man in Word-Faith theology are the basis
for its views on faith and prayer. Faith is not only believing what God says
but also believing that we have whatever we say. Prayer is not only speaking
to God but also speaking to things and circumstances and commanding them to
do as we say. This is the basis for the concept of positive and negative
confession, the idea that what we believe and say, whether good or bad, will
happen for us (see chapter 14).
On the basis of a positive confession - itself based on faith that we are
divine spirits created and redeemed to rule our circumstances by speaking
words of faith - Word-Faith theology says we are to obtain health and
wealth. Since Christ died to free us from the curse of the law, reason the
Word-Faith teachers, this must mean that Christians need no longer accept
sickness or poverty in their lives. Christians ought to live in divine
health and wealth as testimony to the power of God and as evidence that they
are children of God (see chapter 15).
This is the Word-Faith theology to be studied in this book. For the most
part, my focus will not be on the personalities who promote these views but
on the biblical teachings that are relevant to evaluating the Word-Faith
theology. However, in order to understand the teachings fully, we need to
consider how they arose and know something about their sources. The next
four chapters will deal with just these questions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matthew 9:34 - But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that
he drives out demons."
Matthew 12:24 - But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by
Beelzebub,[4] the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
John 7:20 - "You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to
kill you?"
John 8:48, 52 - The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you
are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" - At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we
know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet
you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.
John 10:20 - Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why
listen to him?"
Matthew 22:29 - Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the
Scriptures or the power of God.
Acts 17:11 - Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the
Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and
examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Matthew 7:16, 20 - By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? - Thus, by their fruit you
will recognize them.
Matthew 7:21-22 - "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
Matthew 7:24-27 - "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts
them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that
house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice
is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell
with a great crash."
James 3:1 - Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Matthew 7:12 - So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Carl
by Richard J. Vincent
"You don't have a god in you, you are one."(1)
"Pray to yourself, because I'm in your self and you're in Myself. We are one
Spirit, saith the Lord."(2)
"I say this with all respect so that it don't upset you too bad, but I say
it anyway. When I read in the Bible where he [Jesus] says, 'I Am,' I just
smile and say, 'Yes, I Am, too!'"(3)
What group would say such outrageous things? What group would have the nerve
to perpetuate such blasphemous doctrines? Could it be the Jehovah's
Witnesses? the Mormons? the Unitarians? the New Agers? Could it be-the
Christians?
The Word-Faith Teachers
The Word-Faith Teachers. This is the group that would seek to convince us
that Jesus and His disciples were rich, that to be poor is a sin, to be sick
is a sin, and that faith is a creative force that we can use to shape our
world just like God supposedly created this world and universe that we live
in through His "faith"!
Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Crouch, John Avanzini, Robert Tilton,
Fred Price, and Benny Hinn (who at the time of this writing has authored the
number one best selling Christian book in America, "Good Morning, Holy
Spirit") are just a few that spew out this theological vomit.
A Sampling of Error
To name just a few of the more outrageous things that have been said by
these so-called teachers will stagger the senses:
John Avanzini is convinced that "Jesus had a nice big house",(4) "Jesus wore
designer clothes",(5) and "Jesus was handling big money".(6)
Fred Price also claims that Jesus was rich and that He left us with an
example to follow. That is why Fred drives a Rolls Royce; he is following
Jesus' example!
Mr. Price also communicates one of the more sickening beliefs of the
Word-Faith teachers which shocks even those with a mild amount of common
sense. He says, "How can you glorify God in your body, when it doesn't
function right?....What makes you think the Holy Ghost wants to live inside
of a body where He can't see out through the windows, and He can't hear out
the ears?"(7) This insulting and insensitive comment regarding the
handicapped and crippled among us stirs up anger in even the most hardened
of consciences. Yet this statement by Mr. Price is followed by exuberant
applause and approval from his congregation (I would like to hear Mr. Price
say this to Joni Eareckson, or Tony Melendez).
These kind of statements boggle our minds and stagger our senses. It would
seem that most people would see the error in these teachings, yet millions
follow these men with a militant passion.
The Tip of the Iceberg
If this was as far as the teaching of these men went, if their only error
was that they think everyone should be wealthy and healthy, then we could
maybe shrug this movement off as a novelty and realize that soon people with
an ounce of common sense will see the error in these teachings.
Unfortunately, these teachings are but the tip of the iceberg. They are but
the rotten fruit of a foul, putrid, blasphemous and heretical root. The
erroneous actions of the faith teachers is but the symptom of their twisted
and diseased teachings concerning the nature of man and the nature of God. I
think you will see, after examining what they believe in these two key
areas, that we are not dealing with a Christian sect gone awry, but that we
are dealing with a non-Christian heretical group that is as deadly in their
doctrine as any major cult.
The Error Begins
Who is God to the faith teachers? Kenneth Copeland will tell you first off
that "God is the biggest failure in the Bible...the reason you've never
thought that is because He never said He was one".(8)
Copeland also teaches us that "God is a being that stands somewhere around
6'2", 6'3",(9) intimating that God has a body, an error subscribed to by the
Mormons. Copeland states, without any biblical warrant, that the earth we
live on is a "copy of the mother planet"(10) which God lives on, again
imitating a Mormon doctrine. Never mind that the Bible plainly states that
God is spirit (John 4:24), never mind that the Bible never says a thing
about this earth being a copy of any so-called mother planet. Yet these
arguments don't work with the faith teachers because they have supposedly
received these teachings by direct revelation from God. Therefore to oppose
them is to oppose God. These men have lifted themselves above any critical
investigation yet they have forgotten the biblical mandate that anything not
in accord with the Word of God must be rejected. We will examine shortly
their reactions to any kind of criticism.
After the faith teachers have thoroughly belittled God to slightly more than
an exalted man, they then proceed to exalt man to the status of God. Adam,
to the faith teachers, was an exact duplicate of God. Copeland teaches,
"Gods reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself. I mean a
reproduction of Himself. He [Adam] was not a little like God, he was not
almost like God, He was not subordinate to God even".(11) Copeland even
states that "Adam is God manifested in the flesh",(12) a title that can only
be truly applied to Christ Jesus alone.
The perceptive man can easily see that the problem here is a confusion about
what it means to be made in the image of God. The faith teachers claim that
being made in the image of God is synonymous to having the nature of God. To
be made in the image of God is to be a "little god" they would admit. Yet is
that what the church has commonly taught. The overwhelming consensus of the
church has been that man is created in the image of God in the sense that he
is a person as God is a person, possessing mind, will, and emotions, that he
is reasonable, unique among creation, a ruler over creation, and capable of
personal fellowship with God. We bear the image of God, but we do not share
His nature or substance or make-up. We are not omnipresent, omniscient,
omnipotent, or infinite. God is the only being that is holy in and of
Himself (Rev. 15:4). We are made in His image and have dignity because of
that, but we are not an exact duplicate of God in any sense of the word.
That status is reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ alone (see Col 2:8, Heb.
1:3, 2 Cor. 4:4).
The Error Grows
Beginning with this foul root of error, the faith teachers proceed into more
putrefying departures from the Christian faith. The faith teachers claim
that when Adam fell in the garden he forfeited the nature of God and took on
the nature of Satan. This error is but a link in the chain that connects the
faith teachers exalting of man and belittling of God. You see, salvation for
the faith teachers is not the removal of sin through the shed blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation for the faith teachers is not the forgiveness
of sins and the restoring of a right relationship between God and man.
Salvation for the faith teachers is instead the removal of the nature of
Satan from man and the restoring of the nature of God in man.
How is the restoring of the nature of God in man to come about? The answer
that the faith teachers give is that Jesus had to take on the nature of
Satan on the cross. In fact, the whole sacrifice of Christ on the cross
takes on a completely different emphasis and meaning for the faith teachers.
You see, it is not enough that Christ died physically in the theology of the
Word-Faith teachers. In order to take away our Satanic nature and restore
our God nature, Jesus Christ had to die spiritually as well as physically.
He then had to descend to hell. Then while in hell he was born again and
through His act of being born again He conquered the devil.
The Error Examined
You must follow the steps of this error very carefully for it is but the
doorway into the single most blasphemous and heretical teaching of the
Word-Faith teachers.
1) On the cross Jesus took upon Himself the nature of Satan. The Bible says
that Jesus is God the Son, God manifest in the flesh. Jesus therefore
possesses the attributes of deity such as omnipotence, omniscience,
eternalness, immutability, etc. Though in His incarnation, He chose not to
exercise all of His attributes, He still retained them. One of God's
attributes which Jesus shares is His immutability. This means that God is
unchangeable in His person. Although He acts in time, and establishes and
changes relationships in time, His essence, which includes His perfect and
holy attributes, never changes. God does not change (Mal. 3:6) and neither
does Jesus. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb
13:8). But the faith-teachers begin their error by claiming that the Holy,
undefiled, unchangeable Son of God became evil to the core taking upon
Himself the nature of Satan. Blasphemy! Our holy God does not become unholy.
2) Jesus died spiritually. Again the unchanging God-man did not die
spiritually, but physically. 1 Pet. 3:18 states that Jesus was put to death
in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit. Jesus did not need to die
spiritually as well as physically to gain our salvation. The offering of His
body was enough. Colossians 1:13 states "He has now reconciled you in His
fleshly body through death"; Hebrews 13:12, "therefore Jesus also, that He
might sanctify the people through His own blood"; Hebrews 10:10, "We have
been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ". Was Jesus
lying when He cried upon the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30)? Was there
yet more to be done to secure our salvation? That comforting cry from the
lips of our blessed Lord can be nothing but true and our salvation was
completely bought and paid for at this most climactic moment of all of
history!
3) Jesus descended into hell a mortal man. Seeing that there is no need for
Christ to have done any more to procure our salvation then what had already
been accomplished, this point becomes nothing more than an embellishment to
the truth. Jesus Christ did not suffer in hell. He descended to Hades, to
the abode of the dead. There was no need for Him to do anymore for our
salvation. Satan had already been defeated and conquered (Col 2:14-15).
Also, Jesus was not, nor ever will be, a mere mortal human being. To be a
mere mortal, He would have to stop being God, and that is one thing that is
against God's nature and attributes.
4) Jesus was born again. Jesus had no need to be born again. Jesus was not a
lost and hell-bound sinner who needed regeneration. He was the Almighty,
Eternal, and Holy Son of God. The faith teachers will drag Jesus to the
lowest depths in order that their teaching will have at least a hint of
logic. This idea that Jesus was born again is the crucial link for the faith
teachers that enables them to cry out at the end of their wicked formula for
salvation, "I am a little god". Observe.
5) Jesus defeated the devil by being born again. We now have Jesus, a mere
mortal man, suffering in hell. Jesus then decides to be born again. He
defeats the devil and becomes the first-born among many brethren. Now here
is where the Scripture twisting really becomes ludicrous. Copeland states
that nowhere in the Bible after the book of Acts is Jesus called the unique
and only begotten Son of God. He then twists Romans 8:29 to mean that Jesus
is the first born again man. This first reborn man, Jesus, has set the
pattern for a new race to come. And according to the Faith Teachers, we are
that new race to come. We are equal to Jesus for we are born again just as
He was. Do you see what has happened here? The faith teachers have so
suppressed the deity of Jesus that they have, in essence, denied it.
Copeland goes the farthest in this revelation He supposedly received from
Jesus, "Don't be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you're God.
The more you get to be like Me, the more they're going to think that way of
you. They crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn't claim I was
God; I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah.
That's what you're doing."(13)
The Jesus of the faith teachers has so little in common with the Jesus of
the Bible that it is clear to anyone with a grain of discernment that the
Jesus of the faith teachers is not the Jesus of the Bible but instead is the
kind of religious decoy that Paul warned us to be on the lookout for. "But I
am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds
should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or
you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different
gospel which you have not accepted, you put up with it easily enough" (2
Cor. 11:3-4). And we are putting up with it. We are taking this so calmly.
Another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit is mocking the true Jesus, the
true gospel, and the true Spirit and we are so tolerant of it that we allow
it on our TV set and call it Christian!?
The Fruit Of The Error
Why is it so important for the Faith-Teachers to ignore such explicit
passages as "It is finished," etc? Why must they have Jesus dying
spiritually as well as physically, entering hell as a mortal man capable of
failure, and being born again to defeat the devil? The reason is that the
faith teachers have a diminished view of Jesus. When Jesus is downplayed as
nothing more than an anointed man, it brings the faith teachers up to the
level of Jesus. In fact, both Kenneth Copeland and Fred Price have publicly
stated that if it was just the physical death of Jesus on the cross that
saves us then anyone could have done it. Kenneth Copeland says, "And the
whole New Testament calls Him the first-born....The word "born" began to
ring in my spirit; it just began to roll around: born, born. I never had let
Him go through that in my own thinking....And while I was laying there
thinking about these things, the Spirit of God spoke to me. And He said,
"Son, realize this: Now follow Me in this, don't let your tradition trip you
up." He said, "Think this way: A twice-born man whipped Satan in his own
domain." And I threw my Bible down. I said, "What?" He said, "A born-again
man defeated Satan. The first-born of many brethren defeated him." He said,
"You are the very image and the very copy of that one." I said, "Goodness
gracious, sakes alive!" And I began to see what had gone on in there, and I
said, "You don't mean--you couldn't dare mean, that I could have done the
same thing?" He said, "Oh, yeah, if you'd had the knowledge of the Word of
God that He did, you could have done the same thing, 'cause you're a reborn
man, too.""(14) No mention is made of the sinlessness of Christ. No
reverence is shown toward the unique virgin birth of Christ. See the depths
to which the Word-Faith teachers have desecrated our Lord. Jesus Christ
could pay for our sins because He was sinless, being uniquely born of a
virgin, and thus not sharing in the sin nature of Adam and his descendants,
a fact to which neither Copeland nor anyone can likewise boast of.
The sickening outcome of this wickedness is that the Gospel message is no
more "Turn to the cross of Jesus, ye wretched sinners, and plead for God's
forgiveness. Find rest for your sin and guilt beneath the blessed cross of
the great and mighty Savior." Instead the faith Teacher's gospel message is,
"You shall be like God"! The original lie of the devil is now the gospel
message and is broadcast around the world for all to hear! He must be
pleased! And the end result is the blasphemous cries of those who subscribe
to this wickedness. Kenneth Hagin: "You are as much the incarnation of God
as Jesus Christ was...the believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of
Nazareth".(15) Benny Hinn: "Are you ready for some real revelation
knowledge....you are god"(16) "You are a little god on earth running
around".(17) Kenneth Copeland: "I say this with all respect so that it don't
upset you too bad, but I say it anyway, when I read in the Bible where he
[Jesus] says, 'I Am,' I just smile and say, 'Yes, I Am, too!'"(18) "You
don't have a god in you, you are one."(19) Paul Crouch: "Do you know what
else that's settled then tonight? This hue and cry and controversy that has
been spawned by the devil to try to bring dissension within the body of
Christ that we are gods. I am a little god. I have His name. I am one with
Him. I'm in covenant relation. I am a little god. Critics be gone!"(20)
A Time For Action
Am I just theologically splitting hairs here? If this were a matter of when
and how to baptize, or how many times a year should the Lord's Supper be
observed, or whether the rapture was post, mid, or pre-trib, then I could
rightfully be accused of that. Yet this is not a minor issue. At stake here
is the very character of our God and Savior Jesus Christ and the great
salvation that He has given us. If you have the wrong Jesus, you have the
wrong salvation and it should be clear from the evidence presented above
that the Jesus of the Word-Faith movement is a far cry from the Jesus of the
Bible!
When Shirley MacClaine chants over and over on national TV , "I am God, I am
God!" we evangelicals go into an uproar. Yet when those who claim to be in
our own ranks say, "I am a little god", we don't even flinch, but rather
applaud them and their supposed evangelical efforts. Michael Horton has
rightly written, "It must cause our heavenly Father much grief that we would
consider unity more important than the One in whom we are united. It must
quench the Spirit to see Christians treating blasphemies, heresies, and
scandalous statements as though they were no more than odd "emphases."
