Download Chapter 8 The Prosperity Gospel Exposed

The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
119
Chapter 8
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
(1) The Truth About the Prosperity Gospel
The prosperity gospel already has been proven false simply by presenting the true Gospel in the previous chapters, but I will expose it even
farther by reasonably explaining the Scriptures that the prosperity preachers use to teach their false doctrines. I will also provide Scriptures that are
indisputably against the prosperity message.
The true and complete Gospel of the Kingdom makes the false gospel
of wealth all the more sinister. It is not just harmful, destructive, and dangerous. It is the opposite of the true gospel and, therefore, an evil lie from
the pit of hell. It is one of the most dangerous and ruinous doctrines in the
Church today.
The fastest growing group of Christians today is the Pentecostals and
Charismatics. A dominate theme of many of their ministers is, "I'm not
your source, God is your source." In other words, "Don't ask me for help
because I am not going to help you. But if you give me your last dollar so
I can stay on TV, God will feed you. Send me an offering and God will
clothe you." This is an abomination and is actually the opposite of what
we have learned thus far in this book.
The ministers who teach that all Christians should be materially
wealthy, I will refer to as "get-rich" preachers. These get-rich preachers
will scream and wail about being attacked, so I will only refer to them by
a letter, like G, Z, or L, etc. These letters are not their initials.
It is my opinion that the prosperity gospel is the biggest hindrance to
the spiritual growth of Christians in the Charismatic movement and a
blight to Christianity in general. The doctrine of greed is, perhaps, the
largest single reason that many people turn away from the Charismatic
movement. The abuses of the prosperity gospel could fill a book, but I will
deal mainly with explaining how the get-rich preachers misinterpret the
Scriptures.
Out of one side of their mouths, the get-rich preachers say that the
purpose of their ministry is to help people get out of debt and to help people prosper so they can give large sums of money to spread the gospel.
But out of the other side of their mouths they teach that we can have whatever material goods we want, such as a luxury home or a Rolls Royce.
120
Chapter 8
Having been raised Pentecostal, I am not against the Charismatic
movement and have read most of G's books and at one time was a firm
believer in the prosperity gospel. There was a time when I gave money in
offerings for the purpose of getting rich and commanded angels to bring
me money, but I am thankful to God that he gave me the wisdom to recognize the error of this teaching. Wisdom is the true wealth of the Kingdom:
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you
have, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7) (NIV)
Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than
choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing
you desire can compare with her. (Proverbs 8:10-11) (NIV)
Let me make it perfectly clear that the Bible does, in fact, teach that
God wants to prosper us, but "biblical prosperity" is not the same as the
"Prosperity Gospel." God does not want us in poverty, but when we receive a great harvest, it is not for our own enrichment, but so we can help
people who are in need. There are many needs throughout the body of
Christ today, and God will give us more income than we need so that we
can give towards meeting those needs. But God does not promise to make
each of us wealthy. Although God does make some people rich because he
wants to reward them in this life, or wants them to have a ministry of giving, it does not apply to the average Christian.
Preachers teaching how to get rich from the Scriptures is not new. The
prosperity message also existed in the Early Church. The apostles had to
face this problem as detailed by apostle Paul:
3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound
instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. ... 5 ... 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. ...
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 wondered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:3-10) (NIV)
How could it be said any clearer? Paul obviously was talking about
ministers who were teaching Christians a way to get rich from the Scriptures, which Paul referred to as "false doctrines." Paul said that anyone
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
121
who desires to get rich this way has departed from the faith, and that we
should be content with what we have. Does this sound like a man who
believes in the prosperity gospel? Not a chance! The NKJ version says:
"supposing that gain is godliness." The literal translation says, "supposing
gain to be godliness" (LIT). The false teachers were teaching that it was
godly to get rich and that a righteous man will become prosperous, which
is exactly what is being taught today. Minister Z said:
Child of God, as you study God's Word carefully, you will find that
God's clearly stated intention is to take very good care of His children, especially those that walk in His footsteps and obey His will.
There it is, the very thing that Paul spoke out against; that God guarantees financial gain to the godly. But Paul said we should be content with
food and clothing (1 Tim. 6:7). Is this what the get-rich preachers teach?
Certainly not! Paul continues in 1 Timothy 6:
But you, man of God, flee from all this, [the get-rich gospel] and
pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11) (NIV)
After Paul told Timothy not to pursue riches, he then told him what he
should pursue. Nowhere in the list did Paul say that Timothy should pursue a big harvest of money so he can help finance Paul's ministry. If Paul
really believed and taught the wealth gospel, as the get-rich preachers
claim, why didn't he travel in a golden chariot pulled by six white horses,
the modern equivalent of a Cadillac or Royals Royce, like the get-rich
preachers do? Paul continues:
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put
their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our
enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds,
and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay
up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,
so that they may take hold of life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:1719) (NIV)
Since Paul clearly is speaking out against wanting to be rich and depending on wealth, he does not turn around and contradict himself when
he says God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." He is
saying that God provides everything we need to enjoy life, things that
have nothing to do with the material lusts of the flesh or worldly luxury.
122
Chapter 8
God provides things that money cannot buy.
The false ministers are teaching people to seek after money from God,
but Paul said riches are uncertain and are not a firm foundation. Therefore,
why should we seek it out as the prosperity preachers are telling us to do?
Paul points out that we should not rely upon earthly riches because they
can be easily lost or stolen. Therefore, how can we be certain that we will
always have plenty of these riches, like the prosperity teachers claim?
The little that the righteous person has is better than the wealth of
many wicked people. (Psalm 37:16) (GW)
The above verse infers that righteous are poor but the wealthy are
wicked, just the opposite of what the get-rich preachers are teaching.
Those few Christians who are genuinely blessed with wealth do not need
to be taught how to acquire wealth. If you have the calling to be rich, then
you will not have to seek after wealth or follow a step-by-step plan to get
rich, money will find you. Paul continues:
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away
from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called
knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have
wandered from the faith. ... (1 Timothy 6:20-21) (NIV)
Here Paul said the false teachers were claiming that they had knowledge and insight that the original apostles and Paul did not have. Just like
preacher Z:
Please note I am not using the word revelation loosely. I use it in its
strongest sense. What you are about to read is a body of truth I received directly from our Lord. Now mind you, it's not a new truth,
it's neglected truth.
It is possible to understand something that other people do not, but the
passages to which Z refers are not even about money (as we will see
shortly). He and others like him lack understanding, therefore, they do not
rightly divide the Word. Peter also spoke out against the get-rich preachers. Read the following verses carefully:
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have
made up. ...10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt
desire of the sinful nature ... 14 ... they are experts in greed -- an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off
to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
123
wickedness. ...18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the sinful human nature, they entice
people who are just escaping from those who live in error. (2 Peter
2:3, 10, 14-15, 18) (NIV)
Peter said these false teachers were “experts in greed,” which means
they were very good at picking out verses from the Scriptures and teaching from those verses how to get rich. They were, no doubt, also experts at
taking large offerings. Peter said these preachers had “wandered” away
from true Christianity and were preaching for the purpose of financial
gain, the same as Balaam who prophesied for money.
Peter said the false get-rich teachers entice people who have just escaped paganism, which means they are newly converted, so they do not
have the spiritual maturity to see the falsehood of the materialistic gospel.
Those who had been Christians a long time were not falling into this trap
because they knew what the apostles taught. The same is true today. Many
people can testify that they once believed the get-rich gospel, but as they
matured in their Christian walk, they saw it for what it is and rejected it.
The Good News Bible says, "In their greed these false teachers will
make a profit out of telling you made-up stories" (2 Peter 2:3). What kind
of stories did they tell? "This lady gave me an offering, and within ten
days she received $500. If you want to prosper, give me an offering. If
you want a miracle, give me an offering.” They will provide you with numerous examples of people who gave money and got a check in the mail.
Well, what about all the people who do not give and yet get checks in the
mail or win the lottery? Or what about all the people who gave and not
only did not get a check, but went more in debt or lost a job?
What they will not tell you about are the large numbers of Christians
who are so greedy that they don’t even give to their local church, yet they
are rich! In his book, The Way I See It, Don Basham said there was a prosperous businessman who was a member of a church he used to pastor
"who boasted he had no need to tithe, because 'I'm a Christian and everything I have already belongs to God'" (p. 76). This man did not give
money and yet he was wealthy, which goes against the teaching of the getrich preachers.
In the late 1800s a certain man taught Sunday school for over 20 years
in a Baptist church; he eventually became the wealthiest man in the world.
He also did not pay tithes. Quite the opposite, he was the reason that journalists came up with the term, "Robber Baron." The man was John D.
Rockefeller. He engaged in ruthless and illegal business practices and
built an oil company called Standard Oil that was so large that, when it
was broken up by antitrust laws, several major oil companies were created
from that one company.
