Although I’ve spent a majority of my posts looking at the megachurches in the United States, there are a whole lot of significant churches outside of the United States and there’s an alarming trend among them. I’m going to take a look at a few of the largest, most influential churches in all of Africa, based on the list I’ve found here and personal research (and attendance numbers that don’t have a link are taken from the aforementioned list). Here’s the top 10 largest churches in Africa:
1. Deeper Life Christian Ministry – Lagos, Nigeria – pastored by W.F. Kumuyi
1a, Claimed attendance of 120,000 and largest church on the continent (and 3rd largest in the world). Also, that pages shows that their pastor is friends with notable false teacher C. Peter Wagner, and they apparently are involved with a network of over 500 churches in the city of Lagos, 5,000 more in Nigeria, and 3,000 more throughout Africa. Just for those of you who are math challenged, that means that Deeper Life Christian Ministry claims to have direct impact on at least 8,500 churches in Africa.
1b. Their doctrinal statement shows that they’re thoroughly Pentecostal (doctrine of subsequence and doctrine of initial evidence) and point 12 also shows that they’re a prosperity gospel church.
1c. Their conference center has held conferences on things like Secret of Success, Prosperity & Triumphant Living, (October 18-20, 2002).
1d. They explicitly teach a prosperity gospel here, as well as publishing prosperity gospel literature on their publishing label.
1e. In their church history, they claim that their pastor has healed people of cancer and HIV “and those healing have been medically attested to”. Documentation PLEASE! In Nigeria, where the HIV/AIDS rate is in the mid double digits,
I’d dare suggest that the pastor is simply lying through his teeth. If he had ever *verifiably* healed anyone of AIDS, it would be all over every news service on planet earth and their church would be growing by 120,000 people a month.
General Idea – Overt Prosperity Gospel Church
2. Jesus Celebration Center – Mombasa, Kenya – pastored by Dr. Wilfred Lai
2a. Their claimed membership is 15,000 with a weekly attendance of four times that much, seeing that their sanctuary seats 30,000 people!
2b. Jesus Celebration Center is a plant from the Redeemed Gospel Church, which apparently has planted over 1,000 churches in Africa.
2c. Though their website doesn’t have much actual information to tell one where they stand, they do have a school of ministry that offers very tell-tale courses: Blood Covenant, Believer’s Authority, Christ the Healer, Principles of Anointing, etc. and they offer further education in Prophets and Prophesy, God’s Generals, The Blood Covenant, and The Apostolic Ministry.
It’s worth remembering that the doctrine of “Blood Covenant” comes from E.W. Kenyon, teacher of Kenneth Hagin. I talk a little about the idea here and link a copy of Kenyon’s book.
The fact that their school of ministry offers the courses they do basically tells you that these guys may not be an overt prosperity gospel church, but they definitely would not condemn the prosperity gospel (and I’d bet my bottom dollar that Jesus Celebration Center has a whole lot of prosperity gospel running unchecked in the church).
2d. Their “Bishop” hears direct, propositional messages from God (read paragraph 1 here) and they teach their congregation to do so here.
General Idea – Subtle Prosperity Gospel Church
3. Living Faith Church – Lagos, Nigeria – pastored by David Oyedepo (http://davidoyedepoministries.org/)
3a. Claimed attendance of 50,000
3b. They claim to run a network of 300 churches in Nigeria.
3c. They’re an overt prosperity gospel preaching church, and they don’t exactly hide it.
3d. To give an example of the sheer breadth of doctrinal confusion here, read this crazy document that is a hybrid of Calvinism, Arminianism, Spiritual Warfare and Prosperity Gospel.
3e. It may be of interest that David Oyedepo is also apparently worth over $150 million. I’m guessing that’s abnormal for Nigeria, seeing that having a worth of $150 million is abnormal for Beverly Hills. That tends to suggest that he’s a prosperity preacher.
3f. Here’s David Oyedepo being asked if his private jet (1 of 4) is used only for ministry:
.
General Idea – Overt Prosperity Gospel Church
4. Apostolic Church – Lagos, Nigeria
4a. This is a church conference, not an individual church, but it’s worth recognizing that the Apostolic Church in Nigeria is so huge that their convention center seats 100,000 people; it’s the largest capacity religious building on planet earth.
4b. Having worked in the Apostolic Church, I can confidently say that the range of “acceptable” in the apostolic church definitely includes prosperity gospel, though the denomination does not have the prosperity gospel as part of any statement of faith and would even include elements in it that would rebut the prosperity gospel. The spectrum of “orthodoxy” is both wide and unregulated (though the Apostolic church proudly teaches the doctrines of subsequence and initial evidence, as well as having contemporary apostles…and not in the “little a” sense that the Reformed Charismatics talk about).
It’s also the denomination where I was introduced to demon sniffing; the ability to tell what kind of demon was assaulting a person based on the smell one encounters in a room/scenario/etc.
The Apostolic Church isn’t exactly known for it’s meticulous handling of scripture, and it’s tremendously influential in Nigeria.
General Idea – Prosperity Gospel friendly denomination
5. Rhema Bible Church North – Johannesburg, South Africa – pastored by Ray McCauley
5a. Rhema is a church with a claimed attendance of 45,000 people (read the Ray McCauley bio here).
5b. Their doctrinal statement teaches the doctrines of subsequence and initial evidence, physical healing in the atonement, Satan is behind all bad things (temptation, sickness, etc.), and open egalitarianism (seeing that every one of these churches has husband & wife “co-pastors”) which makes it pretty clear that these guys are a “signs and wonders” church that doesn’t care so much about exegesis as it does about excitement.
5c. They have a series of studies here that include things like positive confession, as well as prosperity gospel.
5d. Ray McCauley is the president of the International Federation of Christian Churches, a “signs and wonders” charismatic fellowship of churches in South Africa that includes 374 member churches (359 of which are in South Africa).
5E. The church bookstore sells Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, and Creflo Dollar. ‘Nuff said.
General Idea – Overt Prosperity Gospel Church.
