PROSPERITY GOSPEL: AKA POSITIVE CONFESSION: AKA NAME IT AND CLAIM IT: AKA BLAB IT AND GRAB IT…..A PONZI SCHEME USED TO SANCTIFY WORLDLY LUST FOR MONEY.....ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT GOD IS A BIG SUCKER.
INTRODUCTION
Our Lord Jesus Christ, when giving His Olivet Discourse in
Matthew 24, had this warning to give His disciples: “And many false prophets
shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love
of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:11, 12).The Church throughout has history and even in present day
has seen myriads of heresiarchs and false prophets, each with a peculiar
damnable heresy. In these modern times, the one heresy that has infiltrated
many Christian churches, particularly ones that claim to be “Spirit-filled”, is
none other than “Prosperity Gospel”. Defined simply, “Prosperity Gospel” is nothing more than the
ancient heresy that the Blessed St. Paul had to confront when addressing a
letter to Timothy, which states: “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not
to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the
doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but
doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings,
evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of
the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” (I Timothy 6:3-5).
The basis of “Prosperity Gospel” is “gain is godliness”, of
which we are warned as believers: “from such withdraw thyself”. Its proponents
advocate that Christians should be materially wealthy and prosperous as well as
always in good health physically and also that a Christian because of such a
“blessing” will be well received and loved by everyone in the world (almost).
Anything contrary to this is due to some sin or curse placed on the Christian’s
life, and should be prayed against as well as seek deliverance from it. Its
proponents then go on to apply Abrahamic blessings to the situation to advocate
their belief regarding material blessings. Without the need to go into details of the various teachers
who advocate such demonic teaching, we will nonetheless examine the key
Scriptural passages misused by these “Prosperity Gospel” wolves to destroy many
in their faith. The likes of Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, Rick
Warren, Joel Osteen and others of this wicked movement of so-called:
“Word-Faith” are too numerous to mention, yet the key basis is the same. The
key Scriptural passages misused by these heretics are:
1) Mark 10:29-31; (cf. Luke 18:29, 30)
2) Galatians 3:14
3) III John 2
4) II Corinthians 8:9
5) Isaiah 53:5
We will attempt to examine these verses fully in context and
thus expose this heresy for what it is: a satanic attempt to neutralize the
Church from a godly life to a worldly life.
MARK 10:29-31
“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.”
Prosperity teachers make a big ado of the phrase: “But he
shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses…, and lands…” to assert
their worldly notion that Christ was advocating Christians to have a whole heap
of property, lands and wealth. Nevertheless, the context of the whole passage
reveals clearly what was intended by our Lord. Earlier, there was a man, a rich
man at that (revealed elsewhere in Luke 18:18 that he was “a ruler”), who
wished to inquire about how to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17), to which our
Lord then directed this man back to the Law, and quoted back the Ten
Commandments to this man. (Mark 10:19). The man then boasted before our Lord
that he had kept all of them since his youth, to which our Lord thus answers:
“One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and
follow me.” (Mark 10:21). The response of this man to our Lord’s exhortation to give
up what he had and come and follow Him, was noted too: “And he was sad at that
saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:22).
This is a real contrast to what the Prosperity Teachers advocate, since they
would like this rich young ruler, state that they have kept God’s Law and thus
they were blessed with possessions. The possessions have their heart, not God,
thus our Lord Jesus Christ was revealing that such a person was really guilty
of breaking the Law at heart, namely the second commandment and the last
commandment of the Ten Commandments. This man worshipped riches and coveted at
heart and thus our Lord got to the heart of the matter.
At this point, our Lord thus stated to the disciples:
“Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the
kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:24, 25).
Clearly, our Lord warned against those who worshipped and trusted in riches
over following Him. The disciples at this point, thus asked who could be saved,
to which our Lord replied: “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for
with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27). Then the disciples stated that they had left all to follow
Him, to which our Lord thus replied: “Verily I say unto you, There is no man
that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an
hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers,
and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal
life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” (Mark
10:29-31).