124
Chapter 8
Over one hundred years ago, John D. Rockefeller was worth over one
billion dollars, which today would be 50 to 100 billion dollars. If he did
pay tithes it would have meant an income of 100 million dollars (5 to 10
billion today) to his local church. It was not God that "blessed" him with
great wealth; it was Satan, the god of greed. God does not lead people to
engage in ruthless and illegal business practices. Even in his old age, he
displayed his greed by generously giving away dimes. He always had
dimes in his pocket so he could generously give one to people he met!
What lessons are we to learn from this? One very important thing is
that very often Satan will give people lots of money because Satan knows
that money is very deceitful and can make even the most devout Christian
materialistic and greedy. Let's take a look at another example.
There is today a man who planned to become a missionary when he
was young, but he not only turned against his calling, he turned against
Christianity. Do you suppose that God has blessed this man? He is today a
multi- billionaire, media-mogul! The man is Ted Turner, who started
CNN and is a partner in Time-Warner and other media companies. Can
we apply the claim that God blesses a righteous man? No, actually, the
opposite is most likely true, that Satan prospers those who turn from the
straight way. In Ephesians, Paul again refers to these false prosperity
teachers:
5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for
because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them. (Ephesians 5:5-7)
(NIV)
Again Paul warns that greed is idolatry, which means that the desire
for wealth, or not giving it when you have it, is as bad as worshiping pagan idols. Those who teach the prosperity gospel use many “empty
words.” Today, we would say they are full of nothing but hot air!
Here is a short story about a big name preacher who lives in Texas.
He is so lacking in wisdom and understanding that he has actually stated
on his national TV program how he became a big name minister. The
preacher said he was teaching at small gatherings in the banquet rooms of
hotels and other places when a fellow came to him with a proposition. The
fellow said he could put the preacher on TV and create large crowds for
his teaching sessions. This fellow was a professional media producer and
promoter. All the preacher had to do is give him a percentage of the take.
So the deal was made. The producer made slick TV commercials which
advertised the preacher's new TV program, and zoom, he was on his way
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
125
and has been a big name preacher now for over 25 years and rakes in piles
of money because he teaches that people will get rich if they send him
money.
Jesus said that those who exalt themselves shall be humbled, and
those who humble themselves shall be exalted. Since this preacher got to
where he is today by making a deal with a professional promoter, and not
by allowing God to promote him, this preacher will come crashing down
with a thud. It will happen because Jesus said it will happen. It should be
no surprise then that this preacher also teaches lots of false doctrine. He is
operating on human reason, or demons, rather than the Holy Spirit.
If you doubt just how greedy these men and women are, then you
probably do not realize how they spend their money. This same preacher,
L, is now one of the top get-rich preachers in the nation. He has a lakeside home in the Texas with 18,000 square feet and cost 4.1 million dollars, according to the Trinity Foundation. He owns about 23 vehicles, several boats including a racing boat, and several air planes including ministry jets that cost $5,000 per hour to fly when fuel prices are low.
18,000 square foot home of a big name preacher in Texas.
In 1999 a get-rich preacher said he recently bought a dog for $15,000
and a ring for $32,000. He said, “I live in a 8,000 square foot house. I am
going to build a bigger one now. One that King Solomon would be proud
of. . . . I want you know that when the people in my town come past my
mansion and they see my Rolls Royce sitting in the driveway, they know
there is a God in heaven.”
Another dollar loving preacher went to Uganda in 2007 for a one-day
crusade to break the curse of poverty off the country. But he would not go
126
Chapter 8
until the people raised the money to pay his $500,000 fee, plus another
$100,000 for jet fuel for his private plane. They raised the money, but they
are still poor!
According to articles in the Saint Lewis Dispatch, a prosperity
preacher and her husband in Missouri earn over $1.5 million a year and
live in a 10,000 sq. foot home. They have an 8-car garage with heat and
air conditioning, and a yacht worth over $100,000. The ministry headquarters is built like a king’s palace with a pair of Dresden vases worth
$19,000, “six French crystal vases bought for $18,500, an $8,000 Dresden
porcelain depicting the Nativity, two $5,800 curio cabinets, a $5,700 porcelain of the Crucifixion...” The list goes on for some length and includes:
a $30,000 malachite round table, a $23,000 marble-topped antique commode [toilet], and a conference table and 18 chairs worth $49,000. The
icing on the cake is a $10,000,000 ministry jet.
In 2005 Forbes Magazine reported that one ministry couple earns over
$770,000, a year. This couple lives in a 9,500 sq. foot home by the ocean
in Newport Beach, CA. worth about five-million dollars. The home has
nine bathrooms, an elevator, a six-car garage, a tennis court, a swimming
pool, and a fountain.
One female preacher owns a $5,000 ink pen she uses to sign her
multi-million-dollar deals. She spent one million dollars on her wedding. I
suspected that being a preacher, she had put her marriage under a curse
spending that much money for her wedding, and sure enough, it did not
last very long and she got divorced.
The get-rich preachers often give 10% of their ministry income to orphanages or the homeless, but look what they do with the rest of the
money! The tax collector Jesus ate with was certainly not a millionaire,
yet he gave 50% of his net worth to the poor; these “Christian” millionaire
preachers could give 90% and still have large incomes!
If Jesus came today do you think he would live like the ministers
listed above? No! He would sell all that opulence to help the poor. How
many children have gone hungry because this woman spent money on
luxury? You would never see Elijah living in a palace. He did not run
away to his summer home, he slept under a tree!
I could fill a chapter on the financial abuses of these greedy wolves in
sheep’s clothing. They will be cast into the fire on the Day of Judgment, if
not before. Is it just a coincidence that all these preachers who are in the
prosperity camp also believe in casting out demons and prophesying?
“'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23
And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me,
you workers of lawlessness.'” (Matthew 7:22-23)
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
127
(2) No Wisdom Here
As we saw in previous chapters of this book, the Bible puts emphasis
on giving money to the poor, while the get-rich preachers and most
churches put the emphasis on giving money to local churches and TV
preachers. Even those churches that do not teach the get-rich message
teach a false gospel because they teach that “a righteous man will naturally tend to become prosperous.” This is just a watered down version of
the get-rich message. Solomon believed in giving money to the poor:
The LORD blesses everyone who freely gives food to the poor.
(Proverbs 22:9) (CEV)
Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to
the rich, will only come to poverty. (Proverbs 22:16) (ESV)
The above verses teach the opposite of what the get-rich preachers
teach; that you should give to the rich, especially a rich preacher. According to their teaching, a rich preacher is being blessed of God so if you give
to a rich preacher you will be more blessed than if you give to a poor
preacher, because the poor preacher is not being blessed of God. They
compare it to sowing into rich soil or poor soil. “Invest in the Blessed” is
just one of their many vomits, or slogans. But Proverbs said that if you
give to the rich you will not be blessed and you will actually become
poor! In other words, your finances will become cursed by giving to the
rich, including rich preachers!
Jesus taught this very same thing, that if you want to be blessed you
should give to the poor. There are several places in the New Testament
where they took up offerings for the poor, but not once is there a record of
taking up an offering for someone who was already rich; total lunacy!
In one of Paul’s letters it mentions that he accepted financial help,
then he said, "I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent" (Philipians 4:18) (NIV). Did Paul say, "Now
that I have received your gift I can buy the carriage and six white horses I
need in my travels" or "the cathedral I need to build" or "the body guards I
need"? No! He was amply supplied but still traveled by walking, and
never had body guards. This shows the belief that we should have the best
of everything, especially preachers, to be completely unreasonable and
unscriptural. None of the apostles traveled first class and if any preacher
needed body guards it was Paul who was severely beaten several times.
There are preachers today who travel with squads of body guards.
The get-rich preachers say you can have anything you want. They
teach that if you are born-again and spiritually mature, that your inner
spirit-man will not want anything you should not have. Therefore, if you
128
Chapter 8
want something like a Rolls Royce, it's OK for you to have it. I guess Paul
wasn't spiritually mature enough or he would have desired a carriage with
six white horses and several body guards.
These guys are so stupid, they only deceive the spiritually immature.
God said he would give us the desires of our hearts, not the desires of our
flesh! By saying it’s OK to have whatever you want these preachers are
teaching people to give-in to the desires of the flesh which will cause them
to sin through covetousness and greed. It's not your inner spirit-man that
wants to eat gourmet food, it's your flesh. It's not your spirit that wants a
Corvette, it's your flesh. It's not your spirit that wants a huge doll collection, it's your flesh.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set
on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with
the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans
8:5) (NIV)
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the
sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. ...
(Galatians 5:16-17) (NIV)
It is clear, therefore, that the get-rich preachers live according to the
sinful nature and not according to the Spirit because their minds are set on
the desires of flesh. As long as we are in the flesh we are subject to the
desires of the flesh, which is why Paul said we should put to death the desires of the flesh:
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5) (NIV) also (Rom. 8:13)
Not that the flesh itself is evil, but it is still in a fallen condition,
which is why we still must crucify the desires of the flesh. Paul said, "Set
your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:2)
(NIV). Paul would roll over in his grave if he knew to what extent the
false gospel of seeking after wealth has infected American Christianity.
The desire for wealth is idolatry. Run from anyone who teaches how to
get rich. Run!