6. Redeemed Christian Church of God – Lagos, Nigeria – pastored by Enoch Adeboye.
6a. I could do a whole lot of research, but I’ll just cut to the chase and point my readers to their doctrinal statement: tongues is the evidence of the filling of the Spirit, Satan is the cause of all sickness, physical healing is promised in the atonement, and “touch not the Lord’s anointed” (i.e. – anyone who ever disagrees with or challenges the pastor is a workman of Satan…this teaching is a distinctive mark of word-faith churches).
That’s 50% prosperity theology (health without the wealth), but I’d be really surprised if the “wealth” part doesn’t tend to show up together. Churches who preach that “it’s God’s will that you be healthy” don’t usually have any sort of solid reason to not preach “It’s God’s will that you be financially blessed”. Health tends to precede wealth, but those two are almost always found together.
6b. For some more in depth content, one can check out their Sunday School outline for the year (paying attention to their lessons on the Holy Spirit, the anointing, healing, etc.) or dig through all 900 of their discipleship lessons (some of which include prosperity gospel issues).
6c. The church apparerntly has around 40,000+ attenders, but claims to have connections with churches in 9 countries and hold revival services that draw a half million people.
General Idea – Signs & Wonders Church.
7. United Family International Church – Harare, Zimbabwe – pastored by Emmanuel Makandiwa
7a. United Family International Church is a church of around 35,000+ that has 13 other satellite campuses.
7b. They have prophecy and miracle testimonies on their church website, here and here and here.
7c. The church is run by a prophet and a prophetess.
7d. They have banking details on their website for those who want to give “seed offerings”.
7e. The church has no doctrinal statement, but if you look on the right side of the website, there’s a link to Emmanuel Makandiwa’s Facebook page. Goldmine of craziness and bizarre quotes.
General Idea – Signs & Wonders Church; the main thrust of their ministry is divine miracles and healing.
8. Christian Revival Centre – Bloemfontein, South Africa – pastored by At Boshoff
8a. The name should be a give away, their statement of faith definitely is: modern apostles (the full “five-fold ministry” stuff), healing in the atonement, and “touch not the Lord’s anointed”.
8b. They have 3 campuses (Bloemfontein, Pretoria, and Johannesburg), two of which have 5,000+ seat auditoriums, all three of which a combined attendance exceeding 33,000+ and 11 weekly services.
8c. They host conferences which include main speakers like Brian Houston (Hillsongs Australia), Ray McCauley (#5) and Peter Pretorious (who apparently has led 9 milion people to the Lord in Africa…has anyone ever done the math of all the “conversions” in Africa? Between the churches listed here and all the itinerant “evangelists” who go to Africa, apparently every single person in Africa has been converted…twice…)
8d. Speaking of Ray McCauley, At Boshoff is also on the executive board of the International Federation of Christian Churches, and seeing that McCauley is a prosperity preacher, it’s almost guaranteed that At Boshoff is too.
8e. The Christian Revival Center oversees a church network that includes 38 churches, 27 of which are in South Africa.
General Idea – Subtle Prosperity Gospel Church.
9. Word of Life Church – Ajamimogha Warri, Nigeria – Pastored by Ayo Oritsejafor.
9a. At the time of my research, the church website that was located here is totally down. That made for difficult research.
9b. What I do know is that this is the church and their attendance is claimed to be 30,000+:
.
9c. I also know (as does everyone else) that Ayo Oritsejafor is one of the famous Nigerian pastors who has a $4.9 million private jet. That’s difficult to understand for a person who lives in a country where most people live off less than $1 per day, and kinda makes him look like a prosperity preacher.
9d. On Ayo Oritsejafor’s old Facebook page, he posted his prophetic declarations for 2012:
2012 Prophetic Declarations
1. In 2012, you will shine twelve times better than your equals and you will rule in the midst of your enemies. [Rev 12:1-8]
2. In 2012, you have been lifted twelve times higher, you are the head and not the tail. You are on top and not beneath. You are above and not below. [1 Chron 24:12]
3. In 2012, God has added twelve times value to your life. You are blessed and highly favoured. [1 Chron 25:19]
4. In 2012, Your strength is renewed to fight and win every battle. [Exodus 15:27]
5. In 2012, Because of the altar of peace that you carry, nothing will be missing and nothing will be broken. [Exodus 24:4-5]
6. In 2012, God has given you a token that will shut the mouth of your opposition, return the enchantment of your enemies and stop the advancement of your competitors. [Numbers 17:2-3,10]
7. In 2012, Every prayer of faith that you pray at this altar will be answered by fire twelve times faster. [1 Kings 12:31-32]
8. In 2012, Any issue in your life that has lasted for up to twelve years has been given a mandate from God to expire. [Mark 5:25-29]
9. In the name of Jesus, in this year 2012, you will sit down and rule in the midst of your enemies. [Matt 19:28-29]
10. In 2012, I pronounce upon your live Talitha-cumi in the name of Jesus. Whatever is dying in your life is revived, whatever is dead receives life. [Mark 5:35-42]
11. In 2012, in the name of Jesus you have received divine wisdom as a weapon of war. Rule in the midst of your enemies. [Luke 2:42-43]
12. In 2012, the Pharoah you saw yesterday, you will see no more because God hsd caught him in a supernatural net. You are released to rule in the midst of your enemies. [Ezekiel 32:1-3]
9e. Ayo Oritsejafor’s new Facebook page has more brain melting eisegesis and scripture twisting.
General Idea – Subtle Prosperity Gospel Church.
10. The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Church – Lagos, NIgeria – pastored by Lazarus Muoka.
10a. The name is “Charismatic Revival Church”, and their “about” page makes things pretty clear: “inexplicable but true and startling miracles are witnessed everyday in our fellowship. Both curable and incurable diseases such as, HIV, Cancer, Diabetes, etc. have been cured and testimonies abound from the mouths of those who have been liberated from demonic bondages.” The three hyper-links in the middle of that page lead to fuller disclosure on how they expect every real church to be exactly like the church in the book of Acts (i.e. tons of signs and wonders, tongues everywhere, etc.).
10b. The church apparently has at least 30,000 attenders, but they also oversee a network of 222 churches in 77 countries.
10c. Not to be outdone by any other church, The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Church has received a commission to “take the world by signs and wonders” and reach ten billion souls (which they recognize is more people than are in the world, so it will take more than 1 generation).