The simple fact is that it is not the ones that are zealous for sound
doctrine and orthodoxy who are the divisive ones. The Word-Faith teachers
are the ones who are guilty of being divisive. They are fully aware that
what they are teaching is relatively new. They constantly ask us to put away
our traditions and forget our creeds. Benny Hinn says to an audience, "Are
you ready for some real revelation knowledge?" then proceeds to inform them
"you are god".(21) Hinn also, after teaching his audience that God consists
of nine distinct substances, boasts "You think you're in this church to hear
things you've heard for the last 50 years?".(22)
The Word-Faith teachers expect everyone to accept their authority and
teachings without criticism or testing. Whenever anyone challenges their
teachings they promote division instead of discussion. Before his death, Dr.
Walter Martin sought to dialogue with Kenneth Copeland over his teachings,
yet Copeland refused to meet with Martin. Fred Price has publicly stated
that he will not meet with a critic unless he has as many followers as him.
Last Spring, the Christian Research Institute, a very reputable and
trustworthy counter-cult and apologetic ministry, devoted a week of radio
programs to exposing the errors of the Word-Faith movement. Immediately
after the shows were aired, Paul Crouch had this to say about CRI during his
televised "Praise-a-thon" program amid shouts of "amen" and "you tell 'em
brother" from the studio audience:
"I think God's given up on a lot of that old rotten Sanhedrin religious
crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. I think they're damned and on
their way to hell and I don't think there's any redemption for them...the
heresy hunters that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some
Christian's eye and pluck that little mote out of their eye when they've got
the whole forest in their own lives and in their own eyes. I say to hell
with you! Oh hallelujah. Get out of God's way, quit blocking God's bridges
or God's gonna shoot you if I don't! 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 out somebody over here, if you want to criticize Ken
Copeland for his preaching on faith, or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I
don't even want to talk to you or hear you. I don't want to see your ugly
face! Get out of my face in Jesus' name."(23)
Notice that there is no desire to dialogue about the issues. Notice that
Paul Crouch doesn't explain why they believe what they believe and
subsequently why CRI was in error for presenting the programs. All that Paul
does is attack the people, he does not give an account for the hope that is
in him. The Faith teachers erroneous and blasphemous teachings are what are
promoting division. It is not those who criticize them and seek to dialogue
with them in a reasonable matter that are to blame. It is the childish and
unresponsive Word-Faith teachers that are to blame.
But you say, what about the good they do? Dear friend, no one gets
everything wrong! Even the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, the New Age,
etc. get a few things right every once in while. But isn't that the
substance of deception? The skin of the truth stuffed with a lie. An
appearance of righteousness yet inside rottenness and dead man's bones. No,
the evil propagated by these teachers so outweighs the good that we must
reject them entirely. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
I, for one, am embarrassed by the Word-Faith teachers and I am ashamed to be
represented by them. These men represent Christianity to millions. They
present a false picture of what it means to be a Christian and I think it is
abhorrent. Michael Horton has rightly asked, "Do those who occasionally view
televangelistic programming know that evangelical Christianity offers an
intelligent interpretation of and hope for human existence? Does the average
unbeliever come away from an ordinary telecast with a better grasp of the
substance of the Christian faith?" The Word-Faith teachers and Trinity
Broadcasting Network on the whole defeat their very purpose. They seek to
evangelize but they are only preaching to the choir. The vast majority of
people who watch already claim to be Christian, and the occasional
non-believer that tunes in is quick to see the unreality presented and the
apparent con-game that is going on. And to make matters worse, the sparse
amount of teaching that is usually presented to the Christian is of the
lethal type that we have been discussing and instead of strengthening the
body of Christ, it poisons it.
What should we do? I see at least three things that can be done and they are
not minor operations. When a cancer is first recognized in a body, the
procedure to remove it is quick, easy, and relatively painless if the cancer
has been caught in its early stages. But when a cancer has gone unnoticed
for years and has been allowed to nurture and infiltrate an entire body,
then the procedure to remove it will be much more complicated, slow, and
painful. The Word-Faith teaching is a spiritual cancer that has infiltrated
the church to its very marrow. We must take action now and it will not be
pleasant.
First, the most obvious thing to do is to not support any of these
ministries monetarily. Don't watch any of the Word-Faith teachers programs
and encourage and warn others to do the same. Don't buy their books. If your
local Christian bookstore carries their material let them know that you will
not frequent their stores if they continue to carry this spiritual cancer.
Second, take a stand for Jesus! Why won't the church take a stand? I have
asked myself that question over and over. Are we afraid to attack evil in
the supposed name of unity? Is it that we are so far gone that we don't
figure that it matters what you believe as long as you "love Jesus"? If so,
let's quit calling other religions false and accept the cults into our fold.
Let's bring in the Jehovah's Witnesses who love their Jesus (even though to
them he is the archangel Michael, the first and greatest created being).
Let's bring in the Mormons, and the Unitarians, etc. Let's say good-bye to
the creeds and sound doctrine. Let's forget the stern warnings of the
Apostle Paul to beware of false teachers and false doctrine which spreads
like gangrene. Let's all just "love Jesus" (whoever that Jesus might be to
us)? NO! We cannot forget the creeds, we will not abandon truth. We must
obey our Lord when He tells us to "Beware of the false prophets, who come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know
them by their fruits" (Mat. 7:15-16). The fruit of the Word-Faith teachers
is none other than the fruit that the devil deceived our ancient mother Eve
with. It is still as deadly and still as putrid in God's sight as it was
then. The Word-Faith teachers and their movement must be actively opposed
and rejected as non-Christian! Who will stand for Christ?
Third, this would not have come about if more Christians knew their Bible
and what it taught. This would not have come about if more Christians knew
what the Bible has to say about the nature of man, the nature of God, the
doctrine of the trinity, etc. It is time to return to teaching sound
doctrine so that the common Christian man can be armed against error. It is
time to study the great foundational doctrines of our faith so that we won't
be deceived by religious charlatans. Doctrine is not just for theologians.
Words like propitiation, sanctification, justification, trinity,
incarnation, predestination, redemption, etc. are not just useless
theological words but are the very foundations of the faith.
It's time to use our minds again. It's time to quit being so emotional,
mystical, and man-centered in our doctrine. It's time that Christians took
some in-depth journeys into the wonder of the Holy Scriptures to find out
about truth and reality. Christianity is truth, and as Art Lindsley has
rightly stated, "There is nothing that produces emotion like the truth". Do
you want a vibrant growing faith? Search the Scriptures. Do you seek truth,
real truth? The kind of truth that infiltrates every area of your life with
purpose and meaning and joy! You won't find it on a TV station. You'll find
it when you spend time alone in an attitude of worship and prayer with an
open Bible and the very God of the Universe teaching you and loving you
through His blessed Holy Spirit applying His most Holy word directly to your
life. Theology is not always entertaining but it is always enriching. It is
a lot easier to turn on that TV and turn off your mind but you'll be at a
loss because of it, and you will miss out on one of the most wonderful
blessings of life: communion with the Living Lord.
Conclusion
Stated most simply, the error of the faith movement is that they exalt man
and decrease God. They exalt man to God status and reduce God to man's
status. They are aware that what they are teaching is unorthodox and
controversial to say the least, yet they have no wish to change their tune.
They refuse to be accountable to anyone.
No man is an island unto himself. These men who are spokesmen for the
Christian faith to the public and represent the Lord Jesus to millions
through their television programs are preaching a different Jesus, a
different gospel, and a different spirit than what is revealed to us in Holy
Scripture.
The Apostle Paul has some strong words for these men and with them I close.
I pray we will take them to heart and that the Spirit that so moved Paul to
action against false teachings will move within us to produce in us a holy
zeal for truth!
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the
grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only
there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of
Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a
gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a
gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed." (Gal.
1:6-9)
REFERENCES
1. Kenneth Copeland, "The Force Of Love" tape # 02-0028
2. Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory", Feb. 1987, p.9
3. Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on TBN,
recorded 7/9/87
4. John Avanzini, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on TBN, recorded
1/20/91
5. John Avanzini, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on TBN, recorded
1/20/91
6. John Avanzini, "Praise the Lord" broadcast on TBN, recorded 9/15/88
7. Fred Price, "Is God Glorified Through Sickness?" tape # FP605
8. Kenneth Copeland, "Praise-a-thon", broadcast on TBN, recorded 1988
9. Kenneth Copeland, "Spirit, Soul, and Body", tape # 01-0601
10. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001
11. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001
12. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham" tape # 01-3001
13. Kenneth Copeland, "Voice of Victory" Vol. 15, No. 2, 2/87
14. Kenneth Copeland, "What Happened from the Cross to the Throne" tape #
02-0017
15. Kenneth Hagin, "Word Of Faith" Dec. 1980, p. 14
16. Benny Hinn, "Our Position In Christ", tape # AO31190-1
17. Benny Hinn, "Praise-a-thon" broadcast on TBN, November, 1990
18. Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on TBN,
recorded 7/9/87
19. Kenneth Copeland, "The Force Of Love" tape # 02-0028
20. Paul Crouch, "Praise The Lord" broadcast on TBN, recorded 7/7/86
21. Benny Hinn, "Our Position In Christ", tape # AO31190-1
22. Benny Hinn broadcast, recorded 10/13/90
23. Paul Crouch, "Praise-a-thon" broadcast on TBN, recorded 4/2/91
Carl
by Gary E. Gilley
The fastest growing segment of professing Christianity today is the
Word-Faith Movement, also known as the Positive Confession or simply "Faith"
movement. Its growth is at least partially due to the massive amounts of
money the leaders are able to extract from the faithful. This influx of cash
allows for huge buildings and extensive ministries, and more importantly,
wide exposure on television, which translates into numerical growth. Not
only do many Word-Faith preachers broadcast their services and campaigns,
but Word-Faith adherents, Paul and Jan Crouch, own the largest
Christian-based television network in the world. The Trinity Broadcasting
Network (TBN), founded by the Crouches, with an estimated net worth of
approximately $600 million dollars, is capable of televising the Faith
message (as well as many other errant messages) all over the world.
Well-known personalities within the movement include Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth
Copeland, Robert Tilton (who is staging a come-back), Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Charles Capps,
Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo and of course, Paul and Jan Crouch.
Beliefs
Faith Is a Force
As is implied by the title "Word-Faith," the supporters of this movement
believe that faith works like a mighty power or force. Through faith, we can
obtain anything we want -- health, wealth, success, whatever. However, this
force is only released through the spoken word. As we speak the words of
faith, power is discharged to accomplish our desires. Hagin's theme, as
found in his booklet How to Write Your Own Ticket with God, can be
summarized as follows (Christianity in Crisis, pp. 74-75):
In the opening chapter, titled "Jesus Appears to Me," Hagin claims that
while he "was in the Spirit" -- just like the apostle John on the Isle of
Patmos -- a white cloud enveloped him and he began to speak in tongues.
"Then the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to me," says Hagin. "He stood within
three feet of me." After what sounded like a casual conversation about such
things as finances, ministry, and even current affairs, Jesus told Hagin to
get a pencil and a piece of paper. He then instructed him to "Write down:
1,2,3,4." Jesus then allegedly told Hagin "if anybody, anywhere, will take
these four steps or put these four principles into operation, he will always
receive whatever he wants from Me or from God the Father." That includes
whatever you want financially. The formula is simply: "Say it, Do it,
Receive it, and Tell it."
1. Step number one is "Say it." "Positive or negative, it is up to the
individual. According to what the individual says, that shall he receive."
2. Step number two is "Do it." "Your action defeats you or puts you over.
According to your action, you receive or you are kept from receiving."
3. Step number three is "Receive it." We are to plug into the "powerhouse of
heaven." "Faith is the plug, praise God! Just plug in."
4. Step number four is "Tell it so others may believe." This final step
might be considered the Faith movement's outreach program.
Kenneth Copeland states the faith formula this way: "All it takes is 1)
Seeing or visualizing whatever you need, whether physical or financial; 2)
Staking your claim on Scripture; and 3) Speaking it into existence"
(Christianity in Crisis, p. 80).
Paul Yonggi Cho, borrowing from the occult, has developed what he calls the
"Law of Incubation." Here is how it works: "First make a clear-cut goal,
then draw a mental picture, vivid and graphic, to visualize success. Then
incubate it into reality, and finally speak it into existence through the
creative power of the spoken word" (Christianity in Crisis, pp. 83-84).
If a positive confession of faith releases power, then according to
Word-Faith, a negative confession can actually backfire. Capps says the
tongue "can kill you, or it can release the life of God within you." This is
so because, "Faith is a seed . you plant it by speaking it." There is power
in "the evil fourth dimension" says Cho. Hagin informs us that if you
confess sickness you get sickness, if you confess health you get health,
whatever you say you get. "This spoken word . releases power -- power for
good or power for evil," is the commonly held view of the movement. It is
easy to see why the title "Positive Confession" is often applied to this
group.
As one might guess, the teachings of the Faith movement are very attractive
to some. If we can produce whatever our hearts desire by simply demanding
what we want by faith, if we can manipulate the universe and perhaps even
God, then we have our own personal genie just waiting to fulfill our wishes.
Frederick K.C. Price wastes no words when he writes:
"Now this is a shocker! But God has to be given permission to work in this
earth realm on behalf of man. . Yes! You are in control! So if man has
control, who no longer has it? God. ... When God gave Adam dominion, that
meant God no longer had dominion. So, God cannot do anything on this earth
unless we let Him or give Him permission through prayer" (Prayer: Do You
Know What Prayer Is. ... and How to Pray? The Word Study Bible, p. 1178).
This is certainly a theology that would appeal to the masses, and thus
accounts for the Faith movement's popularity.
The Deification of Man
Faith teachers like to teach, based upon serious mishandling of passages
such as John 10:31-39 and II Peter 1:4, that Christians are "little gods."
Copeland says, "Now Peter said by exceeding great and precious promises you
become partakers of the divine nature. All right, are we gods? We are a
class of gods!" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 116). Benny Hinn declares, "God
came from heaven, became a man, made man into little gods, went back to
heaven as a man" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 382 n. 43). Earl Paulk wrote,
"Until we comprehend that we are little gods and we begin to act like little
gods, we cannot manifest the kingdom of God" (Satan Unmasked, p. 97).
The Humanization of God
While man is glorified, God is humiliated in the Faith system. Copeland
claims that God is a being who stands about 6'2"-6'3", weighing somewhere in
the neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds, and has a hand span of 9"
across (Christianity in Crisis, p. 121). Copeland also declares "Adam was
the copy, looked just like (God). If you stood Adam beside God, they looked
just exactly alike. If you stood Jesus and Adam side-by-side, they would
look and sound exactly alike" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 137).
Many of the Word-Faith teachers also embrace a heresy known as Tritheism,
which in essence teaches that there are really three separate Gods. Hinn,
under supposed inspiration, explains:
"Man, I feel revelation knowledge already coming on me here. Holy Spirit,
take over in the name of Jesus. ... God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is
a person; and He is a triune being by Himself separate from the Son and the
Holy Ghost. Say, what did you say? Hear it, hear it, hear it. See, God the
Father is a person, God the Son is a person, God the Holy Ghost is a person.
But each one of them is a triune being by Himself. If I can shock you -- and
maybe I should -- there's nine of them. Huh, what did you say? Let me
explain: God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person with his own
personal spirit, with his own personal soul, and his own personal
spirit-body. You say, Huh, I never heard that. Well you think you're in this
church to hear things you've heard for the last 50 years? You can't argue
with the Word, can you? It's all in the Word (Christianity in Crisis, p.
123-124).
Hinn, under fire, later retracted his remarks, only to reaffirm them two
years later.
Jesus supposedly told Copeland, "They crucified me for claiming that I was
God. But I didn't claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him and that
he was in me" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 137-138). Many of the Faith
heresies concerning God can be traced to the notes found in Dake's Annotated
Reference Bible.
The Distortion of the Cross
Four atonement-related errors on the part of the Faith teachers can be
documented:
1) Christ was re-created on the cross from divine to demonic. To put it in
Faith vernacular, Jesus took on the very nature of Satan himself.