Jim Bakker founded the Inspirational Network, Heritage USA, and the
PTL TV program. He taught a gospel of health and wealth, but God made
an example of him. It was all stolen from him by another big-name
preacher, and Bakker was sent to prison. While in prison he studied the
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
129
Scriptures in-depth until he finally recanted his wealth gospel. He tells his
story in "I Was Wrong." Bakker said he believes God sent him to prison
so he could learn the truth. After his release he was exonerated of all
criminal charges, so it does sound like God sent him there to recant the
prosperity gospel, but he still does not know the original gospel. He said:
The more I studied the Bible, however, I had to admit that the prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of Scripture.... I was
deeply grateful that God had not struck me dead as a false prophet!
(p. 533)
I had studied every word of Jesus over a period of two years, and I
was convinced that the prosperity message was at best an aberration
and at worst "another gospel" contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(p. 543)
Did this experience by Jim Bakker cause a major reassessment of the
prosperity message by other ministers? No, the message is more popular
than ever before. Not only do the get-rich preachers teach how to get rich
from the Scriptures, but perhaps the greatest blasphemy is they claim that
Jesus was rich! Paul said:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty
might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9) (ESV)
There you have it, indisputable proof that Jesus was not wealthy, he
was poor! Some of the false teachers actually say that Jesus was in fact
rich but became poor by spending his money supporting the apostles. Ha!
Ha! The stupidity never ends. The prosperity preachers are blind guides,
do not follow them!
The passage means that Jesus gave up the riches of heaven to come to
earth, where he was not rich! The preachers of stupidity would have you
believe that Paul was saying that Christ came and died on the cross so that
we can become millionaires. And that the Corinthians were millionaires
because of what Paul said, "so that you by his poverty might become
rich." Yes, they have actually said that! Let's look at the context of the
whole chapter.
In the first part of the chapter Paul referred to Christians who were
poor, yet they gave richly, "their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity" (2 Cor.8:2) (NIV). Here is an example of Paul using the word "rich"
to refer to something other than millions of dollars. Poor people cannot
give many dollars, therefore, their "rich" generosity was only rich to the
130
Chapter 8
extent that they gave more than they could afford to give. In like manner,
the term rich in verse 9 does not mean "worth millions of dollars," and the
verses that follow that statement proves the point.
. . . [give] according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is
there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according
to what he does not have. 13 Our desire is not that others might be
relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
(2 Cor.8:11-13) (NIV)
Here Paul is telling the Corinthians that they should give according to
their means. Paul is speaking to people who were not wealthy, but had
good harvests or had green fields for grazing their livestock. Therefore,
they could give at least a little to help others. Paul was not asking them to
give more than they could afford to give, which is why he said he did not
want them to be hard pressed. If they were rich, how could they be hard
pressed if they gave to others? They had enough to share with others, but
were not wealthy, and the very next passage positively proves it:
At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that
in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be
equality . . . (2 Cor.8:14) (NIV)
There you have it; at the present time the Corinthians have grain and
cattle to share, but they obviously don't have much of an abundance because next year the other people could have more than the Corinthians and
could be giving to the Corinthians! How could they possibly need to be
supplied by a poor church if they were genuinely rich in the way we think
of riches today? No, they were obviously not that far apart in their wealth,
because it did not take much for them to become equal in their worth.
Equality! Apparently the get-rich preachers are hard of hearing because
they just cannot or will not hear the truth. God wants Christians to share
their excess with poor Christians so that we all have enough.
The apostle John relates this story:
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are
you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means
Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and
you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they
stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:3839) (ESV)
Preacher Z translated the above verse like this: "Rabbi, we heard you
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
131
have a big nice home; we want to see it." Laughable, yet probably millions of Christians believe this lie! Did you know that Jesus actually
shows us that he was not rich and did not have a palace? When Jesus was
speaking to a crowd about John the Baptist, he said:
"What did you go out into the desert to see? ... A man dressed in fine
clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in king's palaces." (Matthew 11:7-8) (NIV)
Clearly, Jesus was not including himself as one who lives in a king’s
palace. Only literal earthly kings could afford palaces and fine clothes in
those days. Today, merchants are the richest men in the world, but in
those days the kings were the richest. (Merchants were also rich but not as
rich as kings.)
As proof that Jesus was rich, Z said that Jesus wore expensive clothing because the Roman soldiers gambled to see who would get his garment when he was crucified. People who are healed of a deadly illness or
who have a child brought back to life can be very grateful, including high
ranking Roman soldiers. Chances are very great that some wealthy person
gave Jesus the garment as a gift. Perhaps the royal official whose son was
healed (John 4:46) gave Jesus a fine garment. It would have been more
than rude to sell it to feed the poor, as long as enough money was available for that purpose. Therefore, this does not prove he was wealthy.
Again, look at the big picture of the whole Bible.
In Luke 15 Jesus gives a parable of the prodigal son who squanders
his inheritance. The get-rich preachers even use this parable to support
their claims, saying that we should demand our inheritance just like the
prodigal son; more abomination! Let’s take a fresh look at the parable:
"And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the
younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of
property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between
them.” (Luke 15:11-12) (ESV)
First, notice that the son demanded his inheritance, which is evidence
of greed. He did not merely receive what was offered to him because none
was offered. Later the son confesses, "I have sinned against heaven and
against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son" (15:8) (NIV).
What exactly was his sin? If the get rich preachers are right, his only sin
was in squandering the wealth, but it is more likely that it was both the
demanding of his inheritance and the squandering of it.
Consider this; the other son was upset because of the feast that was
given for the prodigal son, so the father said, "everything I have is yours."
132
Chapter 8
Everything that the father had belonged to the other son, including any
increase in wealth that would occur in the future. Now if everything our
heavenly Father has is ours, why would anyone need to demand their inheritance? If you do not get your full inheritance, then everything the Father has is available for you and you will have the right to ask Him to supply your needs (but it will not come from angels, but from our brothers
and sisters who have more than they need).
What is perhaps most important, is what this parable says regarding
those who demand their inheritance now. If you get all of your inheritance
now, then once it's gone you are not entitled to a penny more. A feast was
held in honor of the prodigal son who returned, but he had already received his inheritance. Nothing is said to indicate that he would get another share of his father's net worth. Once it's gone it's gone; the Father
was no obligated to give the son any more. The prodigal son no longer had
a right to ask for a dime. Do you really want to do like the prosperity
preachers say you should do and demand your inheritance? Or would you
prefer to be the son who has access to all that the father has?
Jim Bakker came to a fresh realization of the prodigal son while he
was in prison. He learned that most of the people in prison are there because of greed. Whether it was dealing drugs, robbing, embezzling, fraud,
or tax evasion, most people in prison have a problem with greed. Jim Bakker was no exception. Jim said:
Even "The Prodigal Son," one of my favorite stories told by Jesus,
took on new meaning as I read it for the first time with an overview
of Scripture in mind. I quickly noticed that the story began with the
younger brother saying to the father, "Give me! Give me my part of
the inheritance" (Luke 15:12). He didn't even say, "Please give me."
He simply demanded. Before long that young man landed in the pigpen. I began to see that the fastest route to the pigpen begins with
"Give me" ... and the fastest route to the "big pen," the federal penitentiary, often begins with the same phrase, "Give me!" (I Was
Wrong, p. 531-532) (Ellipses are in the original)
The prodigal son proved himself to be untrustworthy in handling
money. In Luke 16 Jesus said:
10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with
much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling
worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" (Luke 16:1011) (NIV)
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
133
How we use worldly wealth will determine whether we receive heavenly riches, which are wisdom and understanding about the things of God.
At the beginning of this chapter I quoted two verses from Proverbs. Here
are two more:
“Wisdom is worth much more than precious jewels or anything else
you desire."12 I am Wisdom -- Common Sense is my closest friend;
I possess knowledge and sound judgment. (Proverbs 8:11) (CEV)
Wisdom is the main thing; get wisdom, and with all your getting, get
understanding. (Proverbs 4:7) (GNB)
This tells us that God considers wisdom and understanding to be more
valuable than gold and silver. Wisdom is among the riches of the Kingdom, the true riches. If we use money to buy luxury goods, we are not using it properly and we will not be given wisdom and understanding about
the Word of God. What this means, is, that those who teach the get-rich
message will not, they absolutely will not, be given insight into the word
of God to understand its meaning. This explains why the get-rich preachers are often teaching something from Scripture that is totally wrong and
even the exact opposite of what it actually says. They do not have much
understanding because God cannot trust them with true riches.
(3) What Jesus Taught About Wealth
Jesus made a very important statement when he said we should not
store up treasure here on Earth that can be so easily destroyed or stolen:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21) (ESV)
This Scripture cannot be reasoned away; it can only be ignored or
twisted by twisted teachers as it certainly is by the get-rich preachers. I
heard the wife of one of them on TV say you should not make a great effort to store up treasure "yourselves," but if we seek first the kingdom
(Luke 6:22-31) then God will give us "all these things." It is not us storing
it up, but God storing it up for us; then it make's it OK to have a pile of
treasure! Lunacy! This is one of the worst cases of self-deception in the
history Christianity, and is a clear case of the blind leading the blind and
both will fall into the ditch.