10d. They don’t have a doctrinal statement at all, but they do have a testimonies page here with a sub-page of their “blessing” testimonies (which include financial blessings in response to seed offerings) here and here and here…and a another sub-page for people healed of bedwetting and frequent urination. Just when you’d thought you’d heard everything…(I already anticipate the stupid jokes about “laying on of hands” with that last one and want to cut you all off at the pass. Don’t do it.)
General Idea – Signs & Wonders Church.
Those are the top ten most largest/most influential churches in Africa that I’ve found, and they’re all signs & wonders churches, and most are overtly prosperity gospel churches. The top 5 churches on that list are larger than Lakewood Church in Houston (Joel Osteen), so they’re highly influential in their countries. It’s also worth noting that those 10 churches have direct contact/influence with the 10,000 or so churches in their various networks.
There are even more huge signs & wonders/prosperity gospel churches that are 20,000+ in attendance. Some of them are:
1. Christ Embassy – Lagos, Nigeria – pastored by Chris Oyakhilome (30,000+ attendees)
2. Doxa Deo – Johannesburg, South Africa – pastored by Alan Platt (30,000+ attendees & 19 extension campuses)
3. Christian Life Church – Kampala, Uganda – pastored by Jackson Senyonga (22,000+ attendees)
4. Light House Chapel – Accra, Nige Ghana – pastored by Dag Heward-Mills (20,000+ attendees & 35 extension campuses)
5. Mountain of Fire and Miracles – Lagos, Nigeria – pastored by Daniel Kolawole Olukoya (20,000+ attendees)
6. Dunamis International Gospel Center – Abuja, Nigeria – pastored by Paul Enenche (20,000+ attendees)
So, there’s not a whole lot to say.
Africa is drowning in prosperity gospel heretics and signs & wonders churches; the prosperity gospel is the face of Christianity in Africa…far more than I ever anticipated before I started this research. It’s absolutely disgusting, and the influential churches in the west need to take out the axe and start clearing up shop.
Forget the atheists. There’s a few thousand of them and they’re not worth wasting time on. They’ve proven to be a total waste of time, every time…
Forget 99% of Western apologetics. Who CARES about who’s debating another biology/zoology/whatever professor turned atheist/darwinist crusader? I’d dare suggest that the debates that need to be done have already be done fifteen times over again. Let’s give all our apologists a holiday and send in someone who will settle the issues at hand
.
Forget social projects…well, no. Don’t abandon them. Just include the real gospel when you hand out food/blankets/whatever…and that includes telling what the gospel isn’t.
The most pressing need of the western church is to toss the demonic hydra of the prosperity gospel, as well as the whole Signs & Wonders movement, in the theological trash can. That means the reformed charismatics need to take their stand against the prosperity gospel and do a whole lot more than make a few youtube videos or drop passing references in sermons. The signs & wonders false teachers need to be called out as the charlatans they are, rebutted in pulpits and print, and run out of town.
Yes, this is making me very angry.
Until Next Time,
Lyndon “It’s time to grind up the golden calf” Unger
Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely... 
Reblogged this on Truth2Freedom's Blog.
This post was painful to read, considering I grew up in and was converted in the first church mentioned and have had some experience with most of the ones mentioned. Saddens me to see the export of the prosperity gospel has been accepted wholesale on our continent and few even think to question it.
I will admit that it has been frightfully eye opening for me as well. Makes me re-think our entire missions strategy…
would be quite amused to see people accept as truth the writings of a blog or internet on any matter….just amazing…test every writing,,every blog…every newspaper article…everything….if you find it truth praise God..if its false you’ll save yourself of the earthly and eternal judgment of those who make themselves peddlers of things they have no accurate knowledge about…scriptures call it false witness….beware….it was reported Jesus was demon possesed, just imagined if people belived that and started spreading it on the blogs and internet articles of that day.
I’m not for or against any of these ministries…im totally against the writing and believing of articles and write ups that are based on hearsay and un verified facts…for example everyone in Africa knows that Deeper Life Church is known for Holiness preaching and not prosperity…check your facts before publishing…otherwise you may just end up in the same condemnation of falsehood of those you seem to weant to expose…verified truth or keep silence…..
Thanks Olumide. I have checked my facts. I have done further work on Deeper Life, after writing this.
I’ve read some of W.F. Kumuyi’s writings, as well as interviews, etc. Kumuyi has admitted to preaching a prosperity gospel, and has done so openly.
I’ve been contacted by people from Nigeria who have been there and suggested that it’s far worse than I’ve insinuated. Originally, the links in the points were live and provided ample verification. Now, some of those links are dead, but I stand by what I wrote.
I checked my facts.
You’ve offered me no facts whatsoever to challenge anything; all you’ve offered is some sort of blanket defense of Kumuyi based on popular opinion.
I wonder if you have any biblical objectivity on these matters, or sufficient biblical understanding to evaluate them in the first place.
Hi there, thanks for the response.
I guess the ministry link and the messages there are the best basis of evaluation…it might be helpful to say that prosperity isnt the focus of this ministry even though its accepted…happy listening to the bible studies..http://www.dclm.org/sermons/bible-studies/
So I’ll just send the next 2 months listening to everything on the site?
No thanks. You’re the one who made the claim, so you’re the one who has to back it up.
How about you provide me a link to a specific sermon or article that corrects me? Something refuting the prosperity gospel would be great, or at least something that articulates their view on associated issues.
I’ll be waiting.
Hi I question your facts and your interpretation of the properity gospel . The is nothing wrong in having lots of money so long that the manner in which you attaind it was in honesty and truth. You have stated that these people are lying because if anyone should be healed of AIDS or any other illnesses it would be all over the media . Are you save or downright dumb !!! I guess it will be all over the news because a number of people are getting save and the secular news is rejoicing ???? Clome now you are more intelligent than that . The word of faith movement or pentacostal movement is growing at phenomenal rates . I thought Ineed to mention to you that Jesus was not a poor man but a wealthy person . ( I wonder what hhappened to the gold that He was blessed with at birth )? Nevertheless, the jewish teaches accused Him of many things but not being poor as the themselves were weathy and according to the law of Moses poverty is a curse. The word gospel can be translated in modern english as good news or joyful news. Now lets read it this way 1) The prosperity GOOD NEWS or the JOYFUL NEWS about prosperity .Sounds nice hey in fact our minister of finance in the parliament here in South Africa gave us the prosperity gospel !!!.Saying that the economy is growing although slowly. That is good news !! Or he gave us
good news.