2) Your redemption was not secured on the cross, but in hell. In fact, many
Faith teachers claim that Christ's torture by all the demons of hell was a
"ransom" God paid to Satan so that He could get back into a universe from
which He had been banished.
3) Jesus was reborn (or born again) in the very pit of hell.
4) Christ was reincarnated through His rebirth in hell and that those who
(like Christ) are born again can become "incarnated" as well.
Thus, Faith teachers take Christ, the spotless Lamb, and pervert Him into an
unholy sacrifice on the cross (Christianity In Crisis, p.153).
Practices
While many, even within the Word-Faith churches, are unaware of some of the
doctrinal heresies of the movement, none can plead ignorant of the strange
and bizarre practices and emphasis of its leaders. The following things are
standard occurrences in virtually every one of their television broadcasts,
evangelistic campaigns, and church services.
A Prosperity Gospel
Nothing will create more euphoria in the average person than the promise to
make them wealthy, and this the Word-Faith leadership knows very well. The
Word-Faith teacher's lifestyle is clearly identified by opulence, luxury,
riches, and the assurance that all of this can be his followers as well --
if only they apply certain principles.
Robert Tilton is normative. On a Trinity Broadcasting Network program in
1990 he said:
"Being poor is a sin, when God promises prosperity. New house? New car?
That's chicken feed. That's nothing compared to what God wants to do for
you" (Charismatic Chaos, p. 285).
Fred Price on a similar broadcast explains how it works:
"If you've got one dollar faith and you ask for a ten-thousand dollar item,
it ain't going to work. It won't work. Jesus said, 'According to your
[faith],' not according to God's will for you, in His own good time, if it's
according to His will, if He can work it into his busy schedule. He said,
'According to your faith, be it unto you'" (Charismatic Chaos, p. 286).
Of course, the road to prosperity somehow always leads to the offering plate
of the Word-Faith Movement. Gloria Copeland (Kenneth's wife) pulls no
punches in her book God's Will Is Prosperity:
"Give $10 and receive $1000; Give $1000 and receive $100,000 . give one
house and receive one hundred houses or a house worth one hundred times as
much. Give one airplane and receive one hundred times the value of the
airplane. . In short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal" (p. 54).
A Health Gospel
The "name-it-and-claim-it" pundits are not content with mere wealth; they
want to feel well enough to enjoy their prosperity. So do most of their
listeners. So while you are giving away wealth, why not dispense health as
well?
The Word-Faith teachers, as is true of many other charismatics, believe that
Christ provided for physical healing at the cross. As a result, not only are
Christians saved from sin, they are promised a life of health. Kenneth
Copeland writes in Healed . to Be or Not to Be:
"The first step to spiritual maturity is to realize your position before
God. You are a child of God and a joint-heir with Jesus. Consequently, you
are entitled to all the rights and privileges in the kingdom of God, and one
of their rights is health and healing" (p. 25).
But, if healing is part of the atonement, why do Christians get sick? Lack
of faith, as Benny Hinn explains:
"The Bible declares that the work was done 2,000 years ago. God is not going
to heal you now -- he healed you 2,000 years ago. All you have to do today
is receive your healing by faith" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 44).
Of course reality, in the form of sickness, has to be faced even by the
Word-Faith leaders. Fred Price may proclaim "we don't allow sickness in our
home," but his wife still has cancer. Kenneth Hagin brags that he has not
had a headache, the flu, or even "one sick day" in nearly 60 years, but he
has had four cardiovascular crises. Paul Crouch may have healed Oral Roberts
of chest pains on a TBN Broadcast, but it didn't stop Oral from having a
heart attack a few hours later (Christianity in Crisis, pp. 237-238). How
are these things explained away? Predictably, by blaming them on the devil.
Sickness in the Word-Faith camp is usually seen as satanic attacks that must
be repelled by words of faith (i.e., "positive confession").
Experiences
The faith leaders make some amazing claims. Hagin, for example, has visited
(so he says) both heaven and hell as well as had out-of-body experiences
(Christianity in Crisis, p. 334). He has had many visits from Jesus and
angels. He boasts of the ability to heal, cast our demons, and levitate
people (p. 336). Hinn opens his best selling book with these words:
"It was three days before Christmas 1973. The sun was still rising on that
cold, misty Toronto morning. Suddenly He was there. The Holy Spirit entered
my room. He was as real to me that morning as the book you are holding in
your hand is to you. For the next eight hours I had an incredible experience
with the Holy Spirit. It changed the course of my life (Rise and Be Healed,
p. 1).
Hinn speaks of frequent personal visits from the Lord, the first being at
age eleven:
"I saw Jesus walk into my bedroom. He was wearing a robe that was whiter
than white and a deep red mantle was draped over the robe. I saw his hair. I
looked into His eyes. I saw the nailprints in His hands. I saw everything.
... When it happened, I was asleep, but suddenly my little body was caught
up in an incredible sensation that can only be described as 'electric.' It
felt as if someone had plugged me into a wired socket. There was a numbness
that felt like needles -- a million of them -- rushing through my body. And
then the Lord stood before me while I was in a deep, deep sleep. He looked
straight at me with the most beautiful eyes. He smiled, and His arms were
open wide. I could feel His presence. It was marvelous and I'll never forget
it" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 22).
When Hinn describes his conversion, he does not mention the cross,
repentance, or faith; rather, it is all couched in terms of experience:
"What I really felt, though, was that this surge of power was cleansing
me -- instantly, from the inside out. I felt absolutely clean, immaculate,
and pure. Suddenly I saw Jesus with my own eyes. It happened in a moment of
time. There he was. Jesus" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 31).
Hinn claims power of a supernatural nature often emanates from his body:
"Once, my mother was cleaning the hallway while I was in my room talking
with the Holy Spirit. When I came out, she was thrown right back. Something
had knocked her against the wall. I said, 'What's wrong with you, Mama?' She
answered, 'I don't know?' Well, the presence of the Lord almost knocked her
down" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 42).
Both the appeal of the book and its dangers are evident in this quote:
"Are you ready to meet the Holy Spirit intimately and personally? Do you
want to hear His voice? Are you prepared to know him as a person? That's
exactly what happened to me, and it drastically transformed my life. It was
an intensely personal experience, and it was based on God's Word. You may
ask, 'Was it the result of a systematic Bible study?' No, it happened when I
invited the Holy Spirit to be my personal friend. To be my constant guide.
To take me by the hand and lead me 'into all truth.' What He will uncover
and reveal to you in Scripture will make your study of the Bible come alive"
(Rise and Be Healed, p. 48).
Both the Word-Faith leaders and their followers make the same mistake of
basing their lives on experiences and feelings rather than upon the inspired
Word of God.
Luminaries within the Movement
Kenneth Hagin is considered the father of Word-Faith. He has a syndicated
radio show carried by about 250 radio stations; a Bible School (Rhema Bible
Training Center) with 12,000 graduates from 1974-1992; a magazine with
400,000 subscribers; and has sold millions of books and other publications.
Kenneth Copeland is the heir-apparent to the Faith throne (although Benny
Hinn has moved in to challenge). Copeland's empire spans the globe with
similar ministries as Hagin.
Benny Hinn was pastor of Orlando Christian Center in Orlando, Florida. (He
recently moved his ministry to Dallas.) Hinn reaches the world through
evangelistic campaigns, television, and literature. His book Good Morning
Holy Spirit was the best selling Christian book in 1991, selling a quarter
of a million copies in only three months. He is perhaps best known as a
"Faith-Healer" in the traditions of Kathryn Kuhlman (his idol) and Oral
Roberts. His "ability" to "slay in the Spirit" large groups of people at
once (by blowing on them or waving his arm their direction) has brought him
considerable notoriety.
Frederick K.C. Price, the most prominent of black Word-Faith preachers,
pastors the 16,000-member Crenshaw Christian Center, and has his own
television show.
John Avanzini, best-known fundraiser among the Word-Faith leaders. He has
said, "A greater than a lottery has come. His name is Jesus!"
Robert Tilton perfected the Christian infomercial through his
"Success-N-Life" television program.
Marilyn Hickey is (except for Gloria Copeland and perhaps Jan Crouch) the
best-known woman in the movement. She teaches people to speak to their
wallets and checkbooks in order that their wealth may increase.
David Yonggi Cho is the pastor of the 700,000 Full Gospel Yoido Church in
South Korea. Cho, who often speaks at Robert Schuller Conferences on church
growth (along with Bill Hybels), is perhaps the closest link to the occult.
He teaches a concept called the "Fourth Dimension." The first three
dimensions are physical and are controlled by the fourth, which is the
spiritual. Cho teaches that Christians can get anything they want by calling
upon the spirit world in the Fourth Dimension and visualizing what they
want. When a person (Christian or unsaved) follows the proper formula of
positive thinking, speaking and visualizing, they "incubate" and eventually
give birth to their desires. These techniques are the same used in his
occult-infested country. Cho is aware of this fact, but believes what works
for "them" will work for "us" -- so use it.
Carl
THE WORD FAITH MOVEMENT
[http://www.thechristianexpositor.org/page7.html]
Who are the Leaders of the Word-Faith Movement?
A growing number of pastors, teachers, and evangelists within the
Charismatic/Pentecostal circles of the Christian church are advancing what
has come to be known as the "Word Faith" movement. Its major leaders include
such prominent figures as Kenneth Hagin; Kenneth Copeland; Frederick K. C.
Price; and David (Paul) Yongii Cho, who pastors one of the largest churches
in the world in Seoul, Korea. Other well-known Word Faith personalities
include Gloria Copeland, Robert Tilton, John Avanzini, John Osteen, T. L.
Osborne, Charles Capps, Marilyn Hickey, Jerry Savelle, Joyce Meyer, Morris
Cerullo, Casey Treat, Dwight Thompson, and Oral and Richard Roberts.
In the USA Word Faith doctrines are commonly disseminated through radio
broadcasts, tapes, books, and tracts, primarily through the Trinity
Broadcasting Network (TBN), which regularly airs the programs of more than a
dozen of these teachers. Paul and Jan Crouch, the directors of TBN, who are
themselves deeply involved in the movement, have also featured Word Faith
teachers as special guests on their "Praise the Lord" and "Praise-a-thon"
(fund-raiser) programs. The Crouchs' worldwide platform has mainstreamed
Word Faith theology to the lives of millions of Christians who would not
otherwise have encountered Word Faith theology. Christianity in the western
world has been heavily influenced in many quarters by this movement to the
point where many consider it the main thrust of the charismatic movement.
In Europe these doctrines are brought in through visiting USA speakers and
their materials, and by influenced pastors and leaders - and also through
the "GOD Christian Channel" which concentrates on many of tese teachers via
Satellite and Cable TV. In South Wales the main adherents are pastored by
Ray Bevan in King's Church, Newport, but the influence is also noticeable in
the Elim and Assemblies of God Pentecostal movements.
What is the attitude of Word-Faith teachers?
The vibrant message delivered with great authority through these media, and
seemingly backed by Scripture and buttressed by claims of the miraculous,
has led many astray. These teachers often deliver cautions against those
who would criticize the doctrines.
Such people are called "nay sayers" and negative influences. If such people
cannot be won over to Word-Faith teachings, the listener or reader is told,
they should be avoided. An example of the kind of sneering and contradictory
attack launched on anyone who questions their beliefs and doctrines can be
heard from Ray Bevan's ministry (King's Church, tapes - 6th & 13th September
'98). Often when a Word-Faith teacher or their teachings are criticized,
there will be allegations of "sowing division in the body" or lack of belief
in healing, or demons, or the miraculous.
A classic example of this can be seen in a quote from Word-Faith teacher
Kenneth Hagin: "When the Lord was dealing with me concerning the prophet's
ministry, He said that if a church doesn't accept my ministry then I should
go my way, shake the dust off my feet against them so to speak; but He would
remove their candlestick. He would take away from them what power they had
left. .... He said that judgment must begin in the house of God, and if the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear.
If a church won't accept this ministry, then they wouldn't accept His Word
and He can't help them" (The Ministry of a Prophet, p.19).
We believe in divine healing, both instantaneous and gradual, the existence
of demons and deliverance from them; and that the gifts of the Spirit are
for the church today as they have been since its beginning. Criticizing a
body of teachings is not the same as judging one who accepts those
teachings. However, Christians are told to compare any teachings, and the
gospel they bring, to the Word of God and to cast off any that contradict
Scripture (Acts 17:11; Galatians 1:6-9; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).
If a person reads into the sacred text something that does not belong there
and is not consistent with sound exegesis and hermeneutics, then Christians
have a right to challenge and expose error and point out to brethren who
these mistaken teachers are (Acts 20:28-31 & 2 Timothy 2:16-18). It does
not mean that these teachers are not true brethren, although they may not
be. It does not mean that we should love them any less. It simply means
that an error has been found and exposed and should be dealt with in love
for the truth, and compassion for those damaged by the deception.
Word-Faith Origins
The spiritual mentor of today's Word-Faith teachers is Essek W. Kenyon, a
man who was greatly influenced by the metaphysical mind science cults such
as Christian Science, Unity School of Christianity, and Church of Religious
Science and who apparently received his theological training from the
Emerson School of Oratory in Boston, Mass. The founder of that institution,
Charles Wesley Emerson, is on record as being a member of the Mother Church
of Christian Science from 1903 to 1908. As Christian Science is nothing
more than Gnosticism in modern garb, it is fairly certain that Kenyon was
further influenced by Gnostic ideas during this training. After leaving the
school - it is not clear from records whether or not he graduated - Kenyon
settled in Seattle, Wash., where he was pastor of the New Covenant Baptist
Church and broadcast a radio program, "Church of the Air," until his death
in 1948. Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society published materials from his
writings and broadcasts (read The Born-Again Jesus of the Word-Faith
Teaching, p.25-26.) It is from these publications that most of the
presumptions of the Word-Faith teachings are drawn but most adherents
believe they originated from Kenneth E. "Dad" Hagin. However, the truth is
that Hagin blatantly and unashamedly plagiarised his doctrines from Kenyon
and his daughter, Ruth Kenyon Houseworth, stills seeks fair recognition of
this fact (A Different Gospel, D.R. McConnell, pub. Hendrickson, 1995,
p.4-6)
You will be like God - says Satan! (Genesis 3:5)
The bedrock of Word-Faith doctrine is what Kenyon calls "new creation
realities." For the rest of the Word-Faith assertions to work, man first
must be exalted to a high position. Word-Faith teaching puts man on the
same level as Jesus Christ. This is done by assembling Scripture passages
to purportedly prove that once a man is in Christ, then the "new creature"
spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:17 is recreated as a new species of being.
Kenyon writes: "You see, man is a spirit being. He is in the same class
with God. He was created in the image and likeness of God. He had to be in
order to become a partaker of the Divine Nature. When he sinned he became a
partaker of Satan's nature, selfishness. ... The part of man that is
re-created in [sic] his spirit. God imparts to our spirit His own nature,
Eternal Life" (The Hidden Man, p.121).
When that happens one is "a new species of being that never existed before"
(Kenneth Copeland, Now We Are In Christ Jesus, p. 5). Hagin says "the
believer is as much an Incarnation as Jesus Christ" (Faith Food, p. 23).
Kenneth Copeland says "Jesus is no longer the only begotten son of God" (Now
We Are In Christ Jesus, p. 24). "We are the Word made flesh, just as Jesus
was." (Gloria Copeland, quoted in Crenshaw, Man as God, 202). So, in the
Word-Faith teaching, Jesus loses his uniqueness. The believer is elevated
to the position of being a God-man the same way Jesus was a God-man. They
claim that the only difference is Jesus obtained his position by birth and
the rest obtain it by a re-creation of the spirit. Read Isaiah 44:8: "Is
there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any" (cf. Isaiah
43:10; John 1:18; John 5:44; John 17:3; James 2:19; 1 Timothy 2:5;
Colossians 1:14-17; Hebrews 1:2-3).
What happened to the Blood Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ?