Jesus does not want us to desire things that are not needed and merely
134
Chapter 8
serve to satisfy materialistic or envious cravings. Neither did Jesus say
that if you pay tithes and offerings you can waste the remainder on expensive suits, dresses, and jewelry. Jesus did not say your treasure will be
where your heart is, he said where your treasure is, there will your heart
be. So if you have great earthly wealth, you will become materialistic because your heart will be where your treasure is. If your treasure is in
heaven your heart will be centered on spiritual things, if your treasure is
here on earth then your heart will be concerned with the things you own.
After stating the above passage about not storing up treasure, Jesus continues in Matthew 6 on the same subject of materialism and money:
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your
whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your
whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
money.” (Matthew 6:22-24) (ESV)
If we see the goods our neighbor has and we desire to have just as
much, then our spiritual eye is bad. We should not have our thoughts and
desires on material goods or money, but on heavenly things. We cannot
pursue and store up material goods on Earth and expect to please God and
receive his blessings, which are wisdom, understanding, health, long life,
and happiness. We cannot be full of light and darkness at the same time,
either we will have our eyes on the things of the world, or we will have
our eyes on God. We cannot seek after God and money, but the prosperity
preachers spend all their time actually teaching people to seek after
money. The Adam Clarke commentary says:
An evil eye was a phrase in use, among the ancient Jews, to denote
an envious, covetous man or disposition; a man who repined at his
neighbor’s prosperity, loved his own money, and would do nothing
in the way of charity for God’s sake. Our blessed Lord, however,
extends and sublimes this meaning, and uses the sound eye as a
metaphor to point out that simplicity of intention, and purity of affection with which men should pursue the supreme good. . . .
But if a person who enjoyed this heavenly treasure permit his
simplicity of intention to deviate from heavenly to earthly good; and
his purity of affection to be contaminated by worldly ambition, secular profits, and animal gratifications; then, the light which was in
him becomes darkness, i.e. his spiritual discernment departs, and his
union with God is destroyed: all is only a palpable obscure; and, like
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
135
a man who has totally lost his sight, he walks without direction, certainty, or comfort.
Jesus told us not to seek after earthly treasure, but heavenly treasure,
and we cannot possess earthly wealth and heavenly wealth at the same
time. Jesus continues in the same chapter on this same subject:
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will
put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of
more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can
add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass
of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What
shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek
after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not
be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34) (ESV)
I am amazed that people actually use these verses to promote the getrich gospel. The get-rich preachers teach that if we seek first the Kingdom, that God will give us "all these things," referring to big homes, luxury cars, fine clothes, diamond jewelry, and so forth. Wow! Jesus just
went into detail explaining to us that we should not desire or possess material goods, and now we have God giving us all the stuff that moths eat
and that rust destroys. They have incredible blindness to the truth! Jesus is
not talking about wealth here, he is talking about food and clothing, as he
clearly stated!
The passage says that we should not worry about the basic necessities
of life because God knows we need them. If we seek first the Kingdom of
God, rather than material goods, then God will see to it that we have all
the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter. This does
not include a four bedroom condo on the beach and a Corvette! Not a single luxury item was mentioned in the above verse, but only food, drink,
and clothing; not a gold plated toilet; not carved woodwork!
136
Chapter 8
Sinners spend their time seeking after the things of this world, especially the most important, which are food, clothing, and shelter. But Jesus
said if we spend our time seeking after the Kingdom, then we will not
have to work for the basic necessities. This, of course, only applies to
those who forsake all they have and become his full time disciples. It does
not mean that the average Christian can expect God to supply their needs
while not employed. Now read what preacher Z says about the above:
Notice GOD adds "all these things." When you effectively do
YOUR PART of first ESTABLISHING HIS KINGDOM, then God
will do HIS PART-- and give you "all these things" you need and
want for the good life ... IN ABUNDANCE! [ellipses and caps in
the original]
Notice that he said when you do your part in establishing God's Kingdom; that's a euphemism for giving money to himself so he can continue
being wealthy and preaching the get-rich message. This passage in Matthew does not refer to all the things of a materialistic society like America.
Even a poor American would be considered rich by the standards of the
first century, and those of most of the world today. King Herod did not
own a refrigerator; he did not have hot and cold running water in several
rooms of his home. He could not call his friends on the telephone for a
chat. He did not ride on smooth roads in an air-conditioned car, and did
not sleep on an innerspring mattress. But even these things are not good
enough for the get-rich preachers, they want the best car, the best home,
and the best furnishings-- if this is not greed and materialism, nothing is!
And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous
wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal
dwellings. (Luke 16:9) (ESV)
In this passage Jesus said that you should give your wealth to others
while you are here on Earth, which will make them so grateful that they
will be present to welcome you into heaven. So by giving to those in need
you actually create friends for eternity. This is the proper use of earthly
wealth, which Jesus literally calls “unrighteous.” It says the same in the
original Greek. How can people read that Jesus called wealth unrighteous,
yet believe that it is alright with God if we are wealthy? They are blind
guides and those who follow them will fall into the ditch with them.
(4) Mark Chapter 4: Deceived by Wealth
Many Christians are not aware that the Bible teaches that wealth can
cause spiritual blindness:
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
137
There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me before I die: 8
Make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich.
Give me just what I need. 9 If I have too much to eat, I might forget
about you; if I don't have enough, I might steal and disgrace your
name. (Proverbs 30:7-9) (CEV)
The above passage contains very important truth that is being totally
overlooked, not only by the get-rich preachers but also by most of Christianity in America today. The overall teachings of the Bible show us that it
is not good to be in poverty but it is also not good to be rich. Solomon understood its corrupting influence; therefore, he knew that people can have
too much wealth. Solomon knew that wealth deceives people into becoming materialistic; it deceives people into depending on it for security.
The get-rich preachers avoid passages such as this because it clearly
contradicts the get-rich gospel. Preacher Z wrote a whole book (which
was given away free by TBN) about Mark chapter 4, claiming that Mark 4
teaches the doctrine of great abundance, yet in the entire book he never
once mentioned Mark 4:19 that says, "the deceitfulness of wealth and the
desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful" (NIV). Amazing! Jesus said earthly wealth can deceive you, choking
out the truth of God’s Word. The get-rich preachers have been so blinded
by their own greed, they pass right over that verse and do not even know
it's there! They have been deceived by wealth.
As you would expect, preacher Z's book is full of gross error. Z said
that Jesus promised in Mark 4:13 that those who understand the parable of
the sower of seed will be able to understand all other parables, but that is
not what Jesus was saying in that verse.
Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How
then will you understand any parable? (4:13) (NIV)
Jesus was saying that this parable should be the easiest of all the parables to understand, so if you do not understand this easy parable, how can
you understand any of the other parables? This is virtually the opposite of
what Z said it means. Clearly, Z does not understand the parable in Mark
4 because he does not even understand that simple verse. So it is no surprise that he said the first part of the parable is about farming. Here is the
parable and Jesus' interpretation:
3 “Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. 4 While
the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and
was eaten by birds. 5 Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and
quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. 6 But
138
Chapter 8
when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. 7 Some other seeds fell where
thornbushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain. 8 But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the
plants grew and produced thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as
much as was scattered." … (CEV)
What the farmer is spreading is the message of the Kingdom of God.
15 “The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the
message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. . . .
18 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who
hear the message. 19 But they start worrying about the needs of this
life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of
other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 20 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people
who hear and welcome the message. They produce thirty or sixty or
even a hundred times as much as was planted.” (Mark 4) (ESV)
Jesus gave a parable, then he interpreted it, he did not repeat the parable as Z believes. Z said that in the second parable (it's actually the interpretation of the parable) the agricultural seed has become money: “There
you have it. When you give your money into the gospel, God automatically gives it seed-power.”
Jesus never said the seed represented money, he said it represented the
Word of Almighty God. If the seed is the Word, it's not money. Nothing
could be more blasphemous than to say a reference to God’s Word actually refers to unrighteous money! It's an abomination!
The correct interpretation of the parable in Mark 4 is this: The ground
represents the hearts of men and women. The seed represents the Word of
God. So it's not money that produces the crop, but the Word of God which
is sown into the hearts of people. Some people receive the seed, that is,
hear the Word of God being preached, but they allow the cares of this life
rob them of the truth. These people profess to be Christians but barely advance and do not produce any fruit. Some people hear the truth but because of their desire for wealth, the truth is choked off and they never
grow to become genuine Christians. Other people are like the good ground
that produces a great crop by growing spiritually to produce much fruit,
such as a Godly family, using their money to feed the hungry, etc.