Notice that our Lord not only mentions what the person who
follows our Lord receives in the positive of: “brethren, sisters, mothers,
children, lands…in the world to come eternal life.”, He also mentions one other
clause: “with persecutions”. Prosperity Teachers have deliberately ignored our
Lord Jesus Christ’s clarification that persecution comes with the blessings
mentioned. Furthermore, this is consistent elsewhere in Scripture whereby the
Blessed St. Paul states: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.” (II Timothy 3:12). We can also add, that historically, the Apostles, with the
exception of one, died martyr’s deaths due to the godless authorities, both
Jewish and Roman, persecuting the Church of Christ. When godless authorities
came to persecute them, they had no property or anything of material value to
be confiscated before death. Even the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter stated
to the lame man whom he healed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, before
being arrested and prosecuted by the godless Jewish authorities: “Silver and
gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6).
In addition, to clarify what our Lord Jesus Christ really
meant when He stated that the disciples would receive an hundredfold now in
this time of: “houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children,
and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many
that are first shall be last; and the last first.” This was carried out in
principle in Acts 2:44, 45, which states: “And all that believed were together,
and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need.” Notice that believers willingly gave
up their possessions and goods to help those in need in the Church, as is
clarified in the following verses: “And they, continuing daily with one accord
in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the
people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts
2:46, 47). It was the Lord that added to the Church such as should be
saved and also they had gladness and singleness of heart as well as praising
God and having favour with all the people. They did not need to be forced to
give up their possessions as the Marxists/Communists and Nazis would advocate.
It was willingly given with praise of God to help other fellow believers
according to their needs, not wants. It must be noted that at this point, the
believers were being persecuted and yet the Church had favour with the people,
not because of popularity, but because of integrity and quality of moral and
spiritual life. This continues to be the case with Christians who are being
persecuted for their faith daily today, especially in Islamic and Communist
countries.
A number of these Christians may be persecuted by their
families and the state, and summarily disowned from property as well as family,
not to mention impoverishment due to the persecution meted out.
Notwithstanding, these Christians are never without, since God replaces their
natural family with other brethren, sisters, mothers, children as well as at
times, even lands and houses, since God provides for even the birds in the air,
and promises to provide for the needs of His disciples. (Matthew 6:26-32) The
Apostle Paul, who experienced persecution, imprisonment and other adverse
situations could thus state: “But my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) The whole of Holy
Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will always provide for the needs of the
believers, not necessarily their wants. Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ, was clearly not advocating
“Prosperity Gospel”, but if anything, was refuting its evil by emphasizing a
different kind of priority: the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. (Matthew
6:33). Our Lord was pointing out that beyond earthly familial ties and earthly
wealth, there is something much more priceless, namely the Kingdom of God which
includes all those who follow it, all of which come at the price of
persecution. “Prosperity Gospel” has therefore shown itself to be a distortion
of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.
GALATIANS 3:14
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
The common assertion of “Prosperity Teachers” is that since
Christians are spiritual descendants of Abraham, they are therefore entitled to
the material blessings that Abraham partook of. Whilst it is true that
Christians are spiritual descendants of Abraham and have entered in the
covenant with God through faith as Abraham has, yet the premise of material
blessings is to be questioned. To clarify this, one only needs to look at the
whole passage of Galatians 3 to clarify what the Blessed St. Paul was teaching
the Church. The Blessed St. Paul was rebuking the Galatians for
following another gospel than what they had received, which involved forcing
the Galatians to observe the Jewish Law with all its special demands, such as
dietary requirements, unique festivals meant only for Israel, circumcision and
so forth. He then goes back to Abraham and points out that Abraham was a man of
faith and thus became the friend of God. (Galatians 3:6). He then points out
that those who are of the faith of God are also children of Abraham. (Galatians
3:7).
He then points out that the curse of the Law fell on Christ
since He hung on the tree, to be accursed for us and thus it is now possible
for non-Jews, Gentiles, to enter into the covenant with God as did Abraham.