No facts are half truths and you did not investigate you facts throughly . You wrote down what you wanted to say BASED ON YOUR OWN THEOLGY what you were taught .
Thanks for your thoughts Michael.
You can question my facts and interpretation, but you don’t. You question my motivations…hence you didn’t interact with what I wrote.
Having money isn’t sinful, but stealing it from the poor is…especially when done under the false pretense of some sort of divine promise.
That’s as wicked as it comes.
The media also wouldn’t care about people getting saved, sure. I mentioned something else though; getting healed from AIDS. That is certainly news worthy.
The Word of Faith movement is not synonymous with Pentecostalism, hence many Pentecostals condemn it.
Jesus wasn’t rich. You need to read you Bible a little more closely. You may start with Matthew 8:20. Feel free to reflect on Matthew 17:27 and then try to wrap your mind around Matthew 19:23-30. Those are in ascending order of difficulty, and I only gave to three passages so as to not overwhelm you.
Also, the Pharisees were a TAD more concerned with Jesus claiming to be Yahweh, hence they didn’t bother with petty insults like “poverty”. Blasphemy was a capital crime; poverty wasn’t even a crime in the first place.
Paying word games with English translations of Greek terms doesn’t change the meaning of Greek terms.
Show me some Biblical exegesis, not stupid word-association games.
Ah, man. Now I have to update my post from yesterday. And here I thought you were done.
Ha! I thought I mentioned it at the end of the second last post. I’m going to toss out 2 more posts. 1 for Asian Charismatic churches and 1 synopsis. I would do South American churches too, but there’s no way I’d be done in time.
What about Antarctican charismatics? I mean, if your going by continent.
I do hear that there are tongues of fire showing up in the land of snow and ice…
Mennoknight, I can’t wait for your Asian Charismatic posts…over at our blog we’re toying with the idea of a marathon on the Asian Charismatic scene, since there are a lot of people influenced by it in Asia though there’s not necessarily a lot of biblical responses (it seems). We’ll try to do it around the same time as the Strange Fire Conference and we’ll definitely give a link to your Asian post.
By the way, I agree with you totally, if we are going to go for Global apologetics (no relations to Caner), we are definitely going to have to focus on this issues, and others like it rather than the hand full of atheists and their fans in Western media.
I can certainly see where many of the continuationists get their argument that the charismatic churches are responsible for most of the evangelism done in Africa. So sad that they haven’t received the real thing.
I also agree that far and away the most important job apologists should tackle is that of refuting the prosperity doctrine. Thanks to you and all those involved in the upcoming conference.
Wow – I knew that things were bad in Africa, but this just horrifying. Do we need to consider those folks in the prosperity church as an “unreached people group” and send out missionaries to target them directly?
It’s disturbing how much money and time has been expended by missions organizations over the decades and then to see that it has led to this….! Thank God for the faithful pastors and missionaries who minister in Africa and teach the truth of the Gospel. May their tribes increase!
Hans, calling the prosperity gospel people an “unreached people group” is likely going too far since the people in those churches are frequently sincere believers whose only exposure to Christianity is the prosperity gospel.
I would definitely agree with some of the large and influential American pastors targeting the prosperity gospel directly, naming names and quoting books and rebutting them point by point.
I would call the leadership to repent, then run the unrepentant leadership out of town and teach the gospel to the people who are left.
Hi,
I have been silently reading your blog and learn much. I repost some of your Charismatic primer, but not all as subsequently many churches mention are not known in this parts of the world. I am glad that you will do the Asia charismatic post will be looking forward to it. Churches in Asia particularly Singapore, Malaysia are very much into the Health & Wealth Gospel. Here are two sites that you may find interesting. See what’s happening here. https://www.facebook.com/CHCConfessions ; http://www.calvarytoday.blogspot.com/
Thanks Robert!
City Harvest is actually too small to be on my radar (I’m mainly addressing churches larger than 20,000 people), but I found this and figured you already know:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-kong-hee-trial-goes-on-recess-amid-allegations-city-harvest-church-leader-financed-wifes-superstar-career-106117/
But for my other readers, what do you call a pastor who steals $41 million from his church to sponsor his skanky wife’s efforts at becoming a pop star? Faithful shepherd?
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Hello
Thank you for your work.
Concerning 5/ & 3/
5/ Long after 1990 when McCauley was outed as someone who based his faith on the JDS heresy (we issued a tract called Rhema – a cult? The Reason Why and other materials) and issued a sham repentance, he continued to sell the materials that taught it. The entire message from Adam was contained in his tape ‘The Seed That Bust the Devil’s Head’ (where he called Jesus ‘a stepson of Stan’ on the Cross) a message that was also printed inside McCauley’s leather Rhema Bible – like Copeland does with his.
3/ I seem to recall when in East Africa in 2000, finding materials from 3/ that indicated a following of this heresy.
May I encourage those who want to know what people stand for to look very closely at what they sell – and depending on the group, maybe sell under the counter – eg do they sell K. Copeland’s ‘What Happened From The Cross to the Throne’, etc.
The morphing of many over the last 2 decades, including the Hagins who denied ever teaching or believing it though spreading it all over the world, is but one other example of the deep desire to morph and keep the money flowing in.
No one should be deceived into thinking many of these are merely ‘slightly off the line churches’.
I would like to share a few examples of speaking to members of the Rhema cult on the streets in J’bg in 1990 :
– I dropped into a sandwich bar near Joebert Park for a snack, and began to speak to a young woman working behind the counter about the difference between Hagin’s beliefs and the Bible. Suddenly she looked up and said ‘The Holy Spirit is telling me not to listen to you any more.’ I had been speaking about the Blood Atonement vs a Jesus who suffered in Hell for sin.