A further denial of the uniqueness of Jesus occurs in Word-Faith teachings
on the atonement. According to their interpretation of Scripture, much more
happened during Christ's crucifixion and death than is orthodox or
Scriptural. "Jesus went into hell to free mankind. . When His blood poured
out it did not atone." (Kenneth Copeland, quoted in McConnell, Different
Gospel, 120). "When [Jesus] said 'it is finished,' on that cross, He was not
speaking of the plan of redemption. The plan of redemption had just begun.
There was still three days and three nights to go through. ... [in hell], He
suffered punishment for three horrible days and nights . . . "He's [Jesus]
separated from His God and in that moment He's a mortal man: capable of
failure, capable of death"" (Kenneth Copeland, What Happened from the Cross
to the Throne, cassette tape). "Jesus died as our substitute. He who knew
no sin was made to be sin. He took upon Himself our sin nature. And He
died - He was separated and cut off from God. He went down into the prison
house of suffering in our place. He was there three days and nights . .
."Not only was He physically resurrected - His body resurrected - but His
spirit was made alive unto God again. He had died spiritually. He took
upon Himself spiritual death - for us. And He is the first one who was ever
born again. His new birth is our new birth" (Kenneth Hagin, Made Alive,
April 1982, p. 3). "He suffered in his own body, and more important, in His
spirit. Jesus experienced the same spiritual death that entered man in the
Garden of Eden [i.e., He took on Satan's nature]. ... After Jesus was made
sin, He had to be born again.
... Jesus was a born-again man" (Gloria Copeland, God's Will For You, p.
50). "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." (Frederick K. C. Price, "If Christ Did Not Rise . What Then?"
Ever Increasing Faith Messenger (June 1980): 7). "Jesus went into hell to
free mankind. . When His blood poured out it did not atone." (Kenneth
Copeland, quoted in McConnell, Different Gospel, 120). Read Hebrews 12:2:
"Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set
before him, endured the cross [not torture in hell], despising the shame"
(bracket added). "In whom [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7,
emphasis added).(cf. Psalm 139:7-8; John 5:26; 10:17-18; 19:30; Colossians
1:19-20; 2:13-15; Revelation 1:5).
In summary, the Word-Faith plan of redemption says: Man was created as the
"same order of being as God." A spirit temporarily housed in a body. He
was given dominion over the Earth. When he committed "high treason" by
following Satan instead of God, man then gave up the divine nature and took
on the nature of Satan. Satan then became the god of this world and man
thereafter was born with the satanic nature. "Suddenly, God was on the
outside looking in" (Kenneth Copeland, Our Covenant With God, p. 8).
Jesus came so that man's spirit might be re-created (i.e., man might reclaim
the divine nature). On the cross, the plan of redemption merely began. It
was there that Jesus took on the nature of Satan, lost his divinity, became
a mortal man, and went to hell. There he suffered torture at the hand of
Satan until God said "enough." Having kept the Law of God perfectly, the man
Jesus was declared to be "illegally" in hell. At that point, Jesus' spirit
was re-created. He again had the divine nature - Jesus was then born again!
The way was then clear for man to have his spirit re-created - to receive
the divine nature and to become as much an incarnation as Jesus was!
Re-created men "now have the nature of God... the ability of God" (E.W.
Kenyon, What Happened from the Cross to the Throne, p. 82). There are no
verses in Scripture to support this blasphemous theology - read Exodus 8:10:
"There is none like unto the Lord our God" (cf. Exodus 9:13-14; Numbers
23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; 2 Samuel 7:22; Isaiah 46:9; Jeremiah 10:6; Hosea
11:9).
Word of Faith Wrests Scripture!
This scenario is read into the Bible so that it may be extrapolated again in
several ways. The first is a fanciful system of Scripture interpretation
that arbitrarily assigns new meanings to words and has no regard for the
context of passages. For example, Kenyon says: "Adam gained an education
through his five senses. His spirit was being made prisoner of his five
senses. The psalmist cried, 'Bring my soul out of prison" (Psalms 142:7).
The Hebrew word should have been translated 'spirit' instead of 'soul (The
Hidden Man, p. 8). However, a Hebrew lexicon will show that the word for
"soul" (nephesh) and "spirit" (ruach) are two different words. The psalmist
in 142:7 uses the word "nephesh." It cannot be translated "spirit."
Word-Faith teachers also redefine terms in 2 Peter 1:4, a key verse in their
doctrine. They claim that the phrase, "you might become partakers of the
divine nature," means that people actually take on God's nature. This is
blasphemy! "A man is re-created by receiving God's nature into his spirit,
which makes him a New Creation and gives him a new self" (The Hidden Man, p.
8). The Greek word translated "partakers" is koinonos, which, when used as
a noun, means "partner." (See W.E. Vines Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, p. 161.) Peter was saying that Christians are made
partners with the divine nature. The Holy Spirit now bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God.
Many other ploys are used to read Word-Faith doctrine into the Bible. Space
allows examination of only two of the most outrageous. The first is that of
interpreting certain verses to mean the opposite of what the writer
intended. Referring to the King James Version's John 14:14, where Jesus
says, "if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." Hagin says:
"Here, the Greek word translated 'ask' means 'demand.'... You're not
demanding anything of the Father. ... You're demanding of the devil" (Faith
Food, Winter Edition, p. 58). The Greek text of John 14:14 or a modern
translation based on the Greek text has Jesus telling His disciples "If you
ask ME anything in MY name, I will do it." The second ploy is that of
denying the validity of a passage that does not square with Word-Faith
teaching. Concerning the statement of Job 1:21, "The Lord gave, and the
Lord has taken away," Word-Faith teacher Charles Capps says, "Job did say
it, but it is not a true statement. It is a lie. ... Job sure was not under
the anointing when he made that statement" (The Tongue - A Creative Force,
pp. 8-9).
When this kind of fanciful 'cultic' Bible interpretation is used, the
Scriptures can be made to say anything you want them to say.
Now you are "Divine" you can "Name It And Claim It!"
Clear Scripture passages are altered to fit the Word-Faith system to
establish the believer as one who possesses the divine nature so that he can
realize his "legal authority." With this realization comes the knowledge,
power, and ability of God. Kenyon says you can "walk as Jesus walked,
without any consciousness of inferiority to God or Satan" (The Hidden Man,
p. 24). Once the position of being "the same order of being as God" has
been established, then it becomes necessary to demonstrate that this
"re-created spirit" has unlimited power to create his own reality through
positive confession. Capps in his publication, The Tongue - A Creative
Force, explains: "God's Word is spiritual law. It functions just as sure
as any natural law. Words governed by spiritual law become spiritual forces
working for you. Idle words work against you. ... The natural world is to
be controlled by man speaking God's words" (p. 8-9) "You have to believe
that those things that you say - everything that you say - will come to
pass" (p. 24). "Man was created in God's class. ... a spirit being, very
capable of operating on the same level of faith as God. ...This is not
theory. It is fact. It is spiritual law. It works every time it is
applied correctly. To imitate God, you must talk like Him and act like Him"
(p. 130-131). "The Word of God conceived in the heart, formed by the
tongue, and spoken out of the mouth is creative power. ...The spoken Word
will work for you as you continually confess it" (p. 148).
The Scriptures used to support this position are selectively chosen from
verses affirming that God will give believers what they ask (demand) from
Him (Mark 11:23-24, John 16:23-24) to the exclusion of the verses that put
these petitions in the perspective of God's sovereign will (Matthew 6:10; 1
John 5:14). In Word-Faith teaching, man is given the position of a god on
Earth. At the same time they denigrate the position of the Lord Jesus
Christ on earth and declare that, although Jesus walked with God and that
God was in Him, he never actually claimed to be God (Kenneth Copeland, "Take
Time to Pray," Believer's Voice of Victory; February 1987: 9). This
nonsense is amply refuted by the scriptures, for instance John 1:1; 5:18-23;
8:24,58; 10:1-39; and 20:28 all clearly testify to Jesus' claim to equality
with Almighty God.
In common with similar cultic heresies, such as that of the Mormons, man is
now raised to a position never given to him in the Bible: "Well, now, you
don't have a human, do you? No, you are one. You don't have a God in you.
You are one," Copeland declares (The Force of Love, cassette tape). "I am a
little God! Critics, be gone!" (Paul Crouch, Praise the Lord, Trinity
Broadcasting Network, July 7, 1986) "We are a class of Gods!" (Copeland,
quoted in Hanegraaff, Crisis, 116). "As a believer, you have the same
spiritual capacity that Jesus has. . Your spirit is just as big as God's
because you are born of Him." (Copeland, Realm, 16). They claim that once
man has been given that position then, with his positive confession, he can
create his own reality. The implications of these presumptive teachings are
horrifying. The sovereignty of the infinite God is replaced with the
sovereignty of finite man. To teach that man can "demand" from God and have
everything that he says pre-supposes that man knows what is best in every
situation. The only way that could be true is if man is all-knowing. Man
is not all-knowing and because of that cannot know what is best in every
situation. Only God is omniscient. That's why we have to rely on His
judgment as a loving Father to give us what is best even if it seems harsh
at the time. This is what it means to pray "Your [God's] will be done."
This is true faith!
Despite all the fantastic convolutions that Word-Faith teachers go through
to try to explain the nature of Paul's thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians
12:7), it is a clear-cut situation where Paul prays and God answers in the
negative! Even though it seemed harsh at the time, it was the act of a
loving Father and worked ultimately to Paul's benefit. It is clear from
Scripture that God will refuse some requests and this makes the whole idea
of faith as a 'force', operating unalterably in accordance with a formula,
unsustainable. Further, once we have affirmed that requests must be
evaluated in some way, then we have put it back in the hands of God to
evaluate all requests. No longer can faith be considered a tool to create
realities in accordance with our will, but a trust that God will answer our
requests in accordance with His will. (1 John 5:14).
Bring on the Rolls-Royces - give us the cash!
Financial prosperity to those in the Word Faith movement is more than just a
blessing. It is an absolute right. In Kenneth Copeland's words, "Jesus bore
the curse of the law on our behalf. He beat Satan and took away his power.
Consequently, there is no reason for you to live under the curse of the law,
no reason for you to live in poverty of any kind." (Copeland, Laws, 51).
The Bible names countless individuals who, although they were righteous
before God, were poor: Paul the apostle (Philippians 4:11-12) who, if you
believe Copeland et al, must have lacked faith because he wasted his time
making tents (Acts 18:3); his companions (1 Corinthians 4:9-13); the Old
Testament faithful (Hebrews 11:37). Even the Lord Jesus lived in poverty
(Matthew 8:20)! These facts, however, are vehemently denied by Word Faith
teachers, especially John Avanzini, who assures everyone that "Jesus was
handling big money." (Praise the Lord, Trinity Broadcasting Network,
videotape, September 15, 1988). In fact, he claims, "Jesus had a nice house,
a big house--big enough to have company stay the night with Him at the
house." (Believer's Voice of Victory, Trinity Broadcasting Network,
videotape, January 20, 1991). Frederick K. C. Price agrees: "The whole
point is I'm trying to get you to see--to get you out of this malaise of
thinking that Jesus and His disciples were poor and then relating that to
you. . The Bible says that He has left us an example that we should follow
His steps. That's the reason why I drive a Rolls Royce" (Ever Increasing
Faith, Trinity Broadcasting Network, videotape, December 9, 1990). Is the
average Word-Faith believer driving a Rolls? No - but is it because he
doesn't have enough faith? Or is it the high price he pays for the teaching
materials and demands for tithes and offerings that keep the leader in
luxury - and the duped followers in poverty? Scripture nowhere indicates
that Jesus was wealthy. Instead, it clearly portrays Him as being poor: "For
ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2
Corinthians 8:9). We are made rich in spiritual rewards on earth now and in
our certain future destiny in heaven. Paul's words regarding honest labour
and contentment with our present position (Ephesians 6:5-7; Colossians
3:22-24) is mocked by these false teachers. Spiritual wealth or life comes
to us sinners through the death of Christ. Christians are to be rich in
spiritual things (James 2:5), including love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians
5:22-23). Revelation 2:9 speaks of believers who, although poor by worldly
standards, are still "rich" because of the spiritual wealth they possess.
Temporal riches are of much less value than spiritual riches. According to
Paul, "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and
perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
Jesus himself said, "Lay up not for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal: for where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).
What happens to the victims - those who lose "Faith in Faith"?
In counselling those who have been caught up in the Word-Faith doctrines and
then have been disillusioned, one finds many who have difficulty breaking
free of these teachings. A consistent pattern of behaviour can be observed
in these people. First, as with all cultic teachings, no one has ever come
up with this teaching through Bible study alone. People generally find it
through the influence of Word-Faith churches and the literature, tapes and
seminars which originally promulgated from the USA. At this level, strong
indoctrination takes place. It is through the literature and seminars that
people become "positive confessors." At this point, no negatives are
allowed. God wants you healthy, wealthy, and wise. Sickness, poverty, and
want are signs of spiritual weakness. If something does not go right, lack
of faith is at fault. There are unfortunates, deceived by this heresy, who
are still awaiting the replacement of an artificial leg or eye "when they
have enough faith." Unfortunately the Word-Faith teachers never mention the
casualties of their deception which are often picked up by orthodox
Christian counsellors.
At this stage, Word-Faith adherents often gain an attitude of superiority.
Word-Faith adherents consider any criticism of their doctrine to be an
attack by those who are not "spiritually mature," and have not had this
"higher revelation." Then, some time later, after all the teaching,
confessing and testifying, reality begins to rear its ugly head. Common
human suffering teaches Word-Faith adherents that their system just does not
work! By embracing a faulty view of faith, thousands have exposed
themselves to the power of Satan and the results are seen in the depression
which results from inevitable failure to achieve the claimed results.
Breakdown of relationships, loss of faith and personal tragedies at work and
in the home result - with inevitable breakup of families through divorce and
despair. People have died or lost their children because they denied the
reality of sickness and were persuaded not to take medical advice but to
rely on this "faith in faith!" Once faced with this, they either admit hat
Word-Faith teachings are fallacious and throw themselves into the arms of a
loving, sovereign God, or they begin to consciously deny reality.
Word-Faith victims who seek counselling often display three characteristics:
confusion, guilt, and fear. The confusion is usually the result of inner
conflicts set up by contradictions between what is taught by Word-Faith
teachers and what is in the Bible.
But "Confessing It Means Possessing It"?
Word Faith celebrity Kenneth Copeland says, "What you are saying is exactly
what you are getting now. If you are living in poverty and lack and want,
change what you are saying. . The powerful force of the spiritual world that
creates the circumstances around us is controlled by the words of the
mouth." (Copeland, Laws, 98). Kenneth E. Hagin, who served for many years
as Copeland's mentor, echoes his protégé: "Your right confession will become
a reality, and then you will get whatever you need from God." (Kenneth E.
Hagin, Right and Wrong Thinking for Christians (Tulsa: Kenneth Hagin
Ministries, 1966), 30). Positively confessing something is the very first
step to getting what is wanted (i.e., healing, a luxury home, someone to
marry, etc.). The "force of faith" coupled with a carefully conceived
positive confession is really the only way to produce results because such
methods release God's ability to bring about the things desired: "God's Word
conceived in the heart, then formed with the tongue and spoken out of the
mouth becomes a spiritual force releasing the ability of God." (Capps,
Dynamic, 33). The stress placed on correct "speaking" often leads to some
rather interesting instructions on how to "make" God work: "What do you
need? Start creating it. Start speaking about it. Start speaking it into
being. Speak to your billfold. Say, "You big, thick billfold full of money."
Speak to your checkbook. Say, "You, checkbook, you. You've never been so
prosperous since I owned you. You're just jammed full of money." Say to your
body, "You're whole, body! Why, you just function so beautifully and so
well. Why, body, you never have any problems. You're a strong, healthy
body." Or speak to your leg, or speak to your foot, or speak to your neck,
or speak to your back. . Speak to your wife, speak to your husband, speak to
your circumstances; and speak faith to them to create in them and God will
create what you are speaking. (Marilyn Hickey, quoted in Hanegraaff,
Crisis, 63). This exhortation, as humorous as it sounds, masks a cruelty
that comes through whenever someone in the Word Faith movement faces trials.