Continuing in Mark chapter 4, verses 21-25 refer to understanding the
truth of God's Word:
21 Jesus also said: “You don't light a lamp and put it under a clay
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
139
pot or under a bed. Don't you put a lamp on a lampstand? 22 There
is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret
that will not be well known. 23 If you have ears, pay attention! 24
Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be
the way you will be treated--and even worse. 25 Everyone who has
something will be given more. But people who don't have anything
will lose what little they have." (Mark 4:21-25) (ESV)
These verses say that God intends for all truth to come to light, but not
everyone will understand. Whoever rightly divides the Word of God will
be given understanding so he may understand even more of God's Word
than he now does. And if anyone does not rightly divide the Word, what
little understanding he does have will be taken away.
As you would expect, Z said the passage refers to understanding how
to receive a great harvest of money. He claims that you must understand
what the Bible teaches about wealth in order to receive a return from your
seed money. Here are his words:
Clearly our Lord is telling us that with this new insight, the more
you understand about Him and His Word when you give, the greater
your rate of return will be. . . . The more understanding you have,
the greater your return will be, for he who has understanding will
receive, and he who doesn't have understanding, even the wealth he
has will be taken from him.
Z said that if you give without the proper understanding of the prosperity message, that God will actually cause you to become poorer. In
other words, if you do not believe in the prosperity message you will become poor, even if you give money to churches, missionaries, and preachers. Wow, so it is evident that the get-rich preachers are just plain stupid.
Do they even know to come inside out of the rain?
Because people have given them many millions of dollars without
getting a return, they have also developed the doctrine that says the seed
must be in the ground for a long time before it will grow to produce a harvest. So, the reason you do not get anything back is because you have not
waited long enough. Even money-seed must be allowed to grow, which is
pure nonsense. How many years does it take for God to find someone a
job? God is more than able to get someone a job today, if jobs are available! No, it does not take a long time for God to act; this nonsense is just a
cover so that they can continue to get your money even though you are not
increasing in wealth. Z said:
I can personally testify to the difficulty that goes with this waiting
140
Chapter 8
time, for my wife and I have been through it. Waiting caused us to
look like fools to our family. It was as if we were standing still financially. Everyone seemed to be doing better than we were. We
gave and gave, and then just gave some more. However, no matter
how much we gave, we just didn't seem to be getting ahead, as the
others in our family were. All we could see were the stalks. Oh, yes!
God met our needs, but we didn't seem to be accumulating anything.
Z reveals here that he wanted more than his needs met, he wanted to
"accumulate" money and things. He shows his greed. He reveals his desire
for financial gain and that he gave money with the wrong motives so he
could use the money on material pleasures. He goes on to reveal that his
trust is not in God, but in money:
How wonderful it is when the farmer thrusts in the sickle and takes
the harvest! ... This glorious feeling is especially wonderful when it
comes in the financial realm. You have unspeakable joy when the
fear of insufficiency is gone from your life.
How can anyone who fears insufficiency have any trust in God? What
a shame that he put so much trust in money, rather than God to supply
what he needs, when he needs it. But the fact of the matter is, when you
give money for the purpose of getting lots of money back, which is the
whole doctrine of the get-rich preachers, then you are giving with wrong
motives, so God will not prosper you.
2 . . . You don't have the things you want, because you don't pray for
them. 3 When you pray for things, you don't get them because you
want them for the wrong reason-for your own pleasure. (James 4:23) (GW)
Nothing is said in this passage about not receiving from God because
they did not give money as seed. God will give to those who ask, if they
need the money or desire to use the money to help the poor and the spread
of the Gospel. What this passage says is that many people do not receive
from God because they are asking out of greed; they want jewelry, expensive cars, etc. The above passage alone proves the entire prosperity message to be totally false. About this passage, the money preachers say that
asking is not enough, we must give money before we will get anything!
(5) Churches Scammed
In the past few decades many churches have lost literally hundreds of
millions of dollars to conmen who promised them huge returns on their
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
141
investments. They got what they deserved! The following was taken from
Christian News Report (www.the-garrett.com):
June 13, 2006: A Dallas jury has convicted Greg Setser of 22 counts
of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Federal prosecutors say
the founder of IPIC International cheated ministers and their congregates out of about $65 million, claiming investors could make huge
profits. The trial drew some high-profile witnesses, including televangelist Benny Hinn. Prosecutors say Setser used endorsements
from influential Christian leaders like Hinn to convince others to
invest. Setser plans an appeal.
April 20, 2006: Federal agents raided the offices of Money Growth
Solutions in Sacramento, California in an ongoing investigation into
the firm's promises of extraordinary returns to investors. The FBI
says more than $2 million had been raised with promises of
"Christian Love" bringing double the money within a month and 20
times earnings in three months. The owners of Money Growth deny
they have done anything wrong. But the FBI says hundreds of thousands of dollars of the company's money has gone to a presidential
candidate in Liberia.
February 21, 2005: A Rome, Georgia jury has found Abraham Kennard guilty of stealing more than $8 million dollars from small,
black churches around the nation. Prosecutors say Kennard ran a
pyramid scheme, where he promised most of the investment would
build resorts and about a fourth would go back to churches. But the
money was never paid and the resorts never built. . . Abraham Kennard promised pastors that for every $3,000 they invested, they
could get a $500,000 grant from a charity that was funded by
wealthy Christians. But the charity did not exist and few churches
got anything in return. Kennard, meanwhile, was traveling in limousines and private jets, wining and dining ministers at expensive hotels and paying himself a $400,000 salary.
December 6, 2004: Scotland Yard arrested Howard Welsh and Lee
Hope Thrasher in England. The British man and America woman
are accused of running a scam that took $31 million from hundreds
of investors in the US and even more investors in Britain. They operated Living Your Sole Purpose and Awesome Power Financial
Privacy Systems out of Virginia Beach. The FBI says it was no more
than a Ponzi scheme, using nonprofit, tax-exempt religious entities.
Investors were promised high returns in very short periods and but
142
Chapter 8
rarely saw any return on their money.
An ABC News report on December 06, 2006 said churches are actually becoming victims of the Nigerian scam emails:
An offer of $41,000,000 to the Hickory Ridge Community Church
in Sussex County, Del., allowed scammers to cheat a group of
prominent Christians out of $350,000. (http://blogs.abcnews.com/
theblotter/2006/12/churches_minist.html)
The reason Christians are loosing millions to scammers is because
they are greedy. They have millions and they want more. They should
have given the money to help people in need. God allowed them to be
cheated because of their greed. They were not using the money the way
the Bible tells us to use the money, so God took it away from them.
(6) Spirituality and Riches
Even though he’s stupid, preacher Z did make one correct observation; Z said he noticed that Christians who prosper tend to become spiritually cold. Really? What a surprise! Guess what, this is exactly what the
Bible teaches and warns us about, starting as far back as Deuteronomy:
"Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his
commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you
today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good
houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply
and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your
God . . . (Deut. 8:11, 13-14) (ESV)
And that is exactly what happened to them. Their wealth increased
until they forgot God and were destroyed because of it. And the get-rich
preachers want us to have wealth like them so we can become spiritually
cold also. No, we should learn from them and not become wealthy. In fact,
God actually told the Israelites to not become wealthy! He said even the
king should not accumulate wealth:
17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He
must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (Deut. 17:17)
(NIV)
The more money and material goods you have the more you come to
rely on the money rather than on God. It is just a fact of human nature. It
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
143
is not a coincidence that the Laodiceans were materially wealthy but spiritually poor, while the Christians in Smyrna was materially poor but spiritually rich:
14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the
words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's
creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I
wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a
thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor,
blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the
fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can
cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so
you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be
earnest, and repent. (Revelation 3:14-19) (NIV)
About the Laodiceans, the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary says:
The spirit of the surrounding culture had crept into the congregation
and had paralyzed their spiritual life. But did they claim to be materially rich or spiritually rich? Most likely both were involved; the
Laodiceans probably interpreted their material wealth as a blessing
from God and thus were self-deceived as to their true spiritual state.
Christ's revelation of the Laodiceans' actual situation shatters their
illusions and calls them to repentance. (Vol. 2, p. 1153)
Their spiritual poverty was shameful. It was true of the Laodiceans,
and it is most likely prophetic; this could very well point directly to America today. Christians have more than enough money to preach the Gospel
to all ethnic groups of the world, and help the poor, but the money is being diverted to build temples for the spiritually dead. The reason this
country is on a downward slide is because of the church; the church is
weak and sickly, but it is not poor. It is certainly the Laodicean church.
The Greek for "poor" is ptochos, and means:
Poor and helpless... abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution... The adjective ptochos, indicates complete helplessness (in
contrast to penes, which means poor but capable of providing for
oneself). Therefore, ptochos is sometimes translated "beggar" because of the helplessness of the individual, begging being the only
means of survival. (Complete Word Study Dict., p. 1252-1253)
144
Chapter 8
The Greek for "blind" is tuphlos,
...to envelop with smoke, be unable to see clearly... Figuratively in
respect to the mind, ignorant, stupid, slow of understanding. (CWD)
These rich people are in the worst possible spiritual condition because
they were blinded to their spiritual poverty, like the present-day prosperity
preachers. These rich teachers are spiritual beggars, yet they think they
have great understanding!