(Galatians 3:11-15). St. Paul then goes on to clarify that the purpose of the
Law was to pave the way for the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Law made us
aware of our sinfulness and unworthiness in order for the Messiah to take away
this sinfulness and unworthiness before God the Father. In fact, the Law is referred to as the schoolmaster to bring
us to faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:22-26). Thus faith in Christ as
Messiah and as Lord will justify man before a Holy God. Thus, from the
viewpoint of salvation only in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no
Jew or Gentile, bond nor free, male nor female, because those who have accepted
Him by faith are truly children of God and heirs to the promise of Abraham by
faith and confirmed through baptism.(Galatians 3:26-29).
Clearly, this blessings of Abraham for the Gentiles, in the
light of the whole passage, has to do with faith and salvation in God. Material
prosperity was never even hinted at in the slightest. This is also evident by
the numerous times in the passage when the word: “faith” is constantly
mentioned in contrast to “law”. It is clear that the passage and the blessings
in question have to do with faith in God and salvation to come. All of this we
receive in faith, working out our salvation with fear and trembling.
(Philippians 2:12). “Prosperity Gospel” Teachers have thus perverted the Gospel
of Christ into a materialistic enterprise. Abraham was the Friend of God, not a
friend of the world and used whatever was given to him, for unselfish, godly
purposes, as is evidenced in his life. He was even willing to give up the
wealthiest aspects of his inheritance to Lot, to which Lot greedily took it up,
only to face Sodom and Gomorrah and lose everything in the end, except his life
and soul. May God open the eyes of those who read this.
3RD JOHN 2
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
There is nothing worse than a verse taken out of context to
be used as a pretext for evil. Such is the case here as it is with many others
for the “Prosperity Teachers” have no scruples in handling the Word of God
faithfully. The earlier verse talks about a certain Gaius, whom the Apostle
John loves in truth (III John 1) and then states: “Beloved, I wish above all
things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” The context clarifies, that the Apostle John was wishing
Gaius to be in good health and also have prosperity or fruitfulness in his
doings even as much as his soul is prosperous or fruitful. The rest of the
letter clarifies whether or not the Apostle John was advocating “Prosperity
Gospel”. The Apostle John praises Gaius for his good deeds or charity to both
the brethren and strangers (III John 5). However, what gave the Blessed Apostle
John even more joy was this: “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came
and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (III John
3, 4) His greatest joy was seeing Gaius walk in the truth of God and standing
steadfast in its doctrine.
Whilst, the Blessed Apostle would have loved to have seen
Gaius healthy and fruitful in every way possible, what was more joyful for him
was to see Gaius walk in truth and also to maintain a strong pattern of good
works, as is evident elsewhere. Notice also that in this period of time, the
Blessed Apostle was also in the state of imprisonment and would have loved to
have the church that Gaius was in charge of, to come and see him personally.
(III John 6, 13, 14). In addition, the Blessed Apostle towards the end of this
letter, encourages not “Prosperity” or wealth chasing but more importantly
this: “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth
good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” (III John 11). Therefore, the Blessed Apostle John was not encouraging
“Prosperity Gospel” but rather fruitfulness in upholding the truth and also in
holy, godly living. How shameful it is for Prosperity Teachers to misuse a
personal wish to Gaius as the basis of doctrine whilst ignoring the central
focus of the letter in Holy Scripture. May God grant repentance to those who
have swallowed this lie.
2ND CORINTHIANS 8:9
“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.”