Just as positive words have the power to create positive (good) results,
negative words have the power to create negative (bad) results, according to
the Word Faith followers. Consequently, those suffering have only themselves
to blame, say the Word Faith teachers. As Frederick K. C. Price says, "If
you keep talking death, that is what you are going to have. If you keep
talking sickness and disease, that is what you are going to have, because
you are going to create the reality of them with your own mouth. That is a
divine law." (Price, Realm, 29). Deceived Christians are being mocked by
Satan as they stumble around waiting for a missing limb or eye to be
replaced - if and when they have enough faith and stop confessing
negatively!
Faith in Doctrines of Demons (1 Timothy 4:1-5) leads to Fear and Death!
Guilt is generally brought about by the tension generated when one was
positively confessing but getting no results. According to the Word-Faith
position, no results equals lack of faith or open sin in one's life. This
can, and usually does, cause excessive introspection and a tremendous guilt
feelings. Sometimes the guilt is real and needs to be dealt with, but often
there is no reason for the feelings. Whatever the person was positively
confessing was not in God's plan and He is not going to bring it about.
Fear comes from two areas. First is the obsessive compulsion to be positive
in every word. Even using phrases such as "I'm just dying to do that" or
"that joke just tickled me to death," release satanic powers, say the
Word-Faith teachers (The Tongue - A Creative Force, p. 90-92). People
become afraid that they are going to slip up, utter a negative word, and
give a place to Satan. Secondly, fear is a corollary to the guilt mentioned
above. Fear and guilt usually work in a downward spiral. One feels guilty
because of supposed lack of faith, then afraid because the confession is not
"working." Then there is more guilt, then more fear, and so on down into
further despair. This cycle can be extremely spiritually and physically
debilitating. All of these spiritual and psychological difficulties can be
directly attributed to elevating man to the false position of being a god
and saying that he has powers far greater than he really does.
Unfortunately, Word Faith proponents explain suffering through a convenient
appeal to the sovereignty of man. There are no victims, nothing is out of
control, and everything can change because those afflicted are calling the
shots. As long as someone possesses enough knowledge about what God has
promised, says the right words, and has enough faith, all will be taken care
of--bills will get paid, family members will be healed, and money will fall
like manna from heaven. One's own words control life because words "are the
most powerful things in the universe today." (Capps, Creative Power, 25).
"HEALTH, SUCCESS, HAPPINESS and PROSPERITY are God's Will for YOU when you
believe His Word enough to ACT ON IT." (T. L. Osborne, quoted in
Hanegraaff, Crisis, 361). In the Word Faith movement, all suffering is
caused by man, rather than God. As Frederick K. C. Price says, "You are
suffering because you're stupid!" (Price, quoted in Crenshaw, Man as God,
156). The only alternative they suggest is blasphemous: "If God is running
everything, He does have things in a mess." (Hagin, The Interceding
Christian (Tulsa: Kenneth E. Hagin Ministries, 1978, 14). The stupidity to
which Price refers is expressed either through speaking negative confessions
or through not realizing that positive confessions will bring about good
things.
How should the church respond?
We have seen enough evidence to conclude that the Word-Faith message is a
dangerous soul-destroying heresy that simply does not work. It is a body of
presumptuous teachings that lacks the authority of the Word of God. It is a
system of thinking that has been generated by a group of men drawing from
each other's teachings with an amalgamation of Christian theology, mysticism
and Gnosticism bound together by one of the most fanciful methods of
Scripture interpretation ever devised. All of this is buttressed by a
mutual admiration society among the most popular of the Word-Faith teachers
that admonishes critics to "touch not the Lord's anointed," often under dire
threats of divine displeasure.
The Word-Faith movement has done more than its share of producing strife in
the body of Christ. Scores of well-meaning Christians are in bondage to
this unscriptural philosophy. The results of the Word-Faith teachings is to
leave many people full of confusion, guilt and fear - the very things that
the Word-Faith movement professes to eradicate.
The time is long due for Christians to take a serious look at the teachings
of the Word-Faith movement. Very little has been written or said about the
defective Christology of Word-Faith believers which is utterly blasphemous!
We criticize such groups as the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, the
Christadelphians, or the United Pentecostal Church because of their
unscriptural views of the Godhead. We expose the Mormon teachings declaring
that men can become gods (the first Satanic lie! - Genesis 3:5) or the
Witnesses heretical view that Jesus is "a god", and not Almighty God, and
was pre-existent as Michael the archangel. Can we do any less when the
Word-Faith groups have introduced equally heretical teachings into the Body
of Christ?
Carl
"dolf" <dolf...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:BNa4l.4031$cu....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> "It was not 'out-of-date metaphysics' to 'speak of human nature as 'man'
> or woman', he said. It came from the 'language of creation, despising
> which would mean self-destruction for humans'. Gender theories, he said,
> led to man's 'auto-emancipation' from creation and Creator."
Irrelevent, dolf. This has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Please seek
professional help.
Carl
<Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
> "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
>
> news:AoydndNsX7CrWszU...@giganews.com...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > messagenews:c2b82$49518335$4ad7a5a4$16...@FUSE.NET...
>
> >> "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
> >>news:91a9ad83-61d6-438c...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
> >> . There is a whole slew of preachers (the late
> >> Kenneth Hagin {considered the "father" of the modern word-faith
> >> movement}, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
> >> Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Peter
> >> Popoff, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo
> >> and of course, Paul and Jan Crouch) in that category who are ....
>
> >>>>>>>>---------->
>
> >> Positive proof you can not descern.
>
> > Positive proof I have shows what I have claimed to be true.
>
> You have shows????
All you have to offer is insults. My words were clear enough, but
apparently since you were confused, I will rephrased:
The positive proof I have shows conclusively what I have claimed to be
true. Now is that clearer for you?
I have presented only a handful of articles that support my claims.
There are many more that I can present and will if need be.
Carl
"A Foundation of Sand"
In an article published by Christianity Today Magazine (CT), Benny
Hinn, Senior Pastor of the Orlando Christian Center in Orlando,
Florida, made what appeared to be an attempt to clear his name from
what is commonly known as the "Word Faith Movement," which attracts
such charismatic leaders as Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin,
Frederick K.C. Price, and Paul Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting
Network (TBN), has been known to promote teachings such as the
born-again Jesus, the Spiritual death of Christ, and the god-class
of man, to name a few.
In the article, Mr. Hinn appears sincere enough. However, his
sincerity becomes questionable after listening to several taped
recordings (made prior to the CT article) of Mr. Hinn's sermons at
his Orlando based church.
For example, on tape #TV283, entitled "A New Spirit," which aired
on TBN on October 13, 1990, Mr. Hinn states:
"God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person, and He is
a triune being by Himself, separate from the Son and the Holy
Ghost."
"See, God the Father is a person, God the Son is a person, God
the Holy Ghost is a person, but each one of them is a triune
being by Himself. If I can shock you, and maybe I should,
there's nine of them."
"God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, and God the son, and
God the Holy Ghost -- man, I feel revelation knowledge already
coming on me here -- I want you to lift your hands, something
new is gonna happen here today, I felt it just as I walked
down here. Holy Spirit, take over in the name of Jesus (clap).
Say Amen."
"This is all in the word, God the Father is a person separate
from the Holy Ghost -- totally separate. When we say the Holy
Spirit, we do not mean the personal spirit-being of the Father.
He's a separate personality. Do you know that the Holy Spirit
has a soul and a body, separate from that of Jesus and the
Father?"
Yet, when asked about the "nine of them" reference to the Trinity
in the CT article, written by Randy Frame (dated Sept. 21, 1991),
Hinn states:
"That was a very dumb statement. I had read somewhere that
God the Father had his own personal spirit, soul, and body.
I told my church the very next week that the statement was
wrong."
Upon review of tape #TV284, no retraction was noted. Although Mr.
Hinn may have made this retraction publicly, it was not recorded,
and therefore, the obligation to his television viewers and other
audiences has not been fulfilled.
Mr. Hinn states in the CT article that he received this information
through reading (probably the Dakes Bible). In his earlier sermon,
he states the information was obtained through "revelation
knowledge" from the Holy Spirit, as well as through the "word"
itself.
On October 3, 1991, only twelve days after the CT interview, Mr.
Hinn appeared on TBN in an interview with Paul and Jan Crouch, and
made the following statements:
Paul: "You didn't get in on our little talk with Ed Plowman
here, but we got into, you know, the secular as well as
the Christian media. And I know the media has been
beating up on you pretty bad lately too because of
that wonderful book you wrote, Good Morning Holy Spirit."
Benny: "Which is helping so many people."
Jan: "And, it's in every bookstore that I go into."
Benny: "It really is -- even secular bookstores now."
Paul: "And you told me something Benny, and we're not gonna
labor long on this dear friends, we're going to get into
healing, okay? So please don't give me no ugly phone
calls telling me I need to change the order of the
service."
Jan: "I'm gonna write one right now. Please change the order
of the service (laughs)."
Paul: "Anyhow, you told me that some of the heresy hunters --
I love to call them heresy hunters -- are coming down on
you because you, did you say in your book that the Holy
Spirit perhaps has a form, or is, or has, like, a body,
or has a, uh, what did you actually say?"
Benny: "WELL, I SAID HE DOES HAVE A SPIRIT-BODY. I don't
believe that the Holy Spirit is shapeless. I mean, God
said, 'Let us make man in our image,' so he must have an
image. And it's the 'our' and He said 'our image,' which
means Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
Paul: "Yes."
One could argue that Mr. Hinn is referring to the Holy Spirit
exclusively. However, by stating "our image," he is referring to
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, encompassing all persons of the
Godhead.
Additionally, Mr. Hinn agreed with Paul's exegesis of Genesis 18,
stating that the three angels were, in fact, the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, insinuating the separation of beings.
The CT interview states that last year Hinn said publicly that
three theologians had read and approved Good Morning, Holy Spirit.
However, Mr. Hinn told CT that he had based this statement on
information given to him by Thomas Nelson and that he did not know
who the theologians were.
Yet, on tape #TV283, Mr. Hinn states:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this thing is in my book (Good
Morning, Holy Spirit), and was tested by three theologians,
cause they fought me on that point and they said, 'Where you
get all this stuff?' I said, 'From the Bible.'" (parenthesis
added)
How could Mr. Hinn have "fought" with these theologians if he "did
not know who the theologians were?"
It is apparent that Mr. Hinn is not being completely honest. The
fact that he has admitted his errors is admirable, but means
nothing if his words cannot be trusted.
In conclusion, it must be stated that this tract is not intended
to deface Mr. Hinn, as we are all aware of how easily it is to be
led astray when involved with this type of ministry. The purpose
of this tract is to call accountability to Mr. Hinn's words and
bring recognition to the contradictions of his past so they will
not be repeated in his future. Benny Hinn has a responsibility to
God and the Church to be accurate and consistent in his teachings
and words.
Carl
By Ken Ham
If I told you that Adam could fly like a bird and swim like a fish, how
would you react? I am sure most (hopefully all) of you would think this
ridiculous and not take me seriously. However, if I insisted that the
Bible taught this, what would you say?
I hope you would immediately be like the Bereans spoken of in Acts 17:11,
"... that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
Because the Word of God is the only absolute we have, all teaching must be
checked against this absolute standard. I want to emphasize this, because
there are many people out in the community teaching all sorts of things
about creation and the Flood and, as a result, there is a lot of
confusion.
Almost daily, we receive phone calls and mail asking us to respond to
statements made by someone who seems to be an authority, but what they are
saying totally disagrees with what ICR speakers and scientists are saying.
What is the best way to handle this confusion? All of us here at ICR
encourage everyone to test everything we say against the standard of God's
Word. We try, to the best of our ability, to be true to the Scriptures,
and we are not afraid of having what we say tested, as the Bereans tested
what they were taught. In fact, we want you to do this.
Let me give you two examples of teaching that we were challenged about
recently:
Benny Hinn, a pastor from Florida who speaks to multi-thousands at rallies
across the USA and is regularly featured on Christian television, recently
made some astonishing statements on a Trinity Broadcasting Network
television program. This man influences the minds of thousands upon
thousands across this nation. This is what he said:
"Adam was a super being when God created him. I don't know whether
people even know this, but he was the first superman that really ever
lived.
"First of all, the Scriptures declare clearly the he had dominion over
the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, which means he used to
fly....
"Well, of course, how can you have dominion over the birds and not be
able to do what they do...? I'll prove it to you.
"The word 'dominion' in the Hebrew clearly declares that if you have
dominion over a subject, that you do everything that subject does.
"In other words, that subject, if it does something you cannot do, you
do not have dominion over it. I;ll prove it further. Adam not only flew,
he flew to space.... with one thought he'd be on the moon.
"For the Bible declares he had power over the sun, moon, and the
stars.... Adam had dominion over the universe... he had dominion over
the the fish, he could swim and not run out of breath and so did his
wife... they were both super beings.
I would not have believed he had said this except that someone sent me a
recording of the entire program! People have asked us about this, so I
immediately went to our ICR librarian, who has a Master's degree in
theology from Grace Seminary. I asked him to research the meaning of the
word 'dominion' for me. All my own research in searching respected
dictionaries had not come up with the meaning Benny Hinn gave to the word.
This is what our librarian found: The phrase 'have dominion' occurs 24
times in the Old Testament in the form of a verb, and the meaning of the
word is simply 'to rule'. The writers of Scripture used it to refer to the
rule of a king, or a master. Each place it is used, it speaks of the
position of the individual over others; it never suggests that one is
capable of all of the activities of those ruled.
Sadly, many people will not check the Scriptures, but just believe what
Benny Hinn stated.
Carl
Benny Hinn's Misuse of Scripture to Support False Doctrine
by W.E. Nunnally
In the previous edition of "The Quarterly Journal," numerous
examples of Benny Hinn's interpretations were discussed, which
pointed to a logical, systematic attempt to establish himself as
an authoritative biblical commentator. The primary purpose of
this study below is to investigate the effect Hinn's hermeneutics
(methods of interpretation) have on doctrine and practice.
To a select few who have questioned the unorthodox teachings of
Benny Hinn, the faith healer has claimed lack of formal Bible
training as a primary reason for his unbiblical declarations.
"You know, in a way, I really envy those who have had Bible
training. ... I was really hoping I could go to Bible school or
something. But it never really happened that way."[1]
"But I knew so little about biblical teaching at that time."[2]
Yet to the thousands of patrons of Hinn's books and telecasts,
a quite different scenario is painted. In his 1995 publication,
"Welcome, Holy Spirit," he claims that:
"After over a decade of Bible instruction [combined with] a
lifetime of living in the Holy Land ... you could say I had
mastered the Bible. ... I have spent thousands of hours studying
the Bible and reflecting on practically every word."[3]
In the last issue, an entire section was devoted to examples of
Hinn's appeal to exceptional "insiders knowledge" of the biblical
world.
Hinn has even enlisted testimony from some of his "partners in
ministry" to further boost his credentials as an authoritative
interpretator of Scripture. In a recent advertisement for Hinn's
ministry, actress Donna Douglas said:
"The insight that Benny has into the Scriptures is absolutely
amazing to me."[4]
The hermeneutical or interpretive framework of Hinn is not
simply a matter of academic curiosity. Historically, those who
have departed from the commonly accepted and time-tested methods
of legitimate Bible interpretation have erred sooner or later in
matters of faith and practice. Hinn is no exception.
Hinn's past unorthodox theology is well documented. As
sensational as his aberrations were, and as much criticism as
they attracted, the reader should be aware that despite his
rhetoric to the contrary, many of his positions have remained
unchanged. A prime reason for this is that his basic
hermeneutical methodology (interpretive approach) has remained
the same. Because it has not changed, his core beliefs about the
nature of the Bible, its message, and the character of God remain
unaltered.
ADDITIONS AND CHANGES TO THE BIBLICAL TEXT
Hinn is a man of great conviction. He believes so strongly in
the correctness of his theological presuppositions that he has
gone so far as to actually change or add to biblical revelation
to support them. For example, in the past, he has said with
respect to Job's declaration, "The Lord giveth and the Lord
taketh away" (Job 1:21):
"I have news for you. That is not Bible. That is not Bible.