How could the rich Laodiceans become spiritually rich? Only by acquiring gold refined in the fire. When gold ore is subjected to great heat, it
melts and the impurities float to the top where it is scooped off, leaving
pure gold. Because they have been deceived by wealth, the only way these
Christians will ever be able to see and understand the truth, is to suffer the
fire of hardships and adversities. Could this be the reason so many Christians in America suffer so many problems? Is God refining prosperous
Christians who have become lukewarm? For example, divorce is just as
high among Christians as nonChristians. It is officially higher among
Christians, but that is only because so many nonChristians live together
without marrying.
To the church at Smyrna, Jesus said, "I know your afflictions and your
poverty--yet you are rich!" (Rev. 2:9) (NIV). The poor are spiritually rich
because they go through much more hardship than prosperous Christians,
and are therefore more likely to be strong in faith. This is why James said,
"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be
rich in faith . . . ?" (James 2:5) (NIV). Being poor forces you to trust God
day to day, but the get-rich preachers teach that a person rich in faith will
drive a Rolls Royce or BMW. No, it is the rich who are greatly lacking in
faith because they trust in their riches, while the poor must trust God.
Jesus and the apostles all lived by faith. To live by faith does not
mean to have enough faith to believe God for lots of money. It means to
be in a position where you must trust God week-to-week or day-to-day to
supply your needs. This means only the poor can truly live by faith. James
also said:
9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his
high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his
low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For
the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom
falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will
fade away even while he goes about his business. (James 1:9-11)
(NIV)
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
145
It is truly astonishing that people can read verses like this one and still
believe that Christians should be wealthy. This passage clearly states that
rich people hold a low position with God. This proves that wealth is not a
blessing from God! Satan is the god of this world and goes to great effort
to promote materialism and wealth, but the spiritual cost is high.
In fact, having wealth can be a great hindrance to our ability to connect with God. When we fast, it denies the flesh and increases the spiritual
connection; as a result, our prayers seem to be more potent. Having lots of
material goods is like having a full stomach. So if you live a fasted life
without lots of money in the bank or material goods, you will be spiritually stronger. This is probably one of the reasons that Jesus required his
disciples to give up their material wealth before they could become his
disciples. They also needed to learn to live by faith.
Don't let any of the false prosperity preachers fool you into believing
that they are not talking about getting luxury items; that they are really
talking about getting money so you can give it to God. They have a tendency to change their story under pressure, but then go right back to the
vomit again. What they are teaching is that if you give to God, he will
make you rich enough to give lots of money to TV preachers and also
have plenty of money for yourself, so you can buy a speed-boat, a BMW,
and a big nice home. Z said:
Don't worry about missing out on the good life. As long as you fulfill God's purpose in your giving, God will loose abundance into
your hands.
In addition, Z teaches that in order for the Great Commission to be
completed, that Christians must take over all the wealth of the world, because the cost is so great. But on the other hand, he teaches that God always supplies the needs for every minister he calls, which would mean
that none of them ever lack for anything. So why are you asking for
money? But the fact is, the Gospel has already been preached in most of
the world so it will not require all the wealth of Wall Street to complete.
Christians already have enough; they are just spending it on the good life.
The get-rich preachers will tell you that God is not poor, that he owns
the cattle on a thousand hills so he can afford anything; that he has enough
money to supply the poor and still have enough for you to live in luxury.
The day that there are no more poor will be the day you can live in luxury,
but not until then! A Chinese church leader has chastised wealthy Christians in America:
Before I traveled to the West I had absolutely no idea that so many
churches were spiritually asleep. I presumed the Western church was
146
Chapter 8
strong and vibrant because it had brought the gospel to my country
with such incredible faith and tenacity.
Many missionaries had shown a powerful example to us by laying down their lives for the sake of Jesus. On some occasions I've
struggled while speaking in Western churches. There seems to be
something missing that leaves me feeling terrible inside. Many
meetings are cold and lack the fire and presence of God that we have
in China.
In the West many Christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. They have silver and
gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. In China, we
have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing
us from moving out for the Lord. The Chinese church is like Peter at
the Beautiful Gate. When he saw the crippled beggar he said, "Silver
or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" In a similar way, I pray that God
might use the Chinese church to help the Western church rise up and
walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. . . .
In the West . . . Multitudes of church members are satisfied with
giving their minimum to God, not their maximum. I've watched men
and women during offering time in church. They open their fat wallets and search for the smallest amount they can give. This type of
attitude will never do! Jesus gave his whole life for us, and we give
as little of our lives, time, and money as we can give back to God.
What a disgrace! Repent! This may sound strange, but I even miss
the offerings we used to give in China.
On numerous occasions, the leader of a meeting would announce, "We have a new worker who is leaving tomorrow to serve
the Lord." Immediately every single person would completely empty
their pockets of everything they had. With that money, the worker
would buy a train or bus ticket and leave the next day. Often this
money was not just everything we had in our pockets at that time,
but everything we owned in the whole world. Just because you have
a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is
not welcome in many churches today. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said,
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with
me." Often this verse is used as an invitation for salvation, but actually the context Jesus was speaking in was very different. He was
standing outside the door of the church of Laodicea, knocking to get
in! (Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man, pages 295-298)
Did you notice anything? He said he expected the American Church
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
147
to be alive, but he found it dead. Jesus said the same thing: "'I know your
works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Rev.
3:1) (ESV). The reason the Western Church has backslidden is because it
has been deceived by false doctrine and prosperity.
Chinese Christian leader Samuel Lamb, a prisoner for twenty years,
stated, “Our churches in China are undergoing persecution; your
churches in the West are undergoing delusion.” (Voice of The Martyrs, May 2000, page 1)
The Western Church believes it has been given wealth as a reward
from God, but the wealth should be given to Christians in other nations
who do not have enough to meet their needs, and to preach the Gospel in
India, Nepal, and other nations.
Western missionaries are no longer allowed into most Asian nations,
but they are actually not needed. There are enough Christians in most nations today who are able to train and send out their own missionaries, the
problem is they are poor, so they do not have the funds to support the native missionaries. Gospel for Asia has thousands of missionaries who have
planted thousands of churches, but there are still 500,000 villages in India
without a church. There are many native missionaries waiting to go, but
they are waiting for the funds to come from American Christians. Far too
many of the churches in America only want to support missionaries who
are part of their denomination, so they will not support Gospel for Asia.
There are 42,000 children enrolled in schools through Gospel for
Asia. The children are also taught about Jesus, which often leads to the
conversion of entire families. But there are 11,000 children waiting for
sponsors! American Christians have enough money to enroll all those
children. Let us hope that at least some of the American Church is able to
repent of its greed and start sharing. You can even buy a cow or a couple
of chickens for the poorest of the poor in India, in order to show God’s
love for them, which opens them up to receive the Gospel.
"Wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion... as riches increase, so will pride,
anger, and love of the world in all its branches." --John Wesley
"When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into
my heart." -- John Wesley
A passage that the get-rich preachers overlook is another one that
clearly speaks out against wealth:
148
Chapter 8
"And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but
as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and
pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." (Luke 8:14) (ESV)
Notice that life's riches can choke out the truth of God’s Word! If the
riches of this world can choke out the Word of God, then Christians
should be very careful about not having a lot of these riches. As it stands
now, the get-rich preachers do not believe the above statement, and preach
that Christians should be millionaires. We have already seen that having
wealth is very dangerous to us spiritually, yet the get-rich preachers want
us to become wealthy. Satan is the one who wants Christians to become
wealthy because he knows the harm it will do us.
Many rich people actually live cursed lives, such as J. Paul Getty who
had one child die of a brain tumor, another committed suicide at age 48,
another became a drug addict. His granddaughter Irene said, "I hate
money... I don't want to be a Getty" (Interview on Dateline NBC, 1996).
Irene was a drug addict with Aids. Her brother is nearly a vegetable because of a drug overdose. Many rich people have lived the same kind of
nightmare.
There are more wealthy people in the United States than every before.
There are more than 1,000 billionaires, 49,000 with a net worth of 50-500
million, 125,000 with a net worth of 25-50 million, 9 million worth one
million. Many of the super rich do not plan to leave all their wealth to
their children because they know the harm that it does, so they are giving
away billions of dollars to hospitals, universities, and other charities.
Oscar Shaffer, a rich hedge fund manager, is one of those who is believes
in leaving your wealth to charities. He said, “I know a lot of people, sons
and daughters of wealthy people, who’s wealth has basically crippled
them” (Untold Wealth: The Rise of the Super Rich, CNBC, 6-29-2008).
Even people who win the lottery suffer greatly in so many ways that
most of them wish they had not won. This is so frequent that it is referred
to as “the curse of the lottery.” Several TV shows have been produced and
articles written detailing the trouble that follows lottery winners.
One Southeastern family won $4.2 million in the early '90s. They
bought a huge house and succumbed to repeated family requests for
help in paying off debts. The house, cars and relatives ate the whole
pot. Eleven years later, the couple is divorcing, the house is sold and
they have to split what is left of the lottery proceeds. The wife got a
very small house. The husband has moved in with the kids. Even the
life insurance they bought ended up getting cashed in. "It was not
the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," says their financial advisor. (8 lottery winners who lost their millions, by bankrate.com)
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
149
Typical results from winning the lottery are: divorce, law suites, family problems, drug addiction, bankruptcy, debt, and sometimes even death.