– On the street in Hillbrow (I lived a hundred yards away from Hillbrow), was a young man selling jewellery. I called him ‘Raymond the Kenyonite’ because of his beliefs. He, as many, was a member of Rhema Randburg under Ray McCauley. Raymond denied for sometime any belief in the Jesus suffering in Hell for sin teaching. Yet one day as I was seated at a table speaking with others, he was wandering by and said ‘Yes he had to.’ Later I went to speak with him and he again admitted the teachings, to which I replied, ‘You are Lost!’. He was utterly shocked, and stumbled backward to his feet and stammered, ‘No weapon formed against me will prosper!’ I had just spoken his salvation out of existence! Because of his faith in the power of the spoken word, he had to speak his own words of faith and reassert that his salvation still existed.
– A former board member of Rhema told me McCauley used to sit, arms resting on a table as if he had a knife and fork in his hands, and pound the heal of his hands on the table shouting, “Some people sing, ‘In the sweet by and by’, but I want the steak on the plate!!”
– At a butchery in Randburg, I spoke to the men behind the counter. They said, ‘You are trying to destroy the top 5 ministries in the world!’ to which I replied, ‘God help us if the top 5 ministries in the world deny the Blood Atonement and the Deity of Jesus!!’
– Don Leonard was a stalwart at Rhema when my wife was there in the mid 80’s. He was an avid believer in Rhema’s message and had a station wagon on which was emblazoned the words ‘TURN OR BURN!’ Don came to my flat building one day after we had issued the tract ‘Rhema – A Cult? The Reason Why.’ He touched me gently on the arm and said, ‘Markie, Markie, you are under a religious spirit Markie.’ Clearly Ray McCauley had deluded this man.
– One day Don Leonard phoned and said, ‘He (McCauley) repented of everything you wanted him to.’ I said that was not so, and said, ‘Don, the veil of the temple was torn when Jesus was on the Cross!’ He replied in an anguished tone, ‘No Markie, no!!’
This poor man, and no doubt thousands of others, never did know the Gospel from the lips of Ray McCauley.
Recently McCauley posted the following on his Facebook page:
Jesus, our good Shepherd, became what we were so we could become what He is.
The words are the same as of old – do I believe he ever repented? Never.
May God Bless his people.
Wow.
I didn’t know that McCauley taught the JDS stuff and other horrors. That’s utterly horrid. Praise the Lord you’re there and addressing the false teaching coming from Rhema. If you have links to stuff that documents his errors, please feel free to pass them along. I might readdress the topic in the future.
God bless brother!
Hi
I was there in 87-90.
That’s why I’m writing – I expect many in the younger generation don’t know.
McCauley taught it from 1979 to… The former board member I mentioned has the Rhema leather bound Bible that has McCauley’s version from JDS from Adam to the born again believer. It and the cassette of it were called ‘The Seed that Bust the Devil’s Head’ (like Copeland prints his in his Bible).
My wife was taught by McCauley. When D.R. McConnell’s book A Different Gospel came out, she bought it, and read it, but struggled to comprehend simple passages that explained the Gospel. It took repeated explaining, and rebuking spiritual powers, before she was able to understand.
I spoke on the street with quite a number of them – a true cult by their behaviour. I include some more below:
Our desire to warn others and try to bring McCauley et al to repentance, led us to make an A5 sized tract from a summary of McConnell’s book, and began it with a sentence that ended with the words ‘…Kenneth Hagin an unsaved man?’ I took copies to what appeared to be a local Christian coffee bar just down the street in Hillbrow, and handed a copy to a young man sitting on a bench opposite me, while a leader strummed a guitar and sang Christian songs. Suddenly the young man leaned forward and screamed, ‘You spirit of a lying Gospel!!!
On the street in Hillbrow (I lived a hundred yards away from Hillbrow), was a young man selling jewellery. I called him ‘Raymond the Kenyonite’ because of his beliefs. He, as many, was a member of Rhema Randburg under Ray McCauley. Raymond denied for sometime any belief in the Jesus suffering in Hell for sin teaching. Yet one day as I was seated at a table speaking with others, he was wandering by and said ‘Yes he had to.’ Later I went to speak with him and he again admitted the teachings, to which I replied, ‘You are Lost!’.
He was utterly shocked, and stumbled backward to his feet and stammered, ‘No weapon formed against me will prosper!’ I had just spoken his salvation out of existence! Because of his faith in the power of the spoken word, he had to speak his own words of faith and reassert that his salvation still existed. How terribly sad!
One Sunday morning as I looked down from my 5th floor balcony, I saw a local churchy bus gathering children. Always looking for an opportunity to warn people of the Faith Movement, I raced down and caught the driver before he left. I raised the issue of McCauley’s teaching of a Jesus who suffered spiritual death on the Cross and had to suffer in Hell to pay for sin. He replied ‘the Bible doesn’t tell us what happened in those 3 days and 3 nights.’ My response to this day is, ‘Yes, but it doesn’t tell us Jesus paid for our sin in Hell either’. I later found that the church had joined the IFCC, over which McCauley was a leader.
In fact the IFCC had over 500 charismatic churches aligned under its ‘umbrella’. Ed Roebert, Tim Salmon and Ray McCauley were its leadership team.
I dropped into a sandwich bar near Joebert Park for a snack, and began to speak to a young woman working behind the counter about the difference between Hagin’s beliefs and the Bible. Suddenly she looked up and said ‘The Holy Spirit is telling me not to listen to you any more.’ I had been speaking about the Blood Atonement vs a Jesus who suffered in Hell for sin.
Others would drop by, now and then, and say ‘I heard you were stabbed.’, or ‘You now that guy who wrote that book?’ (a reference to Dave Hunt), ‘Well he died of cancer.’ I was able to say I knew someone who had phoned him recently from South Africa, and he was quite well.
At Northcliff AOG one Sunday I discerned a spiritual presence above the band at the front of the church. I quietly rebuked it and it left. The head pastor stood up and said ‘A lovely change of spirit here this morning.’ Only much later did I read in one of McCauley’s books that the original band at Northcliff Aseembly had left and gone to Rhema. The spirit had remained.
Later Caroline and I attended a Bible study that was associated with Northcliff AOG church. Unknown to the pastor, false Faith teachings were being propagated there. When we raised opposing opinions we were shoved out the door.