The Lord giveth and never taketh away!"[5]
Hinn's edict caused him embarrassment. In 1993, he apologized
for his criticism of Job's pronouncement and said,
"Now let me tell you something else I said once that I so
regret I said. Poor Job, I hope he's still my friend in
heaven. ... I made a statement one day, I said uh, something
about Job, 'The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," that he
was in unbelief."[6]
To support his belief in the lordship/dominion of man over the
earth, Hinn added this statement to the text of Genesis, "[God
told Abram He] could not touch this earth 'til a man gave it back
to Him."[7]
In 1991, Hinn wrote that on the basis of Ephesians 5:23, all
Christians should pray, "You are the savior of my [physical]
body." In support of this statement, he reread the biblical
text, "He Himself being the savior of my body." Hinn's
rendering is in opposition to the inspired words of Paul, "the
body," which in context, refers to the Body of Christ, the
Church. Based on his change/addition to the text, Hinn
concludes, "If Jesus Christ is the savior of the body, then your
body ought to be made whole."[8] This is a perfect example of the
equation: additions/changes to the text result in faulty exegesis
(interpretation), which in turn results in erroneous faith and
practice.
In the past, Hinn's additions to biblical revelation have not
been limited to a word or two. In a fund raising homily for the
Trinity Broadcasting Network, Hinn introduced an entirely new
concept to the Church, which the Holy Spirit supposedly confirmed
by direct revelation, and further supported by reference to the
Scriptures:
"I want to break the Devil of Poverty tonight. You say, 'Well,
Benny Hinn, I don't believe there's a demon of poverty.' Oh, yes
there is. Do you realize that...in my bedroom I had a vision.
Now...if you have troubles with this, it's your problem. But I
woke up one night and saw a man in my bedroom and you say, 'Wow!'
Look, I've seen more visions than you realize and those things,
when you deal with the supernatural, supernatural visions are
just common things, all right? I saw in my bedroom a man
standing mocking me. He was thin and his clothes were torn off.
And the Spirit of God said, 'That's the Devil of Poverty.' And I
sat up in bed--I wasn't asleep; I wasn't dreaming--that thing was
there. And I said, 'I rebuke you in Jesus' name.' And the Holy
Ghost stopped me and said, 'You're rebuking it wrong. ... You
don't rebuke with saying, "I rebuke." You rebuke with, "Thus
saith the Lord!" Use the Word against that devil.' ... And you
know what I did? I said, 'The Bible says,' just like Jesus said,
'It is written.' And when I did that, that thing vanished. And
from that day 'til this, I'm telling you, I'm telling the truth,
I don't have debts." [The clear implication is that this should
be done by all Christians, and they will become free of debt,
too.][9]
Just after his extrabiblical revelation about the existence of
this special spirit-being, its purpose, his explanation from the
Scriptures on how to deal with that spirit, and what result it
will have in the life of the believer, Hinn continues on the
themes of prosperity and healing:
"Make a pledge, make a gift. Because that's the only way
you're going to get your miracle. Miracles don't happen when you
lay around and say, 'Let me feel something.' Miracles happen
when you do something, and then you [sic] gonna get it. Then you
[sic] gonna feel it. The man at the Gate Beautiful never got
healed...while he was sitting. No. He was healed as he stood.
The Bible says Peter picked him up and while he stood the power
of God hit him. As you give, the miracle will begin. All right,
so get to the phones and get busy."[10]
The above passage to which Hinn refers appears in Acts 3:1-11.
In verses 6 and 7, the origin of both the faith and the action is
Peter, not the man about to be healed. An unbiased reading of
verses 7 and 8 contradict Hinn's assertion that God responded to
the man standing up, and that he was healed "as he stood." This
rereading constitutes yet another addition to the inspired
biblical record. Verse 8 specifically states, "and leaping up he
stood..." Therefore, in verse 7, it would appear that Luke is
trying to say that the miracle took place before the man stood,
at the approximate time that Peter began to lift him up.
Thus, rather than an objective reading of the text in question,
Hinn's interpretation appears to be driven by his theological
presupposition that people must first exhibit faith and then put
that faith into physical action before they can become candidates
for healing. This would appear to be in closer conformity to the
Roman Catholic emphasis on works rather than to biblical
revelation.
Richard Mayhue has noted these presuppositions on the part of
Hinn.[11] After careful analysis of the entire Bible, however,
Mayhue demonstrates conclusively that effort, and even faith, on
the part of the afflicted is not a prerequisite for healing
according to the biblical pattern.[12] From examples such as the
Creation, the Flood, the raising of Lazarus and Jairus' daughter,
and other biblical miracles, it is clear that God does not
require human action or faith in order to display His power.
Elsewhere in the same homily, Hinn observes:
"The same way you activate your faith for a physical miracle,
you activate your faith for a financial miracle. When you want a
miracle physically, you have to move your arms, your legs,
whatever. Jesus saw one day a man with a withered hand. He
said, 'Stretch it!' OK. How do we get a financial miracle? By
giving! That activates our faith! That gets our faith
loose! ... Every time I put my tithe in...or an offering, I say,
'Thank you for my harvest.' Audibly, I say it. Audibly. 'Thank
you for my harvest.'"[13]
In Hinn's interpretation of the healing of the man with the
withered hand, Jesus commands, "Stretch it!" His understanding
of this command is clearly the same as that delineated in his
previous comment: you must begin to move the ailing part before
God will heal it. In other words, the same presuppositional
error he exhibited above is evident in this example as well. In
place of the clear intent of the command (to expose the ailing
limb for all to see), Hinn has added a theological significance
to the act which exists in his belief system, but which is not
readily evident in the text itself.
Having committed one error of interpretation, Hinn compounds
the problem by applying the principle of "action to energize
faith" to the action of giving. Because the concept is
unbiblical with respect to the physical realm, it only follows
that the same concept is unbiblical when applied to the financial
realm.
Hinn has again illustrated his belief that faith is an external
creative force which has to be "activated" and "loosened." In
addition, his emphasis upon the importance of the spoken word in
this process is at the very heart of the Confession/Faith Message
and not that of the Bible.
The Bible has strong words to say about the negative results
which follow when its revelation is supplemented by man. Most
interpreters living on this side of the Reformation are deterred
by the warnings found in scriptures such as Deuteronomy 4:2;
12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18, etc. It is quite telling
that Hinn is not.
MORE RECENT EXPRESSIONS OF HETERODOX THEOLOGY
The Nature of Christ. In recent days, Hinn has become less
bold than to add to the Bible outright. By employing his own
brand of pre-Reformation hermeneutics, however, he still manages
to support all of his favorite doctrines. For example, Hinn
continues to teach that Jesus actually became sin, and took on
the nature of Satan himself.
"Now the Lord said to Nicodemus, 'As Moses lifted up the
serpent, so shall the Son of Man be lifted up.' You know, that
verse...years ago used to bother me. ... I thought, 'Why the Lord
[sic] comparing Himself to a snake?'... Well--I--someone put in
my hand a book by Martin Luther, the great reformer. And I'm
riding on a bus...reading this book called "Justification by
Faith" by Martin Luther. ... In this book he says, 'There is a
verse in the Bible that used to bother me.' ... I was so amazed,
I spoke out and said, 'You, too?' [Laughter.] ... God used his
book to give me an incredible truth. Martin Luther says in his
book, he says, 'The Holy Spirit showed me what Jesus meant in
this.' And he goes into describing the fact that serpents are
symbols of sin in the Bible, that the lowest animal on earth is
the snake, and the lowest thing on earth is sin, and that Jesus
became the lowest thing on earth when he took our sin and gave
the scriptures how, 'He who went to the lowest became the highest
and fills all in all,' and so on. Powerful! And somehow I began
to understand, dear God! Jesus was made sin for me!"[14]
Analogies used by authors of Scripture are usually of such a
nature that when every aspect of the analogy is taken to its
logical conclusion, the analogy breaks down. By use of the word
"As," Jesus has set up an analogy. His intent is to draw
Nicodemus' attention to the fact that He will be "lifted up" for
the purpose of healing in a manner similar to an event which
happened under the ministry of Moses. When the analogy is taken
to the extreme, Jesus must then be analogous to the serpent, and
since serpents are symbolic of sin, Jesus must become sin or
sinful. A similar example of the danger of pressing analogies
too far appears in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8).
If the analogy is pressed to the extreme, the unjust judge must
be interpreted as an allusion to God, which is contradictory to
His character as revealed elsewhere in Scripture (e.g.
Deuteronomy 32:4, etc.).
Hinn also notes that his source for this teaching is the book,
"Justification by Faith," by the great reformer Martin Luther. He
states that Martin Luther wrote that he was troubled by the same
passage which concerned him. Further he asserts that Luther was
led to the correct interpretation by divine revelation from the
Holy Spirit.
To set the record straight, it must be observed that Martin
Luther never wrote a book entitled "Justification by Faith." Nor
did the great reformer ever express confusion about the meaning
of this text. Nor did Luther claim divine revelation for his
interpretation of John 3:14. In no place in his works does
Luther ever suggest that Jesus took on a sin nature or the nature
of Satan. What Luther does say is that as He hung on the cross,
He was "regarded" as evil, despised, and "an archvillain" by
ungodly, worldly men in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12, etc. He
states uncategorically that Christians:
"Must even then learn to ignore this figure and outward
appearance of Christ. ... I will still regard this vile worm as
the Savior...not as a worm, serpent...devil. ... The world
regards Him as an accursed, damned man. ... In reality, of
course, He is not a serpent; He is the lamb of God. ... Christ
is not a serpent, a vile worm...a dragon, or a demoniac, as His
slanderers claim. ... Let them perish!"[15]
Quite the opposite of supporting Hinn's interpretation, Luther
places a curse upon those who hold such views!
If the origin of this interpretation is not Martin Luther,
where could Hinn have obtained such an unbiblical view of the
nature of Christ? This doctrine originated with the mystic E.W.
Kenyon, and was probably passed on to Hinn in the teachings of
faith teachers such as Kenneth Hagin, Frederick Price, and
Kenneth Copeland.[16] That Hinn continues to draw from his roots
in the Faith movement in such a recent broadcast should be an
indication to all interested that his past repudiations have been
in word only.
As in the case with Hinn's interpretation of the "prophecy" of
Kathryn Kuhlman,[17] Hinn exhibits the same problem interpreting
the communication of Martin Luther as well. In other words,
whether the communication under consideration is from 1400 BC, AD
30, AD 1500, or AD 1970, the theological agenda of Hinn is of
paramount importance, not the intentions of the original
communicator. Individuals who exhibit a pattern of misconstruing
messages such as this should be approached with great caution.
All Christians Should Walk in Divine Health. It is well-known
that in the past, Hinn taught that no Christian should ever be
sick and should walk in divine health. One of the ways he
grounds this in Scripture is by drawing an analogy between the
Church and Israel at the time of the Exodus. In essence, because
all Israel was healed in the Exodus, all members of the Church
should also be healed. He taught this in his 1993 book, "Lord, I
Need a Miracle."[18]
He reiterated this teaching, however, as recently as December
1994:
"When Israel came out of Egypt, God performed an incredible
miracle. And that is when He healed all of Israel. I mean the
Bible says, 'Not one feeble among them were traveled [sic] when
they came out.' But what happened? ... the amazing thing is, in
Exodus 12 we find they ate the lamb and the blood was sprinkled
on the doorposts. And the cross was presented to Israel. Even
though they did not know it, it was because of eating the lamb,
it was the first Passover, is what brought that great miracle.
... The Israelites were all healed when they ate the Passover.
When people are saved they ought to be healed at the same time.
... The Bible says, 'When He brought them out. ...' The reason
so many are not healed, they're not out yet. In Psalm 105:37
it says, 'When God brought Israel out of Egypt. ...' Then it
says, 'there was not one feeble among all the tribes.' [Paul
Crouch interjects, 'And Egypt is a type of sin.'] Egypt is a
type of the world. The reason they are not healed is that they
aren't brought out yet. ... God healed all under the law. Why
not all under grace? It is God's will to heal. ... When, when,
when Jesus said to the man, 'I will. Be thou clean,' that was
clearly a promise. He said, 'I will.' Well, if He'll heal one,
He'll heal two. If He heals two, He'll heal three. If He heals
three, He'll heal four. Otherwise He's a respecter of persons.
... when we take that bread [of the Lord's Supper], we should
get our healing at that [moment]. ... When they [Israel] ate the
Passover, they were all healed. That's when the miracle took
place in Egypt."[19]
What should be observed here is that this passage evidences
Hinn's continued belief in the Faith Message, and that he goes so
far as to suggest that those who are not healed when partaking of
communion are still living in sin or are not saved. In some
respects this would appear to be an even more radical position
than he espoused before he "renounced" the Faith message.
With respect to his statement, "God healed all under the law.
Why not all under grace?" Hinn has begun with one false premise
and preceded to build another on top of it. It is a matter of
the biblical record that not all saints were healed or walked in
continual divine health, in either the Old Testament or the New
Testament. The same situation may safely be said to exist today.
When Jesus said, "I will," or better, "I want to," it was in
response to the sick man's statement, "Lord, if You want to, You
can make me clean." In Jesus' response to the man, He said, "I
want to. Be thou (singular) clean" (Matthew 8:3). In context,
Jesus' statement was to this one man. It was not a blanket
"promise" which extends to all people, in all places, in all
ages. If Benny Hinn were to apply this same methodology to all
the words of Jesus, he would have to sell all that he has and
give it to the poor (Matthew 19:16-21).
When God expresses His sovereignty, it is never at the expense
of other aspects of His character (e.g., His justice). To
suggest such, and thus remove the sovereignty of God, is to
create a theological impossibility.
Equally important, the Lord's Supper is not a magical ritual.
The will of God cannot be manipulated or dictated by our
consumption of the elements of bread and wine. This assumption
by Hinn is again dependent upon his faulty interpretation of
Exodus 12 and Psalm 105:37, and therefore must be judged
illegitimate.
Recently, Hinn further advocated the same teaching to Trinity
Broadcasting Network viewers in reference to the fulfillment of a
statement (which Hinn calls a "prophecy") by the late Kathryn
Kuhlman, to the effect that there will be end-time services in
which everyone will be healed. Hinn states that this prophecy
will be fulfilled in his services:
"Now, we are going to see that happen. We will see that
happen, Paul [Crouch]. Before Jesus comes back, I am going to
see that happen. ... I have begun to pray...that God will heal
all. And why not? ... Exodus 12...when they all partook of the
Passover...a people who came out of slavery should be healed in
one glorious service before leaving Egypt. God healed them
all. ... Psalm 105:37."[20]
Transubstantiation. Hinn has also aligned himself with a
medieval superstition by promoting the Roman Catholic doctrine of
transubstantiation. This doctrine teaches that the elements of
communion are changed into the literal body and blood of Christ.
He informed a recent Trinity Broadcasting Network audience:
"God really gave me a revelation...that when we partake
communion, it's not just communion, Paul [Crouch]. We are
partaking Christ Jesus himself. He did not say, 'Take, eat, this
represents my body.' He said, 'This is my body, broken for
you...' When you partake communion, you're partaking Christ, and
that heals your body. When you partake Jesus how can you stay
weak? ... sick? ... And so tonight, as we partake communion,
we're not partaking bread. We're partaking what He said we would
be partaking of: 'This is my body.'"[21]
Confession, Prosperity and Commanding God. Part and parcel
with Hinn's teaching on the divine health of all Christians is
his continued emphasis on the importance of positive confession
as a means to obtain and keep one's healing.