Most winnings do not last more than a few years.
In 2002, Jack Whittaker won the largest individual payout in U.S.
lottery history. "I can take the money," Whittaker said at the time. "I
can take this much money and do a lot of good with this much
money right now."
But it didn't work out like that. Whittaker's life was consumed
by hardship, including the death of his beloved granddaughter
Brandi, who was a victim of a drug overdose, and the breakup of his
marriage. "If I knew what was going to transpire, honestly, I would
have torn the ticket up," said Jewell Whittaker, Jack Whittaker's exwife. (Curse of the Lottery Winners: Winning Millions Often Results in Hardship, ABC News, March 11, 2007)
Even though this family was confirmed Christians, the money destroyed them. Another Christian was Billie Bob Harrell Jr. who won 37
million dollars in the Texas Lottery. He had so many problems he ended
up committing suicide.
"He was a good Christian man. But this money created a fantasy
world for him. And unfortunately this was something that he lived
out in real life. He gave into temptation and that's not an unusual
thing to happen, when you have a large sum of money.” (Darly
LePage, certified financial planner. Lotterypost.com)
Daryl LePage said, "When you win a large sum of money, you would
think that your problems go away. In reality, a new set of problems come
in." Yet, people are gullible enough to believe that God wants them rich!
Stop listening to those lying servants of Satan! Those lying snakes!
(7) Using Proper Context and Interpretation
In this chapter we will discuss the correct meaning of some passages
of Scripture that the false teachers wrongly use to support their claims that
God will make you rich, such as is Mark 11:23-24:
“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and
thrown into the sea,' if he doesn't doubt in his heart but believes that
what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 That is why I
tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” (ESV)
150
Chapter 8
This verse is supposed to mean that if you have enough faith, you can
have anything you want, including a luxury home, sports cars, and gold
jewelry. What nonsense! Jesus does not contradict himself. Just consider
all the passages that have been included already that describe the deceitfulness of riches and how we are not to have earthly treasure, and how
rich people have a low standing with God and little faith. This passage
must be understand in the context of everything Jesus had taught his disciples up to that point.
For example; suppose your son has severe convulsions and goes into a
coma every time he eats chocolate, and this condition has been present for
five years. Then one day he asks, "What can I have for desert?" And you
say, 'Whatever you want." Are you in fact telling your son that he can eat
chocolate? Of course not, and he knows it. He knows he cannot eat chocolate, so when he hears that he can have whatever he wants he is not so stupid as to suppose that he now has permission to eat something that could
kill him. It is ridiculous that you should have to tell him every single day,
"You can have anything, except chocolate," "...anything, except chocolate," "... anything, except chocolate." Jesus is not going to tell you in
every chapter of the Bible not to commit adultery, because it is clearly
stated in the Ten Commandments. So also Jesus does not expect to have to
continually repeat himself for you to understand what he teaches about
“unrighteous” riches.
Then what is Jesus referring to? He is referring to anything that is according to the will of God for Christians. If you ask for something you
need, then you are asking rightly, especially if it includes healing the sick,
feeding the poor, and preaching the Gospel. But if you are asking for
money for a luxury car then you are asking wrongly, and you will not get
what you ask for, as plainly seen already in James 4:1-3.
I hope this is becoming clear to you. Jesus was not saying that if you
have enough faith that you can have what could kill you or make you
spiritually poor, blind, and naked; which is worldly wealth. The above
verses must fit with everything else he taught in all four gospels.
"Truly, truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the
works that I am doing. He will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my
name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask
me for anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:12-14) (ESV)
Is Jesus saying we can acquire "even greater" material wealth than he
had? Of course not. The subject of this paragraph is the works of the Gospel; which are bringing people into the Kingdom, healing the sick, feeding
the hungry, and other works that bring glory to God. This passage has no
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
151
connection with getting material goods from God that Jesus has already
told us we should not have!
Driving a BMW while people a few blocks away are barely eating and
unable to pay their electric bill, does not bring glory to God. But if you
ask God for the funds to pay their bill, that would bring glory to God. The
next passage is much like the last one:
"If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be yours. 8 This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and prove to be my disciples." (John 15:7-8) (ESV)
To bear fruit does not mean to get rich. This passage cannot correctly
be made to refer to wealth. Jesus is saying that we can ask for what qualifies as bearing fruit. Fruit that will bring glory to God is not wealth, it is
doing the good works and preaching the Gospel. Having a large income
does not show people that you are a disciple of Jesus, but giving money to
help the hurts of needy people does show people that you are his disciple.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) (ESV)
This is another verse the get-rich preachers use to support their claims
that Christ wants us to have abundant possessions. But they intentionally
disregard what Jesus said in Luke:
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life
does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)
(NIV)
Since Jesus does not contradict himself, there can be no question
about it. Abundant life is not abundant possessions. And we should be
careful least we start thinking that it is. Many people have been deceived
by riches, they have been overcome by greed such that they believe abundant life equals abundant possessions, or an abundance of money in the
bank.
What's more, the Greek for "life" in John 10 is zoe (2222, Strong's
number), which relates to the spiritual life. Why didn't Luke use bios
(979), which refers to this physical world and is translated "possessions"?
Because Jesus was not talking about material abundance but spiritual
abundance. Bios is translated "possessions" in 1 John 3:17, "If anyone has
material possessions and sees his brother in need" (NIV). So when the
Bible was referring to this physical world, it used "bios," which means
152
Chapter 8
Jesus was not referring to the material side of life when he said he came to
give us abundant life.
"I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health,
even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2) (KJV).
Other translations make the meaning more clear:
Beloved, in regard to all things, I pray for you to do well, and to be
in health, as your soul does well. (LIT)
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may
go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (NIV)
My dear friend, I pray that everything may go well with you and that
you may be in good health---as I know you are well in spirit. (GNB)
These translations tell us that 3 John 2 does not say that we should
become financially prosperous as our spirit grows in Christ, which is what
the false teachers have told us. But it does say that the person John was
addressing (Gaius) was doing well spiritually, and John prayed that Gaius
would also do well or prosper in all other areas of his life, just as his soul
was prospering, but that does not mean wealth. In the Bible, to prosper
does not mean to become rich! Jesus did not contradict himself and neither did his apostles contradict him. Here again we must look at the teachings of Jesus and the apostles as a whole. To prosper means to have all
that you need in all areas of your life. It does not refer to having lots of
unnecessary luxuries.
In the book of James we learn that some Christians were giving the
best seats at their church meetings to rich people, so this proves there were
rich church members there, right? Wrong.
Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to
your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes. 3 If you
show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, "Have
this best seat here," but say to the poor man, "Stand over there, or sit
here on the floor by my feet," 4 then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil
motives. (James 2:2-4) (GNB)
He said "Suppose" a rich man comes in and a poor man; the Greek
says, “For if a gold-fingered man in splendid clothing comes into . . .”
This is not saying that there were rich church members as some preachers
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
153
claim, but it is merely saying that if a rich man does come into the church
then he should not be given the best seat. It refers to rich visitors. The next
passage proves that James did not think much of those rich people:
Who are the ones who oppress you and drag you before the judges?
The rich! 7 They are the ones who speak evil of that good name
which has been given to you. 8 You will be doing the right thing if
you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture,
"Love your neighbor as you love yourself." 9 But if you treat people
according to their outward appearance, you are guilty of sin, and the
Law condemns you as a lawbreaker. (James 2: 6-9) (GNB)
It should be obvious to anyone with high school intelligence that
James was coming down hard on the rich people who came to those
church meetings; therefore, they were not Christians. Christians would not
have been guilty of exploiting Christians, having law suits against Christians, and even slandering Christ! But the rich in that community were
guilty of those things. Such people should not be given the best seats if
they happen to visit!
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)
(NIV)
This is one of the favorite prosperity passages, because it seems to
clearly show prosperity. As we have seen, Jesus does not contradict himself, so is he here telling us that when we give money to a preacher that
we will get back a whole heap of cash? No. In context, Jesus was teaching
reciprocity, as the verses just before that one show:
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and
you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37) (NIV)
Taking into consideration everything Jesus has taught about money
and giving, and the context of this verse, he was saying you reap what you
sow. If you do good to others, good will happen to you. This is the basic
philosophy that Jesus taught and the apostles taught. It does not refer to
giving money to a preacher, but giving to others in general. It does not
mean that if you sow money you get even more money, but it means if
you give money, food, or clothing, to help people in need, when you are in
need someone will help you. At the most, it could mean that you will not
154
Chapter 8
come into great need, but it does not mean you will get piles of money.