A friend of Caroline’s was attending Rhema under McCauley and came by her flat. After examining the Scripture he agreed that the JDS teaching was wrong and left saying he would personally speak to McCauley. He never came back. We found out later that when he went into the Bible school class, a former Pentecostal who had left the Gospel for JDS, said ‘there is a deceiving spirit here.’ The man immediately repented of believing the Blood Atonement, perceiving he had encountered a deluding spirit in the Blood Atonement.
Can give more but don’t want to overload your system.
May God Bless His people.
Sorry I missed your request for connections. I have been compiling what I am posting with the thought of publishing a small book. (the last time I intended a small book it became 560 pgs…). Hence I have been in touch with the guy with whom I left all the materials we issued, and McCauley’s cassettes, etc in UK. Unfortunately he lost his wife 2 years ago and is unsure if he has the materials. I am in UK in a month or so I will try to see if he has the things and will transcribe.
As I will mention later, as we kept checking, he went on selling his own and other materials for several years after his supposed ‘repentance’ – he had me arrested at that time, will tell more later.
If you have a contact in Johannesburg you could ask them to go to Rhema North and thoroughly check the bookstore, for cassettes like ‘The Seed That Bust the Devil’s Head’ or by Copeland, KC Price ‘Faith Foolishness of Presumption’ video, etc. Again if you have a contact in Surrey UK you could ask them to go check Ray McCauley Ministries for same materials. About 1994 an acquaintance phone RM Min Surrey and asked if they had McCauleys and was told ‘No, we use Copeland’s because it is much clearer’… That guy went on to become head of Rodney Howard Browne Europe.
God Bless
If you read this by John Bond, South African Pentecostal former leader, he mentions McCauley’s being involved. I personally passed some materials to John when I was in Jbg, however he seems to have been duped by the apparent repentance without knowing what followed.
http://www.nuparadigm.co.za/Bond%20Book/FaithMovementSA.html
God Bless
No one should be blind as to how far and wide the JDS spread with McCauley’s efforts.
In one of the IFCC magazines, shown to me by the former board member of Rhema, was an article stating that Rhema was going to, ‘build in Malawi and from there reach all of central Africa’. And so they did.
In Bulawayo, I visited a Pentecostal church and spoke to the pastor. He was reluctant to give me time and only after 2 weeks was he willing to listen. He insisted that they record an interview so they could send it to McCauley. Finally they believed what I said but was confounded and said, ‘But I saw him in minister in Malawi under such a tremendous anointing!’
This was a problem for many Pentecostals; they were so used to believing that power signified God, that they stumbled when someone who was not a Believer gave evidence of similar power. (More on this later.)
In Harare, I phoned various churches and was welcomed by a missionary couple. She quickly recognised not only the heresy, but also the fact that she had recently sought helpers to teach in the local schools. Folk from Rhema Harare had volunteered! While I was visiting she received a phone call from Rhema Harare warning her of myself.
Near the South African Embassy in Harare was a church in an office building. I entered, began speaking to them, and was quickly shoved out the door.
In Victoria Falls Zim, I was tenting in the campgrounds, sharing the Gospel, and noticed a small church in a local building. When I attended, the pastor was giving a sermon saying ‘When I came here I only had 2 suits, now I have 5 suits.’ – applause from the unsuspecting young people who did not realise he was ‘prospering’ because they were giving him money out of their poverty. I found Copeland’s tape From the Cross to the Throne on the JDS heresy. I spoke to the pastor who immediately spat out, ‘I bet you’re in sexual sin!’
In Lusaka another Pentecostal pastor received the warning, and as we were going toward Ndola, he issued an invitation to speak at the PAC Bible College as the class was graduating. When I spoke to them one student spoke in anguish, ‘We believed these guys were men of God. What should we do!” I said ‘You shouldn’t trust in men!’
At the local PAC Pentecostal church in Lusaka we met a teacher from a local school who invited us to speak to the school’s Christian youth leaders. When we met it was like a dark wall in the room – they were not open at all. We gave them all our literature to take away and read. Two weeks later the teacher invited us back. The young leaders were visibly broken. They admitted that they had listened to Benny Hinn’s video What Happened From the Cross to the Throne 3 times, and because he had displayed such power, they abandoned the Gospel and began leading other students away also! Praise God for His Mercy!
On another street in Lusaka there were two doors side by side leading to the upper floors of two different buildings – on the right the Bible Society, on the left the Student Christian Association. I went up the stairway to speak to the new head of the Bible Society. I was told they would book an appointment, and waited 2 weeks in vain. In the meantime I tried the SCA up the stairs behind the door where I raised the topic of the JDS – and was literally shoved out the door, and almost down the stairs.
Some time later in Kitwe, I phoned a young woman we had met in Harare at the Youth Hostel. We had given her a copy of A Different Gospel, McConnell’s book. She now told me she had given it to her pastor who had held it up in front of the congregation and said ‘This is a book that disagrees with us. I’ll put it in the library for anyone to read.’
We also now learned that the recently appointed head of the Bible Society came from that church and so didn’t believe the Gospel – which would be why he never gave me an appointment in Harare.
The blame for this and much more lies on the head of Ray McCauley. He is guilty of their lost souls.
May God deliver them and Bless His people
Sorry that 2nd last paragraph should read
‘which would be why he never gave me an appointment in LUSAKA’
To see what a man believes, note what company he keeps. Look at the list of ‘celebrities’ on Rhema TV.
http://www.rhema.co.za/DisplayLink.aspx?group=RTV&name=Programme+Schedule
So, McCauley feigns cleanliness, and uses others to propagate what he really believes. You can see how wrong John Bond was in his evaluation.
May God Bless His People
So what do these men on Rhema TV teach?
We may all know K. Copeland’s version of the JDS, which can be bought on his tape ‘What Happened From the Cross to the Throne’, and is usually published in his Believer’s Voice of Victory mag., and his Bible.
Crefto dollar spouts the same things:
http://www.creflodollarministries.org/BibleStudy/Articles.aspx?id=18
So, as I said, McCauley pretends to be clean, and promotes others who present his message for him.
May God Bless His People
As I showed, McCauley has continued to embrace and aid those who continue to openly propagate the JDS message. This despite that he issued a statement of ‘repentance’ in 1990 in which he said ‘I acknowledge that I did say ‘While on the Cross he Jesus was going to have to take Satan as his stepfather, I have since come to a deeper understanding of what actually took place at the Cross, and have repented of that statement and renounced that teaching.’