In 1990, with reference to Proverbs 13:22, Hinn encouraged his
studio and viewing audience to confess:
"Say after me, all of you, everybody say it, 'The wealth of the
wicked is mine.' [The audience repeats.] One more time. [The
audience repeats.] One more time. [The audience repeats.]"[22]
Likewise, with regard to Numbers 14:28, Hinn offered this
interpretation:
"'If you'll say it, I'll do it,' that's what God says. ... So
when you confess it you are activating the supernatural force of
God. Do you know that confession activates heaven? Confession
releases the spirit world. I'm telling you. Do you know, Paul
[Crouch], something? A witch told me ... 'As a witch I used to
kill birds with words. ... There are three words they [witches]
continually speak on your life and every Christian: poverty,
death and sickness.' ... And then suddenly a scripture popped
into my mind. ... 'No weapon formed against thee shall prosper,'
--Isaiah 54-- 'and every tongue that shall arise against thee in
judgment thou shalt condemn.' ... I said to the Lord, 'Lord, how
do I condemn?' He [God] said, 'With words.'... And do you know
what the Holy Spirit said to me? He said, 'If witches can speak
death, you can speak life. If they can speak poverty, you can
speak prosperity.' And the Spirit of the Lord said to me, He
said, 'Words activate heaven.' Jesus said, 'The words that I
speak, they are spirit; they are life.' When you speak, you
speak spirit, you speak life. ... We confess tonight that we are
blessed. We are prosperous."[23]
The context of Numbers 14:28 is negative. God is actually
judging the people for their ungodly murmuring. Hinn announces,
"When you confess it you are activating the supernatural forces
of God ... confession activates heaven ... releases the spirit
world." Faith as an external force and human ability to
manipulate the supernatural by words are beliefs common in pagan
magic, but are entirely foreign to biblical faith.
The historical position of the orthodox Christian church has no
place in its doctrine of revelation for theology to be informed
by the faith or practice of those involved in the occult.
Revelations, experiences, and practices of witches are of no
consequence to the faith and life of a New Testament believer.
To think that the Holy Spirit would agree with revelation
derived from the occult, and then use this revelation as a basis
for further extrabiblical revelation, which in turn informs faith
and practice, is blasphemous beyond words. This is another
teaching which Hinn has never disavowed.
As much as Hinn would like to believe that we are of like
nature with Christ, we are not Jesus. Our words are not "spirit
and life." We are not "little gods" and do not speak with the
same life-giving, creative authority with which He spoke. No
amount of wishful thinking or exegetical gymnastics will place
man above the status in which God placed him within the created
order. He reserves this privilege for Himself alone. To usurp
this privilege makes us not one in nature with God, but rather
one in nature with the generation of the tower of Babel (Genesis
11:1-9) and Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-15).
In more recent, post-reformation, broadcasts, Hinn again
affirmed his continued belief in the doctrine of Confession:
"It is God's will to heal...but...we as believers must claim
the promises. ... You take the Word and say, 'You said in Your
Word,' and something happens. ... Healing is ours. It's a part
of our inheritance. There is a place for violent faith. ... If
we get that kind of faith, we're gonna see miracles. Sometimes
it's not enough to say, 'Lord, heal me.' ... Sometimes it takes,
it takes aggressive faith. The Bible says, 'The prayer of faith
will save the sick.' Not just prayer, the prayer of faith. That
prayer must be full of faith and power to bring salvation from
that sickness. And sickness, Paul [Crouch], is limited death.
Think about it. When a body is sick, that sick part is dying.
That's limited death. God wants to give us life. 'I have come
that they might have life and have it more abundantly.'"[24]
"...violent faith. I think the time has come that we take what
is ours aggressively. You see, God will not give you anything
until you go after it hard. ... People are tired of hearing,
'Maybe.' They want to hear the positive. God will do it no
matter what the devil does, no matter what the world says, no
matter what the skeptic says. God will do it!"[25]
"I believe it is not only God's will for you to be healed, but
it is His will that you live in health until He calls you home
(see Job 5:26). ... I am not one who prays, 'If it be your will,
Lord, grant healing to this person.' It is His will! You will
never hear me pray such faith-destroying words as 'If it be Your
will, Lord, heal them.' God intends for you to rise and be
healed. Today. Tomorrow. Always!"[26]
These fresh proclamations are no different in substance than
those made in his 1991 book, "'Rise & Be Healed!'":
"Ladies and gentlemen, saint of God, healing is the will of God
for you. Never, ever, ever go to the Lord and say, 'If it be thy
will...' Don't allow such faith-destroying words to be spoken
from your mouth. When you pray 'if it be your will, Lord,' faith
will be destroyed. Doubt will billow up and flood your being.
Be on guard against words like this which will rob you of your
faith and drag you down in despair. It is His will. Jesus said,
'I will.'"[27]
In 1993, Hinn approvingly recounts an incident in the life of
heretic William Branham in which Branham began to demand his
healing on the basis of Isaiah 45:11:
"Then he [Branham] said, 'Lord, if the Word is health to all my
flesh, I will stand on Your Word that says "concerning the work
of My hands, you command Me"' (Isa. 45:11). The Lord did not say
to 'ask,' He said 'command Me.' And that is what Branham did.
God promised it and the evangelist commanded Him to do it."[28]
One of Hinn's recent discourses included the statement:
"You can tell God what you want. You just express your faith
in what you want. ... You can tell God what you want."[29]
Hinn lays down four "simple" laws which, if obeyed, "...you
will live in health. And when sickness comes, you'll command it
to leave your body." On the basis of Exodus 15:26, the first of
Hinn's conditions is Heed:
"You must 'hearken' to the voice of the Lord. In Hebrew, the
word means both to 'hear and declare.' You must hear it, speak
it, and confess it. The importance of this first step cannot be
overlooked."[30]
On the basis of Jeremiah 17:5, Hinn continues to believe and
teach that healings, once obtained, may be lost as a result of
lack of faith.
"The Lord not only wants you to receive your healing, He wants
it to continue. Here are seven specific ways you can keep your
healing. 1. Trust in God. 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man
/ And makes flesh his strength, / Whose heart departs from the
LORD' (Jer. 17:5)."[31]
The thread of commonality which binds all these pronouncements
together is Hinn's undaunted commitment to the doctrine of
Positive Confession. It makes no difference to what length he
has to go to make the Scriptures say what he needs them to say.
It matters not that he has to cite a known heretic to establish
authority for his pronouncements.[32] No leap of logic is too
great for this mentality. Positive confession accentuates an
unbiblical emphasis on works and results in unbiblical doctrines
such as the possibility of "losing a healing."[33] Even the
concept of the "Full Counsel of God" is run over roughshod
(Matthew 26:39; James 4:3, 4, 15; I John 5:14, etc.) in every
attempt to establish the theological agenda of the interpreter.
After numerous renunciations of the Prosperity Gospel, little
seems to have changed with Hinn. In April 1994, he proclaimed:
"And now here's something wonderful. The Bible says in Genesis
26 that in the same year Isaac sowed, he reaped. The same year.
Well, God Almighty wants to give you that miracle the same year
you sow for it. Let's believe Him tonight for it. And really,
it's according to your faith." [34]
A New Twist on an Old Issue. In recent days, Hinn has appeared
to tone down his flamboyant style and his doctrinal rhetoric,
possibly because of his status as a newly ordained minister of
the Assemblies of God. Perhaps this allegiance would finally put
him on the road to reform. Then in February 1995 he announced:
"My friend, if you've had, hear this, if you've had a
face-to-face encounter -- my, I feel the anointing under this! --
if you've had a face-to-face encounter with Christ Jesus, you
cannot turn away from Him! You can't turn your back and live the
old life again! It's impossible! Peter said, 'They have gone
from us, for they were never a part of us. The dog has gone back
to its vomit.' If you go back to the old life, I don't think
you've ever met the Redeemer."[35]
Many readers will not have a problem with Hinn's espousal of
the doctrine of "Eternal Security." Numerous denominations hold
this as a cardinal tenet of their belief system. These same
religious bodies would, however, have a problem with the fact
that Hinn has attributed I John 2:19 to Peter (especially since
he claimed to be under the "anointing"). They, too, may have
concerns about Hinn's citation of II Peter 2:22, since this has
historically been used against the doctrine of Eternal Security
(cf. the larger context of II Peter 2:20-22). More appropriate
to support a belief in Eternal Security would have been a passage
such as John 10:28-29 or 11:26.
What is even more significant is that Hinn recently signed a
doctrinal statement in order to qualify for ordination with the
Assemblies of God which singles out the doctrine of Eternal
Security as a doctrine which cannot be believed by its ordained
ministers. Indeed, all Pentecostals and most Charismatics (along
with Methodists, Freewill Baptists, etc.) have rejected belief in
Eternal Security on the very basis of scriptures like II Peter
2:22!
CONCLUSIONS
From a brief survey of the variety of the dates of the
citations in this investigation, it should be abundantly clear to
those who wish to know the truth that Hinn has not changed any of
his teachings despite his many promises. If the premise of this
study is correct, that the interpretive framework of any
individual lies at the heart of his ministry, Hinn's inability to
change his theological positions makes perfect sense. His
theology cannot change until his interpretive practices come into
line with those of historical orthodoxy.
Hinn has the cart in front of the horse. His agenda drives his
hermeneutics. His need to produce novel interpretations, to
establish his own credibility/authority, and to support his
heterodox theological agenda is the motivating force which keeps
his hermeneutics in a deplorable state. He is therefore trapped.
His theology cannot change until he changes his interpretive
approach, and he cannot change his interpretive approach because
his theology is dependent upon it.
Hinn's popularity is a visible reminder of the poor spiritual
health in which the Church finds itself today. That one man can
create a "cult of personality," an elite priesthood which can
pronounce authoritative interpretations binding upon thousands of
believers is almost inconceivable. Such popularity is a sad
indication of the willingness of the majority to follow any
authoritative voice which feeds the carnal craving of so many in
the body of Christ for the "new."
His past explanations of heterodoxy as resulting from lack of
formal training would appear to be a step in the right direction.
His recent actions, however, such as his successful circumvention
of the educational requirements for ordination in the Assemblies
of God, indicate that his priorities lie elsewhere.
Nevertheless, his observation is still legitimate, and should
encourage clergy and laymen alike to develop a strong foundation
in both theology and hermeneutics.
Finally, we must reject both the methods and the results of
ministers whose track records indicate a cavalier regard for the
Word of God (see II Corinthians 2:17; 4:2; II Timothy 2:15; II
Peter 1:20, etc.). In order for the Church to enjoy a sustained,
truly biblical revival, we must first return to the concepts of
Sola Scriptura, "Scripture interprets Scripture," "the Priesthood
of the Believer," and evidentially based interpretation. If we
do, the blessings of God are sure to follow. As we exalt His
Word above personalities, agendas, human emotion, personal
experience, and opinion, God will also exalt us. If we do not
heed the call to another Protestant Reformation, we are doomed to
return to the spiritual darkness of the Middle Ages.
Editor's Note: Dr. W.E. Nunnally is Associate Professor of Early
Judaism and Christian Origins at Central Bible College and
Adjunct Professor of Hebrew Language at the Assemblies of God
Theological Seminary in Springfield, Mo.
Endnotes:
1. Audio tape made of a three-way telephone interview (9/3/91)
involving Randy Frame, J. Rodman Williams, and Benny Hinn in
preparation for Frame's article which appeared in the 10/28/91
issue of "Christianity Today," "Best-selling Author Admits
Mistakes, Vows Changes," pp. 44-45.
2. Benny Hinn, Signs & Wonders Conference, General Session, March
9, 1995. Video tape #95SWC52.
3. Benny Hinn, "Welcome, Holy Spirit." Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1995, pp. 57, 199.
4. Video vignette from the 1994 "Covenant Partners In Ministry
Conference on the Holy Spirit" featured on the Orlando Christian
Center broadcast, Trinity Broadcasting Network, 2/20/95.
5. Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center broadcast, Trinity
Broadcasting Network, 11/3/90.
6. Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center broadcast, Trinity
Broadcasting Network, 6/13/93.
7. Benny Hinn, World Charismatic Conference, Cassette tape,
8/7/92.
8. Benny Hinn, "'Rise and Be Healed!'". Orlando: Celebration
Publishers, 1991, pg. 64.
9. Benny Hinn, Praise-A-Thon, Trinity Broadcasting Network, April
1990. In a November 1990 version of this story, the Holy Spirit
gave him different directions, and his address to this demon
contained only the "blessings of God." See G. Richard Fisher, et
al., "The Confusing World of Benny Hinn," second edition, pp.
99-100 for a transcript of the alternate episode.
10. Praise-A-Thon, April 1990, op. cit.
11. Richard Mayhue, "The Healing Promise." Eugene, OR: Harvest
House Publishers, 1994, pg. 33.
12. Ibid., pp. 91, 102, 134, etc.
13. Praise-A-Thon, April 1990, op. cit.
14. Benny Hinn, "Praise The Lord Show," Trinity Broadcasting
Network, 12/6/94. This unbiblical doctrine has been repeated
time and again by Hinn. See for example Benny Hinn's sermon of
12/9/90, op. cit. See also Stephen F. Cannon, "The Quarterly
Journal," "Good Morning, Holy Spirit - Benny Hinn and Revelation
Knowledge," Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 11-13.
15. "Luther's Works," edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T.
Lehmann. 55 volumes. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1955-1986, 22:341-344).
16. See E.W. Kenyon, "New Creation Realities: A Revelation of
Redemption." Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1964,
pg. 44; Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Name of Jesus." Tulsa: Kenneth Hagin
Ministries, 1981, pg. 31; Frederick Price, "Identification,
Number 3." Inglewood, CA: Ever Increasing Faith Ministries,
1980, tape FP545; Kenneth Copeland, "What Happened from the Cross
to the Throne." Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1991,
audiotape #02-0017.
17. "The Quarterly Journal," Vol. 15, No. 2, pg. 21, endnote 29.
18. Benny Hinn, "Lord, I Need a Miracle." Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1993, pp. 63, 64, and 67.
19. "Praise The Lord Show," 12/6/94, op. cit. See also, Benny
Hinn, "Praise The Lord Show," Trinity Broadcasting Network, 1/24/95
where he expressed the same unbiblical concept. See further
comments regarding Hinn's use of Exodus 12 and Psalm 105:37 (cf.
Isaiah 63:13-14) in "The Quarterly Journal," Vol. 15, No. 2, pg.
18.
20. Benny Hinn, "Praise The Lord Show," Trinity Broadcasting
Network, 12/27/94.
21. Ibid. See "The Quarterly Journal," Vol. 15, No. 2, pg. 17 for
additional comments.
22. Praise-A-Thon, April 1990, op. cit.
23. Ibid.
24. "Praise The Lord Show," 12/6/94, op. cit.
25. Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center broadcast, Trinity
Broadcasting Network, 9/26/94.
26. "Lord, I Need a Miracle," op. cit., pg. 63. See also the
"Praise The Lord Show," 1/24/95 where Hinn expresses the same
unbiblical concept.
27. "'Rise and Be Healed!'", op. cit., pg. 37.
28. "Lord, I Need a Miracle," op. cit., pp. 74-75.
29. Benny Hinn, Praise-A-Thon, Trinity Broadcasting Network,
April 1994.
30. Ibid., pp. 72-73.
31. Ibid., pg. 100.
32. Stanley Burgess and Gary McGee, Editors, "Dictionary
Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements." Grand Rapids: Regency
Reference Library, 1988, pp. 95-97; C. Douglas Weaver, "The
Healer-Prophet, William Marrion Branham: A Study of the Prophetic
in American Pentecostalism." Macon, GA: Mercer University Press,
1987; and Stephen F. Cannon, "The Quarterly Journal," "A Prophet
Sent from God? Examining the Life and Claims of William M.
Branham," Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 1, 8-9.
33. See further, "The Healing Promise." Mayhue proves conclusively
that there is no healing in the biblical record which was
subsequently reversed for any reason (pp. 34-35).
34. Praise-A-Thon, April 1994, op. cit.
35. Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center broadcast, Trinity
Broadcasting Network, 2/20/95.
Carl
from my time off the Internet for the Christmas holidays. I invite you
to read them.
Chuck Stamford
"Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:91a9ad83-61d6-438c...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
Chuck:
Well, Carl, now I've got to reverse myself here, because I did the same sort
of sloppy reporting I just falsely accused Jones of doing.
On re-checking above, I see it wasn't Jones who suggested Jakes got the
money to buy his home, car,and first-class travel. It was the author of
this article, G. Richard Fisher, who I also don't know from Adam.