People who help other people are greatly loved, and those who are
helped will do just about anything for them. This is one reason people
who help other people will receive back in heaps. If you give generously
to others, and find yourself in need, there will be no lack of people willing
to run to your aid. It makes no direct reference to sowing and reaping literal cash. Giving generously to others should be a way of life, and if it is,
then you will be given to just as generously as you gave to others; “with
the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
What about those verses which seem to say that God will supply our
needs, and not just our needs, but far beyond our needs?
And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will
always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for
every good cause. As the Scripture says, "He gives generously to the
poor, His kindness lasts for ever." (2 Corinthians 9:8-9) (GNB)
The "He" is God. God cares about the poor and gives generously to
them. But what this verse says is that God gives to the poor through us by
giving us more than we need so that we can give to good causes, like feeding the hungry. It is not promoting wealth-getting, and cannot rightly be
used to increase the size of church offerings, like is so frequently the case.
God will give us more than we need so we can give generously to poor
Christians. It goes right along with the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
God wanted Lazarus to have his needs met but the rich man kept money
for himself that should have gone to Lazarus.
The question is how much is more than enough? When is there extra
money? In our materialistic society we never seem to have anything left
over. Our lifestyle reflects our income. If your income increases, that is
just more money to buy a bigger house, a motor home, and so on. Paul did
not say that after you have everything you need to satisfy your fleshly
lusts, then if there is anything left you can give it to the poor.
The problem with American Christians is they have been brought up
to seek after the "American Dream." They are climbing the ladder of success through ever increasing income, and view it as a reward for hard
work. It just might be that the only reason your income has increased is so
the additional amount can be given to provide for Christians in Indonesia
who had their homes burned during an attack by Muslims. Hundreds of
churches have been destroyed by Muslim mobs in Indonesia in recent
years, and many Christians have had to flee to other areas. Those whose
homes were not burned had to leave all their worldly goods behind. Voice
of the Martyrs is just one organization that helps these Christians.
Most well-off Christians are guilty of robbery because they have kept
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
155
so much for themselves. Some of them give in offerings to the local
church and even pay tithes, but that is not what Paul and God are talking
about here; they are talking about giving a substantial portion to the needy
because you earn more than you need. St. Thomas Aquinas, in Summa
Theologica, said Christians can own things but should not possess them as
their own, being willing to give them to others as needs arise: “In this respect man ought to possess external things, not as his own, but as common, so that, to wit, he is ready to communicate them to others in their
need… (1Tim. 6:17, 18).”
Don Basham, one of the founders of the Charismatic movement, relates his experience with giving and receiving:
Some years ago I felt strongly urged by the Lord to give $150 to a
fellow minister in need. I obeyed, even though at the time that $150
represented about 75 percent of my total financial resources. That
simple act of doing what the Lord wanted was followed by months
of unexpected prosperity.
A few years later, in a time of relative abundance, I gave $1,000
to another ministry I felt was worthy of support. But this time there
was no flood of blessing in return. At first I felt resentful that God
hadn't been impressed by my generosity. But eventually, I acknowledged that the second gift had been my idea, not God's. God let me
give the gift, but He hadn't told me to give it. (The Way I See It,
p.106)
I can relate a similar story. One time God told me to give $25.00 to a
particular evangelist, which was a lot of money to me, and within a month
my income almost doubled, but even then it was still only about $300 per
month. Does that mean every time I give $25, or an equal percentage of
my present income, that I can expect my income to double? Not a chance.
The key here is that Don Basham and I had obeyed God when God told us
to give. Obedience is better than sacrifice. The increase in income was not
a sowing and reaping principle, it was a reward for obeying God. I had
given more than that before to the same minister with no noticeable return.
If God tells you to give money to someone you can be confident that you
will be rewarded because you obeyed, not because you sowed a seed. If
God does not tell you to give you cannot expect a huge return, because
there is no sewing and reaping principle that works like the prosperity
gospel says it does. If God does not tell you to give, you will still be rewarded, but not to such an extent, because you will get heavenly treasure.
As further evidence for their teachings, the get-rich preachers point
out that Abraham, Job, and Solomon were rich. But they fail to mention
that Abraham did not live in luxury but lived in a tent; a tent that was not
156
Chapter 8
filled with “stuff” like our houses in America today. He had lots of sheep
and cattle but he had few material possessions, so he cannot be compared
to the wealthy preachers today who have huge mansions with crystal vases
and marble toilets.
Abraham also had many full-time employees; Genesis 14:14 says he
had 318 trained fighting men, he also had many sheep herders plus all
their wives and children. The total must have been several thousand which
he fully supported. He did not pay them a low wage that cannot supply
one person with housing and food. All his workers had all their needs met,
of that I am sure. Also, it is likely that he did not live much better than his
employees. Some rich Christians today are rich because they own businesses and pay their employees slave wages.
The get-rich preachers say, "Those who are against the prosperity
message have never been dirt poor. If they had been, they would not be
against prosperity." The reason I am against the prosperity message is because the Bible is against it. Also, I have been hungry and homeless, but
"Christians" treated me like I had the plague, or was just a lazy bum. I
learned a lot about how much Christians do and don't do when I was
homeless. I saw the rich Christians drive passed me in their new cars on
their way to church, while offering me no help.
The get-rich preachers like to talk about how wealthy the Israelites
were when they left Egypt. They left with much of its wealth. What they
fail to tell you is that God later told them to give that wealth for the construction of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Even though God
commanded them to give the gold for the Tabernacle and the Ark, some of
them held onto the gold, so God made them melt it down and mix it with
liquid and drink it! How does that fit into your get-rich doctrines?!
The false prophets of materialism point out that Jacob reaped a hundred fold harvest during a famine. Yes, but they fail to mention that it only
happened once. During another famine Jacob had to send his sons into
Egypt to buy grain from pagans. Should we then expect pagans to be the
source of supply during lean years? No, you cannot take something from
the Old Testament that happened to one person one time and apply it to
everyone today. The hundred-fold harvest was only an example of what is
possible if God wills it, not what will happen every time if you have
enough faith. Did Jacob lack faith during the last famine? No, it was
God’s will for him to buy grain from Egypt so his family would move to
Egypt where they would become slaves and be delivered by Moses.
The false teachers even use the fact that he had money to buy grain as
an example of their prosperity message. In this famine there is a 99% likelihood that Jacob sold more sheep and cattle than he normally would have,
because there was not enough water and grass for them all. This could
have been the source of the money he used to buy grain, but even if he had
The Prosperity Gospel Exposed
157
enough money without selling any cattle or sheep, that is not evidence of
wealth, only of having enough! If he did not have the money to buy the
grain then he would have starved to death. Having enough money to buy
what you need to eat is not wealth! Dang those stupid teachers!
The get-rich preachers point out that the whole nation of Israel was
sometimes extremely prosperous, but they fail to mention that the Israelites were very prosperous even while they were worshiping golden calves
set up by Jeroboam. The southern kingdom of Judah was also prosperous
while worshiping idols:
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their
treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their
chariots. 8 Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work
of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. (Isaiah 2:7-8)
(ESV)
That passage could describe present-day America. The get-rich
preachers fail to mention that throughout history there have been many
nations that had great wealth. Consider the Egyptian tomb of Tutankhamen that was filled with gold objects. Many of the Egyptian Pharaohs
had great wealth as did the city-states of Babylon, Athens, and Rome. Are
we to believe that these pagans were blessed by God for being pagans and
giving to the pagan temples!
Consider this, when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Israel he carried off all
the gold that was in the temple. Here we have a case of God giving the
wealth of Israel to a pagan king who used it to build a solid gold statue of
himself! Why are the prosperity preachers not using this example as a
teaching lesson? Maybe they are afraid God will send someone to carry
off their gold because of their greed!
And the LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my
name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to
them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds” (Jeremiah 14:14) (ESV)
Israel's watchmen are blind. None of them know anything. All of
them are like dogs that are unable to bark. They lie around dreaming; they love to sleep. 11 These dogs have huge appetites. They are
never full. They are the shepherds, but they don't understand. All of
them have turned to go their own ways. Each one seeks his own
gain. (Isaiah 56:10-11) (GW)
A final story illustrates how these false ministers are going farther and
158
Chapter 8
farther into deception with magic and superstition like the New Age
movement. The following was reported online by a person who attended a
church conference in Tinley Park, Illinois. Z was teaching at the conference and revealed a couple of new scams which he uses to prey upon the
gullible.
He used several Bible references about stones in the Bible that are
said to speak, though it was metaphorical. But Z, remember how stupid he
is, gave magical properties to stones. He even passed out a smooth stone
to everyone in the audience who were instructed to rub their stone whenever they faced financial issues.
Later he presented more new insight on how to get ride of credit card
debt. It seems you must give a huge gift on your credit card to him, and
“something happens in the spirit world” which is supposed to out smart
the credit lenders. To pay off your mortgage, just make a gift equal to
your mortgage payment, and if you don’t own a home, then $500 will
work against future debt.
The people flocked to the front to give their credit card numbers and
cash offerings. Everyone left that night a lot poorer than when they arrived, but with their lucky rubbing stones. (www.sliceoflaodicea.com/)
“Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares
the LORD. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their
reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit
these people in the least," declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:32)
(NIV)