Another misused Scripture by Prosperity Teachers is this
one. Prosperity Teachers ignore the context behind this verse deliberately,
since it would run counter to their heresies. The Blessed Apostle St. Paul was
in desperate need of some material help since he was impoverished and so were a
number of churches, particularly the church in Macedonia. (II Corinthians
8:1,2, 14, 19). To appeal to these Corinthian Christians, he had to remind them
of their love and urged them to show it in a practical way to help other
believers as well as the Apostle and his helpers, since they were in need. This he states in these words: “Therefore, as ye abound in
every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and
in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by
commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the
sincerity of your love…. Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches,
the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.” (II Corinthians
8:7, 8, 24) He thus had to remind them that they have had a known reputation
for their love and other virtues, and now he requested them to put their money
where their mouth was, quite literally. This is consistent with what is stated
in James 2:14-26, regarding the nature of good works proving real faith, which
also uses the example of an impoverished person in that passage too. The Blessed Apostle then has to remind them 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.” Prosperity Teachers distort the word
“rich” to advocate their teaching that one must always give money in order to
get huge monetary returns or some other material blessing.
These same heretics also misuse this verse to state that our
Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly existence was a wealthy existence. Such is clearly
not the intent of the Blessed Apostle. The reason our Lord Jesus Christ was
called “rich”, was due to the fact, that Christ was truly God and Creator as
well as King of the Universe before earthly existence, and continues to be. How
rich can one get as Creator of the Worlds and King of the Universe, not to
mention King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Notwithstanding this, Christ chose to take on a lowly
existence as a man, to be born in a smelly stable and to have no place to rest
His head when older (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58). He suffered poverty that He
might bring the greatest of riches to mankind: salvation. Thus the Apostle Paul
had to thus remind them that through His poverty, the Church would be rich.
Rich because of heaven, not to mention ruling with Christ in the Millennial
Reign at His Return in Jerusalem. In light of the eternal picture of Christ,
the Corinthian church is thus urged to give willingly to help their fellow
brethren, particularly the Apostle St. Paul and his assistants. Clearly,
“Prosperity Gospel” is not being advocated by the Blessed St. Paul but giving
according to love and grace that Christ has bestowed on us through His own love
and giving.
ISAIAH 53:5
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Amazingly, the verse that is commonly used by Prosperity Teachers
to advocate their peculiar heresies, is none other than this passage, which has
to do with the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, taking on our sins on
behalf of Israel and the world, for our forgiveness and salvation. The phrase
that is abused is none other than “with his stripes we are healed”. This is
obvious that this particular passage has nothing to do with the “Prosperity
Gospel” teaching of: Christ took our sicknesses on the Cross and thus we can
claim healing in His Name, and that Christians never should be sick. Such a
teaching is blasphemy and is a mockery of the whole passage of Scripture. The constant theme of this passage is sin and us going
astray and that He was guiltless before God, yet was He numbered with the
transgressors and made intercession on behalf of sinners. All this He did for
us sinful creatures, that we should have forgiveness and cleansing from sin and
eternal life with Him. (Isaiah 53:6-12). Many times, the words “sin”,
“transgressors”, “iniquity” have been used throughout the passage, making clear
what is the intent. Clearly, sin is a grave sickness, and thus is in need of a
Great Physician. That is why our Lord Jesus Christ stated when He healed
people, phrases such as “Thy sins are forgiven”, “Go and sin no more” and
others. Sin is a graver illness to humanity than any physical illness. Only the
One who is Truly God and Truly Man can fully deal with this.
That is why in I Peter 2:24, 25, when quoting this passage
states: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we,
being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the
Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” Sin was clearly the real problem, which we
have been saved from and called to live righteously and also to return unto the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. May God open the eyes of those deceived by this heresy and
bring repentance and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
Clearly, our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to surrender to Him,
and not to the world. We are warned regarding riches that they are uncertain
and that our faith is not to be in them. Those who are rich in this world
should bear this in mind, and if anything should be mindful of God and seek to
be rich in good works. (I Timothy 6:17, 18). We are even warned in the same passage the following: “But
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this
world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment
let us be therewith content. 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. But thou, O man of God, flee these
things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness.” (I Timothy 6:6-11).