In order to understand that McCauley didn’t ‘repent’ and never got past the ‘confession’ stage, let us look at the complete message that he preached and spread, including to my wife.
The bold quotes below are from McCauley’s own cassette of his sermon, ‘The Seed that Bust The Devil’s Head’, that he printed inside the front cover of His Rhema leather bound edition of the Bible. It is the message that declares the victory over sin, sickness and poverty. I use (M) after quotes of him. To those who know Copeland’s message, it is basically the same.
Interestingly, McCauley can be heard struggling to speak because he has a heavy cold or flu, he’s trying to choke it back! This is absolutely contrary to his message that Jesus conquered Satan in Hell and so restored health, and you just have to enforce it. And naturally, he claimed that the Devil attacks him every time he preaches this message of victory!
As he came to the podium to preach he wanted to assure everyone that what he was a bout to preach was ‘plain and simple Bible’ so he stumbled several times trying to say the following self incriminating words:
‘You have to have…you have to… you have to have someone to help you misunderstand the Bible, it’s sooo simple.’(M)
**God made the body of Adam then, ‘God lifted the body up, and God blew Himself into the body.’ (M)
**God gave Adam dominion
**Adam listened to the Devil and so he became ‘born again of Satan’(M) and became ‘spiritually dead’ (M)
**With these events, God lost ‘legal’ (M) authourity to do anything in the earth, and ‘Satan is running the show now’(M) and ‘God is on the outside looking in. He can’t take of the dust of the earth and make another Adam because the dust of the earth doesn’t belong to Him any more.’(M)
**God was in a pickle, He had to figure out a plan to get Adam back to his original state ie ‘born again of God’, but he has to be careful because ‘And Satan is standing there watching God, to see if God does something wrong, and then he’s got God!’
**God’s plan was to ‘get someone into the earth who is exactly like the first Adam'(M) – ie he must be a born again, spiritually alive, man (ie have the nature of God). God will then trick the Devil to think Jesus had sinned, and so he will be enticed to ‘illegally’ snatch Jesus, and then God will get His authority back!
**God decides to use His prophets. He would get His prophets to speak His Words
** So, the plan unfolds, ‘The prophets of God began to speak ‘The Word’. Abraham said ‘God will provide the lamb’, Isaiah said ‘The virgin will…’ … and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’(M)
<So the 2nd Adam, the born again Jesus with the ‘nature of God’ (but not God in flesh), is born into the earth ‘legally’.
**The plan unfolds further as Jesus is taken to the Cross, where he takes on himself the sin of mankind, and dies spiritually, loses the ‘nature of God’ and take s Satan’s nature, which must happen or else his body would never die. ‘And while hanging on the Cross, he, Jesus, was going to take Satan as his stepfather.’(M)
**Because Jesus has died, Satan is deceived into thinking Jesus sinned, so he and the demons grab the spirit of Jesus which has now become subject to Satan because it now has ‘Satan’s nature’, and drag it to Hell to torment it for 3 days and nights.
**Of course this was all done ‘illegally’ as in fact Jesus had not sinned, but had only taken on the sin of others, so God now shouts, ‘Loose him, let him go, he’s suffered enough!! And he, Jesus, become BORN AGAIN!’(M) – and the Rhema crowd cheered and cheered!!!!
**Jesus gets resurrected.
It is obvious that McCauley had absolutely no understanding of the Bible or the Gospel. He was LOST. And yet, many years before, the Gospel had been preached to him at an AOG church in South Africa, and he had supposedly believed it. Is the lack of the ability to truly repent an indication that the Scripture is fulfilled in him that says:
Who once having tasted of the heavenl;y gift, and the powers of the age to come,m and having turned away, cannot be renewed to repentance.’?
God knows.
It is also obvious that he fulfilled his own word that, ‘You have to have someone help you misunderstand the Bible, It’s so simple!’(M) And what a satanic message he made while doing so.
The Blindness of Pentecostals
The Holy Spirit ONLY leads people into the Truth. The spirit that deceives and snares these people has taken them into another realm. They have left the Path, they have denied the Lord who bought them.
No preacher of JDS or his followers can be seen as simply ‘backslidden Pentecostals/charismatics’ who have ‘deviated slightly’ in their teachings. Neither can they be treated as ‘brothers’, who simply ‘made a mistake’.
So it is a strange thing that Pentecostals can be so misled by ‘the anointing’. I mentioned earlier the pastor in Bulawayo who was dumfounded because McCauley ‘had ministered under a tremendous anointing in Malawi’, yet now was found to be outside of Christ!
And yet this is obviously what happened. A simple ‘I made a mistake but I fixed it’ by McCauley, and the Pentecostals opened their arms wide to a heretic who blasphemed against the Most High God and His Son!
Even before the ‘repentance’, the openness of Pentecostals was obvious. I had phoned the head of the AFM (Apostolic Faith Mission) church in South Africa trying to get his opinion on McCauley’s beliefs. After a few calls he suddenly shouted ‘Stop persecuting that man!’ and hung up.
Persecuting? It was Ray McCauley who had persecuted the church in South Africa and the world since 1979 – what of him?
May God Bless His people
oops I see I missed an (M) after:
‘And Satan is standing there watching God, to see if God does something wrong, and then he’s got God!’
McCauley only ‘repented’ because he was forced to. I met a former AOG pastor who said he had been speaking with McCauley for years on the topic, but got nowhere.
Because of the intransigence of Ray McCauley, and the need to warn the Believers of South Africa, a 24 page A4 size An Open Letter to Ray McCauley was finally issued in which was documented with quotes from McCauley’s own materials, his belief in the Jesus Died Spiritually heresy.
We made 250 copies, then a Christian businessman who had access to proper copying facilities, made another 500 copies. They were all signed and sent out to the IFCC mailing list, which had been furnished, printed on stickers.
The response was quick but empty, as noted before, a staged ‘repentance’.