I would stress, since you seemed tempted above, that we cannot ever use a
characteristic of a group or category to assign that characteristic to an
individual who belongs to that group. Birds of a feather make flock
together as an old saying, but not as a biblical principle or the law of the
land. And certainly a man's theology doesn't necessarily tell us anything
about his ethics. I understand Voltaire, that famous 17th century atheist
and antagonist of Christianity led an otherwise extremely virtuous
life...for all the good it did him.
Carl:
I presented the two articles "as
is" just to show what some have found about Jakes. There are other
investigative articles about him out there. From a Biblical
standpoint, it has been determined that he has strayed from sound
Biblical doctrine. From a personal standpoint, there are enough
unanswered questions about his business practices and income sources
to make me wary. With those two areas in mind, I, in good conscience,
recommend or endorse Jakes as a reliable, Biblical preacher. There are
other issues I have with Jakes but those two general points are two
rather large general ones that stand out.
Chuck:
I understand you meant you could NOT recommend him in the above. I just
hate it when I do stuff like that, don't you?
In any case, I recently posted half a dozen or so links on Jakes myself as
representative of the general evidence I found in my own online research on
the man, so I know what you're talking about here. To my mind there is no
question the man's a heretic, which is all the more reason we need to be
careful we don't accidently make any false claims against him.
Carl:
Chuck:
So when can I expect your copy in the mail? Or were you just being a tease?
;-)
No, believe me, I know what you mean, and I agree completely. As to how
they get away with it time after time after time (Hinn publicly passed on a
prophesy he was given by some woman that Jesus Christ would PHYSICALLY
appear at his African show/meeting/conference/whateveritscalled, and of
course it didn't happen, yet he comes back all full of how great the
gathering was and never mentions Jesus didn't show up as prophesied!), I can
only suggest something from my childhood:
Did you ever watch the Buck Rodgers series, or any of those series like that
where the good guy is always battling the evil mastermind? They were all
only 30 minutes long, with about 10 of it being commercials selling
Ovaltine, or some secret decoder ring in Wheaties. Anyway, on a lot of the
series, the good guy would get into this horrible fix where there was just
no possible way for him to escape just as the show ended for the day. Then
as the good guy is struggling against the ropes or fighting against the
chains, or pushing desperately against the ceiling descending upon his head,
the announcer would come on and say something like, "Will Buck manage to
escape the terrible pit of alligators and save Marlene? What is going to
happen?! Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!"
And, of course, when you tuned in to the next episode, it started out with
Buck already having gotten out of the inescapable fix he was in yesterday,
and rushing into the room where the beautiful Marlene was tied up to save
her. And tv producers did this week after week after week, year after year.
Most of these preachers you've named above probably sat in front of the same
10 inch diagonal black and white tv set I did as a small boy, and watched
these same shows. You think maybe they took from that experience the fact
that fallen human nature really didn't require delivery on a promise just so
long as the good guy wins? That the suspense is more important to most
people than the fact?
Anyway, I didn't mean to criticize what you are doing, Carl. I think it's
something that needs to be done, and I'm glad to see you doing it.
God bless
Chuck
Chuck Stamford
"Chuck Stamford" <shells...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:u3n4l.7498$sC4....@newsfe04.iad...
And I have to correct myself once again! The above should read:
"On re-checking above, I see it wasn't Jones who suggested Jakes got the
money to buy his home, car, and first-class travel from his congregation's
donations."
Terry
On Hinn. A friend and businessman from my city, was diagnosed with brain
cancer several years ago. Well, in desperation, he went to a Benny Hinn
meeting in New Orleans at the leading of his parents. He was called up on
stage and prayed for with the declaration that he was healed. All of this
was on nationally televised T.V. He came home, lived a few months and
died---from brain cancer! His father's faith was shipwrecked and so were
some of his children's interest in Christianity. Hinn, did not come to the
funeral! Did not have to face the questions 'his decree' caused, but only
walked away with a bucket of money from this successful family because of
the false hope given to them. These charlatans are causing grave damage
among Christianity with their greedy antics and foolish parading of
'so-called' manifestations. The sad part is, they make people very wary when
the real healings or manifestations show up.
Sorry for jumping in, but it makes my blood boil when I see the 'great
salvation' of Scriptures turned into some type of circus act with spinning
plates, high wire acts and magic tricks. Better stop before I go further!
In Christ,
Terry
Terry
>
> "Terry" <tw...@REMOVEatt.net> wrote in message
> news:7Cg4l.15388$ZP4....@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>
>> "***xtbc..............." <Coffee_is_...@caffine.com> wrote in
>> message news:c2b82$49518335$4ad7a5a4$16...@FUSE.NET...
>>>
>>> "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
>>> news:91a9ad83-61d6-438c...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
>>> . There is a whole slew of preachers (the late
>>> Kenneth Hagin {considered the "father" of the modern word-faith
>>> movement}, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny
>>> Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Peter
>>> Popoff, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo
>>> and of course, Paul and Jan Crouch) in that category who are ....
>>>
>>>>>>>>>---------->
>>>
>>> Positive proof you can not descern.
>>>
>>> xtbc
>>>
>>
>> Greg, I would like to as you a couple of questions:
>>
>> 1) Is there any individual listed in Carl's list which you think is a
>> false teacher?
>
> Yes
>
>
Good!
>
>>
>> 2) How do you make the determination as to who is, and who is not a false
>> teacher?
>
> The word of God and the Holy Ghost.
>
Good Again!
>
>
>>
>>
>> In Christ,
>> Terry
>
>
> One prophet, one charlatan, every Charismatic on earth cringed as they
> read this list.
>
> Merry Christmas Terry
>
> In my thought and prayers this Christmas Season.
Greg, which ones would you see as a charlatan, and which ones make you
cringe?
Merry Christmas to you also!
In Christ,
Terry
Chuck Stamford
"Terry" <tw...@REMOVEatt.net> wrote in message
No problem. The more light shown upon these cockroaches the better. Hinn
is nauseating.
LatterDays
> AN EXAMINATION OF THE WORD-FAITH MOVEMENT
> by Richard J. Vincent
>
LDM:
WOW! That is an amazing article. Thank you!
LDM
--------------
The Latter Days Ministry
http://thelatterdays.blogspot.com/
***xtbc..........
In May 1996, Jakes moved his family and 50 other families from West Virginia
to establish the Potter's House in Dallas. The present church is on the
28-acre site where the old Eagle's Nest Church of television evangelist W.
V. Grant had been. The Potter's House is a
multiracial, nondenominational church with membership rapidly approaching
20,000. As many as 5,000 people attend each of the four three-hour services
every weekend. Many others watch the service on closed-circuit television.
The church's name comes from Jeremiah 18, where the broken vessel is
repaired: "Our ministry is called The Potter's House because we are geared
toward mending broken lives, regardless of what color they are. The
church's congregation is 50 percent male, a high percentage.
The Potter's House's programs include "Ravens Refuge, a homeless ministry;
Operation Rehab, an outreach to prostitutes; a GED literacy program; the
Transformation Treatment Program for drug and alcohol abusers; an AIDS
outreach; and a prison outreach. It provides bilingual services,
translation and interpretation. Even sign language is done bilingually.
Early every Sunday morning, ministers from The Potter's House drive
downtown to pick up the homeless people; before church, the homeless get
showers and clean clothes, the women, hair-styling and makeup.
On 1 March 1998, T. D. Jakes and the Potter's House dedicated Project 2000,
a 231-acre tract of land, which will be transformed into the City of Refuge
to meet transgenerational needs for rehabilitation, education, and training.
The multiethnic character of Jakes's ministry is certainly praiseworthy.
Martin Luther King, Jr., observed that the church is the most segregated
major institution in American society. Jakes would like to see racism
obliterated: "It's not the color of your skin that will bring deliverance
and help from God; it's the contents of your heart." Other churches can
learn from this message
Chuck Stamford
"***xtbc.........." <Coffee_is_...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote in
message news:9aaa2$4953e3ee$4ad7a5a4$68...@FUSE.NET...
Most people, even atheists, would like to see racism obliterated, therefore
wanting to see racism obliterated is no evidence one is a Christian, and
certainly not a Christian minister.
Good works don't get anyone into heaven, nor do they give anyone evidence of
one's relationship with the real Jesus Christ. Francois-Marie Arouet
Voltaire, 18th century philosopher and famous atheist is reputed to have
lived an exemplarly life of self-discipline, moderation, and charity towards
others his entire life, even putting to shame many who claimed Christ as
Lord and Savior. Pointing to the good works Jakes' ministry does tells no
one anything about his Christian faith, whether he has one or not.
Chuck
***xtbc..........
Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel the
flames of hell licking him.
xtbc
Carl
<Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
>
> Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel the
> flames of hell licking him.
Source?
***xtbc..........
On Dec 26, 10:35 am, "***xtbc.........."
<Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
>
> Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel the
> flames of hell licking him.
Source?
>>>>>>>>>-------->
Carl, God doesn't bless what you do!
dolf
backside from frontside--isn't that an act against nature?
On Dec 26, 10:35 am, "***xtbc.........."
<Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
>
> Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel the
> flames of hell licking him.
Source?
::: truth checker :::
***xtbc.......... <Coffee_is_...@MerryChristmas.com> typed:
There is no truth in this statement.
Carl just asked for the source of what you claimed to be true.
I have never heard that God is against such a thing. In case you think
you are right, give us book, chapter and verse, please. Otherwise noone
could say what is right and what is your subjective feeling only.
Please also make sure to create truthcheck-worthy posts that have some
real information.
--
___________________________________________________
::::::: http://www.acc-growing-deeper.de :::::::
::::::: http://www.acc-growing-deeper.de/Israel.htm :::::::
::::::: http://www.e-sword.net :::::::
::::::: http://alpha.org/default.asp :::::::
Carl
Didn't answer the question. What is the source of your statement
concerning Voltaire's death?
And actually God does bless me in more ways than you can ever imagine
and for that I praise His name and give Him all the glory.
dolf
> On Dec 26, 7:59 pm, "***xtbc.........."
> <Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
>> "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:49eeb13e-3640-4264...@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>> On Dec 26, 10:35 am, "***xtbc.........."
>>
>> <Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel the
>>> flames of hell licking him.
>> Source?
>>
>>>>>>>>>>> -------->
>> Carl, God doesn't bless what you do!
>
Carl, is it true you, as a consequence of a lifestyle choice, wipe your
backside from frontside--isn't that an act against the nature of coition?
Chuck Stamford
"***xtbc.........." <Coffee_is_...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote in
message news:b35d5$495507e5$4ad7a5a4$18...@FUSE.NET...
And you have no certainty Jakes won't do the same some day. Thanks for
making my point so graphically for me.
>
> xtbc
>
Chuck Stamford
"***xtbc.........." <Coffee_is_...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote in
message news:54c9b$49558bf7$4ad7a5a4$53...@FUSE.NET...
Do you know what you've just done?! I hope so, because speaking for God
when God has not given you what to say is not a trifling sin.
The man asked you a fair question, not that the answer matters all that
much. If Voltaire died an atheist then that only proves one thing: he
wasn't one of God's elect, and is now in hell despite all of his good works
and virtuous life. He's there because his faith was misplaced; because he
believed a lie, which gives him something important in common with YOU!
bob young
Chuck Stamford wrote:
> "***xtbc.........." <Coffee_is_...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote in
> message news:54c9b$49558bf7$4ad7a5a4$53...@FUSE.NET...
> >
> > "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
> > news:49eeb13e-3640-4264...@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> > On Dec 26, 10:35 am, "***xtbc.........."
> > <Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel the
> >> flames of hell licking him.
> >
> > Source?
> >
> >>>>>>>>>>-------->
> >
> > Carl, God doesn't bless what you do!
>
> Do you know what you've just done?! I hope so, because speaking for God
> when God has not given you what to say is not a trifling sin.
I should hope not, otherwise we weould have to discount 60%
of what theists write in these n.g.'s.
>
>
> The man asked you a fair question, not that the answer matters all that
> much. If Voltaire died an atheist then that only proves one thing: he
> wasn't one of God's elect,
Wrong - it proves he had a normal capacity for reasoning, unlike some others
who's abilities are well below par.
Le sense common est fort rare
'Common sense is not so common'
[Voltaire 1694-1778]
Bob
Humanist, atheist, realist, sentimentalist, Brit.
Member of S.M.A.S.H.
(Sarcastic Middle-aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor)
Man creates his gods in his own image;
and then spends the rest of his life
manipulating them to his heart's content
bob young
Chuck Stamford wrote:
It requires a mind with a religious bent to accept such a pathetic claim.
A man of Voltaire's standing dies in 1778 and his private last words are
broadcast for the world to know !
His actual words are said to have been, "For God's sake, let me die in peace."
One thing religionists all have in common,
they never give up living in hope and preaching those hopes in the hope others
will latch on to them, just like they did.
Keep up the good 'hope' work fellas.
It's all about the herd Instinct of course - see below
The Herd Instinct
IT'S BENEFITS AND IT'S COSTS
Roger Sandall (assisted by Sir Francis Galton)
Most of us are herd animals. Nothing wrong with that of course - or not at
first sight. Our
sociability makes us happy to walk an extra mile to help a friend, makes us
keen for teams and
political parties, and makes us fiercely protective of kith and kin. Not only
that: tribal solidarity of
the more noble and high-spirited kind has led men to sacrifice themselves
altruistically in wars
again and again.
But there are disadvantages too. A herd animal who wakes up one morning to find
the rest of the
mob have folded their tents and vamoosed is a sorry sight. He wanders
listlessly, clutches his
heart in despair, then runs around in circles looking for any collective
whatever he can join. Upon
finding one he gratefully embraces everybody, and by nightfall calls them his
new best friends.
. . . . . and if they had a carved wooden god in one of those tents he would
have embraced that too !
[My addendum]
>
>
> And you have no certainty Jakes won't do the same some day. Thanks for
> making my point so graphically for me.
LOL [see above - LOL]
>
>
> >
> > xtbc
> >
Chuck Stamford
"bob young" <alasp...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
news:49571389...@netvigator.com...
>
>
> Chuck Stamford wrote:
>
>> "***xtbc.........." <Coffee_is_...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote in
>> message news:54c9b$49558bf7$4ad7a5a4$53...@FUSE.NET...
>> >
>> > "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
>> > news:49eeb13e-3640-4264...@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>> > On Dec 26, 10:35 am, "***xtbc.........."
>> > <Coffee_is_our_fri...@MerryChristmas.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Voltaire died in his bed screaming and saying he could see and feel
>> >> the
>> >> flames of hell licking him.
>> >
>> > Source?
>> >
>> >>>>>>>>>>-------->
>> >
>> > Carl, God doesn't bless what you do!
>>
>> Do you know what you've just done?! I hope so, because speaking for God
>> when God has not given you what to say is not a trifling sin.
>
> I should hope not, otherwise we weould have to discount 60%
> of what theists write in these n.g.'s.
That doesn't even make sense, but then you're pretty good at that.
>
>>
>>
>> The man asked you a fair question, not that the answer matters all that
>> much. If Voltaire died an atheist then that only proves one thing: he
>> wasn't one of God's elect,
>
> Wrong - it proves he had a normal capacity for reasoning, unlike some
> others
> who's abilities are well below par.
No one disputes Voltaire's reasoning ability. It's yours that's the
question.
Chuck
Michael Christ
> Carl, is it true you, as a consequence of a lifestyle choice, wipe your
> backside from frontside--isn't that an act against the nature of coition?
No?
Michael Christ
sabel...@gmail.com
dell214...@gmail.com
Thanks
Sam, a grateful bond servant of the Lord, Christ Jesus
-
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'"
John 14:6
is your standard of a good person the same as God's?
-
A free Christian movie for you!
You can watch this free movie: evolution vs. God on YouTube
dell214...@gmail.com
Thanks for your detailed and accurate
response
dell214...@gmail.com
Thanks
dell214...@gmail.com
knowing the Christian God in truth?
My muslim family loves Christ Jesus of the quaran, but not the Christ of the Bible?
Are they Christian?
dell214...@gmail.com
quran.
So, they believe?