The Apostle James also warns against ungodly minded rich
people and promises judgment of God upon such. (James 5:1-7) In addition,
contrary to what the Prosperity Teachers advocate of seeking to be loved by the
world and a friend of the world, the Blessed St. James states: “Ye adulterers
and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with
God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
(James 4:4). Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount found in
the Gospel of Luke gives this warning to those who are wealth chasers, lovers
of the world, pleasure seekers and not lovers of God: “But woe unto you that
are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full!
for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to
the false prophets.” (Luke 6:24-26). Our Lord even bothers to give a true
account of the wicked rich man who went to hell and the righteous beggar,
Lazarus who enters Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise. (Luke 16:19-31). This should be
warning enough to believers who get tempted by the world’s mentality of: “He
who has the most toys wins”.
A number of rich people, not all, commit the same folly that
Jehovah in the Old Testament warns the children of Israel against, namely
thinking that it was all their own ability to get wealth, and therefore there
is no need to consider God and His holiness. This is clearly warned against in
Deuteronomy 8:17, 18, which states: “And thou say in thine heart, My power and
the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the
LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may
establish his covenant which he swear unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” When this folly is committed, be assured that judgment is
surely around the corner, as was the case with the rich fool who stated every
enterprise he was going to do, only to have God calling him into judgment: “And
I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be,
which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is
not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:19-21).
In conclusion, the Holy Scriptures do not advocate anything
that “Prosperity Gospel” teachers advocate and if anything, “Prosperity Gospel”
is another gospel that is to be accursed by God. (Galatians 1:8). Instead of
seeking all the latest fads in the world and worldly approval, Christians ought
to diligently seek to live in fear of Christ and depart from iniquity (II
Timothy 2:19) and seek to be vessels of honour rather than dishonour before
Christ. (II Timothy 2:20-22). Let us love heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven more than this
sin-sick world that awaits judgment and the lake of fire. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is returning and let us live in light of that, thus seeking to be rich in good
works and holiness before Him. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from
all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
(Titus 2:11-14)God Bless.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Both now and always, and unto the ages upon ages. Amen.
MORE BIBLICAL ANSWERS TO PROSPERITY GOSPEL LOGIC - STEVE VAN NATTAN
ALL Charismatic preachers, throw verses at their followers that have virtually nothing to do with the subject at hand. This is supposed to impress the gullible masses and asses. Well, we must call them out on this one. They are charlatans and mind manipulating agent provocateur of the adversary. They are NOT Bible teachers.
Now, let us consider some Bible texts Prosperity Preachers misses in their vacuum of exegesis:
2 Corinthians 8:9 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.
I have yet to hear of a Mega Church or Charismatic preacher
who made himself poor on purpose. I know of a handful who were made poor by
being convicted of child molesting or tax evasion, but they are not sitting in
jail because they did the right thing or glorified God.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Here is Jesus "making himself" of no reputation.
Like the previous text, Jesus CHOSE to be less than those to whom he
ministered. Jesus CHOSE to be poor, and thus, he reached the poor. It is then a
corollary thought to assume that because the Mega Church and Charismatic gurus
drive the wealth in the opposite direction that Jesus did, these men reach
nobody. They only manage to exalt themselves so that the sheep will line up to
be sheered. The reason this is so wicked is that it totally deforms the image
of Jesus Christ, for these Prosperity Gospel bastards use Jesus himself to
justify their greed and massive wealth. God hates this. The accusers of the
brethren love it for it gives them ammunition to blaspheme Christ and his
Church. Psalms 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the
wicked every day.1 Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
After Jesus returned to heaven, God kept the plan in operation
among the Apostles, that is, the example Jesus showed in his life. God has been
choosing losers and the weak for 2000 years now. Why? Answer: So that no man
who is called of God can boast of his own accomplishments, such as running the
biggest bank in the world.
Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
Jesus did not have his own horse, donkey, or camel. He had
to borrow. Today, if Jesus Christ returned to live the same life again which he
lived in Galilee, he would have to ride public transport of borrow from
friends. The Prosperity Gospel heretics virtually blaspheme Jesus Christ when
they twist his words, until they have Jesus
wanting us all to get rich and flaunt it. This explains why they own the best of Private jets rather than fly with the peasants on the airlines.
Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city.
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Jesus stripped these disciples, already wandering about
Galilee with next to nothing, of just about all their wealth. He wanted them to
work light and depend on the love of the people they ministered to. AND, the
fact that they were to keep their purse empty tells us that they were only to
exist, not prosper. He did not check when they returned to see how much they
had in their purse because it was supposed to be empty. You are a real jackass
if you go to a rich preacher looking for deliverance from devils. He already is
totally conquered by them. I see that most Prosperity Preachers, in their copious list of Bible
texts, jumped right over the book of James, just like Martin Luther. James is a
real bother to us all, but without it we might well wander off into the most
deadly wickedness. Take a look,:
James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgement seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
In a video online, Benny Hinn and a couple other Prosperity
Gospel jerks are joking with each other. Someone brought up the question of
following the sheep. Benny Hinn then said, "I don't want to follow sheep,
I will get poo on my shoes." This are the men we exalted above
always. This shows us the snob factor in these Prosperity Preachers. I suspect
Jesus had poo on his shoes many times as he wandered the hills of Galilee. It
also makes it very clear that these Prosperity Gospel gurus HATE the sheep.
Their sweet words are only to cause the sheep to want to cover the guru in
gold. Understand this from verse 6 above-- Those who exalt lust
for wealth in the Prosperity Gospel are despising the poor. Jesus loved them.
This means the Prosperity Gospel people are wolves in sheep's clothing, for the
turn the true Gospel upside down. Psalms 146:9 The LORD preserveth the
strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he
turneth upside down. Despising the poor, according to James, is blasphemy. Only a damned
fool would exalt the gigolos of Charismania and the Mega Church movement. Why the rough talk by James? Well, who was it who gave
himself totally to the poor? Answer: Jesus. Thus, to trample on the poor is to
trample on Jesus Christ. Are you getting the point yet? The Prosperity Gospel
is "another Gospel." (II Corinthians 11:4).James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
The destiny of the rich is horrible, and it is predictable.
Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and the many other Prosperity Gospel gurus are on
their way to the "last day" in which their wealth will be used to
judge them and condemn them to hell. When a man becomes rich, especially be
being a church house gigolo and shearing the sheep of their small riches, that
man is a damned fool on his way to a burning hell. It is about time we call
things what they are. 1 Corinthians 3:13 Every man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Prosperity Preachers glaringly used only verse 17 and fails to
include verses 18 and 19. They leaves the impression that it is OK to be rich as
long as you keep trusting in God. That sounds very pious. That is why the
Prosperity Gospel gurus are masters of false humility. They claim to deeply
love the idiots who enrich them, and they claim that Jesus made them rich and
they just cannot stop him from doing it. They also promise those stupid enough
to listen to them that any of us can be rich like them if we just throw some
money on the guru. "And the farmer hauled another load away, and you could
tell, by the smell, that it wasn't a load of hay." Well, the rest of the story is this, as in verse 18-19
above-- Use your riches to do good works, and "communicate." In the
Greek "communicate" (KOINONIKOS) means to be a sharer and generous
toward others, not just communicate as in talk talk talk, the modern concept. Verse 18 leads to 19 in which the sharing of one's riches
results in a store of sound living which will survive hard times to come, and
eternal life is directly associated with generosity with one's riches. I
suspect a lot of Prosperity Preachers will hate me for that, but Benny Hinn, Andrew Strom, and all the
fast talking rich boys of the Mega Church movement cause us to question their
interest in eternal life.Matthew 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
With this I end my own discussion of the heresy of the
Prosperity Gospel and Prosperity Preacher's wimpy discussion of being rich.
Jesus' body would have been buried in a hole in the ground by the Roman guard,
or worse-- his body might have been dragged out of Jerusalem and left in a
valley named Gehenna where refuse and rubbish was burned, and his body left to
carrion eating birds to feast on. Joseph of Arimathaea shows us what a true
believer in the kingdom of God does with his wealth-- he spends it down on
Jesus Christ. I wonder how many poor folks Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland
have buried?
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