(A short time later, the pastor who had officiated at Ray and Lyndie McCauley’s wedding visited McCauley at Rhema and asked if all the materials that had propagated this heresy had been removed. McCauley assured him they had – Ron Steele was in the room. However, this pastor told me he did not believe him and sent one of his elders to check. Everything was still there.
Several years later we were in the UK and asked an acquaintance in South Africa to check Rhema Randburg’s bookshop. Everything was still on sale.)
We got a message that McCauley was going to make a statement of repentance at Rhema on Sunday.
Caroline and I attended and sat near the rear with a small tape recorder. There was no statement, but rather at one point McCauley said, ‘There is a guy out there who says you are not saved. Of course you are saved, thousands upon thousands of you!’ He had no intention of leading his followers to the Gospel.
On the way out I went into the book store and confirmed that everything was still there, and asked man who was standing in front of the EW Kenyon book display if he was aware of the controversy. When he said ‘no’, I gave him a copy of ‘An Open Letter to Ray McCauley’.
By the time we reached the parking lot, Rhema security had kicked into action. Our car was blocked by Rhema ‘elders’ who took me to McCauley. He slapped me on the chest claiming, ‘You are demon possessed!’ (so much for the reliability of his repentance, and faith in those who preach the Blood Atonement!), and Lyndie, who was painfully aware that the people entering Rhema were watching, was trying to restrain him. He told his men to have me arrested for tresspassing. Later we heard he had stood in a later service and said he had to have me arrested as I had blasphemed!
His men took me to the Randburg jail and had me arrested. There I handed out Open Letters to the policemen and explained what McCauley was about. After several hours I was released, but the following week I had to appear in court. There, because my visa was about to run out, and the judge said he didn’t have the time to find out whether it was legal to arrest someone for trespassing at a church on Sunday, he declared me guilty.
The head of Rhema security was a nice guy who walked with me out of the court. As I spoke to him about the real Gospel he said, ‘Tell me about your Jesus. I’ll confess him.’ He had absolutely no idea what Salvation was about, and showed clearly his belief in the power of his confession and it’s ability to ‘possess whatever he confessed’.
After the court appearance, a letter came from Ray McCauley. It said,
Dear Mr Large
It is my honest opinion that you are controlled by a deceiving spirit…. Please do not ever try to contact me… unless it is done through a third party who I respect as a Christian and not some like yourself.…’
Here, again, is his true perception – the one who would bring him and thousands of other to repentance and Heaven, was ‘controlled by a deceiving spirit’. Praise God!
As my visa was about to run out, I left South Africa and headed overland to Dar es Salaam, 2500 km away, where I arrived several days later. On the street I bumped into a Pentecostal church secretary whom I had met twice before when trying to arrange to speak to her pastor about the JDS. She said her husband had been praying and was shown that God had sent someone to speak to McCauley, but McCauley had refused. There was no way he could have known what had transpired.
God is good!
May He Bless His people.
We must realise that there seems to have been a general consensus among ‘Faith’ teachers that they had no choice under the growing expose of their heresies- they must ‘metamorphose or lose the business’. Christian money by the millions was at stake.
Consider that one would search long and hard to find a Jehovah’s Witness, or a Mormon who came to understand the Gospel and simply said ‘I made a mistake but am now a Christian.’ Rather, such people write books or testify to how they were deceived by Satan, and how they had repented when they came to recognise God’s grace and forgiveness through faith in the Blood Atonement. Think of the book ’30 Years a Watchtower Slave.’ Even minor players of the WOF have done similar things.
Yet we see none of this with the ‘repentant’ Faith leaders.
Kenneth Hagin Jr, denied outright that his father had ever believed or propagated the JDS heresy. The fact is he had taught Jesus Died Spiritually (including to Ray McCauley), publishing it abroad in books, tapes, etc, worldwide! Every person who graduated from the Tulsa heresy mill, was taught it, and sent out to propagate it.
Nowadays, the teaching you look hard to find it in any obvious form as it was largely eliminated from Hagin’s materials. There was no repentance, no trying to lead the thousands of the deceived to repentance, no trying to stop their march across the world. Simply ‘we never said that!’ and the ‘ministry’ continues in a new form. Now the Hagins and their followers are free to mix with Christians anywhere, and pretend they never believed the JDS!
Or what about Joyce Meyers, who boasted for years that, though she had not attended Bible school, the very fact that her ministry was ‘prospering’, and she had a private airplane, was an obvious sign of God’s blessing? In fact she did not believe the Gospel either as is evident from her teaching materials, but she made short work of the problem of being caught, by saying she had made ‘a mistake’, and had corrected it! Again we find someone for whom morphing was the better part of valour! Business goes on as usual – money, money money…
The teachings of Meyer, Hagin and Copeland can be heard or seen on You-Tube
Another South African, Theo Wolmarans, also a JDS man, seems suddenly to have simply moved to Texas, covered his past, and adopted the exact same ‘statement of faith’ as many of those who retreated dishonorably like him.
In 1989 in J’bg, I spoke with one of his pastors who admitted that I was right about the True Gospel. He suggested I speak with Theo. When I visited his Christian City Family Church, I raised the ‘little gods’ teaching with him, he threw back his shoulders, haughtily puffed out his chest and said ‘I am a god!’
Now he has moved to Texas, advertises himself as ‘an anointed man of God’ and is even on ‘Dr David Cho’s Church Growth International’, and dispenses ‘apostolic oversight’ to a larges group of churches… What can you say – deceit works and pays
The Devil is still the Devil, even if he seems to be preaching the Gospel. The same must be said for his ‘ministers’.
I recently encountered a speech given by Ray McCauley before he South African Truth and Reconciliation Committee in 1999. In it he espouses fro South Africans what he himself did not do:
“Confession of past sins – whether of commission or omission, may bring pardon but confession is not complete without two vital components. They are powerful theological words which religion knows well, they are repentance and forgiveness. The act of confession does not mean that the person has really repented, confession is a starting point to a process that should lead to lasting reconciliation. This is why repentance is so important in the vocabulary of the church, it is the through the act of repentance that we see the fruit of our confession.
The thief no longer steals(,) the lie (liar), tells the truth, the cheat becomes an honest person. Repentance means a complete turn around. Sadly, though the repentance is not forthcoming because the confession has not been what we in the church would recognise as a confession of sin. Many people in our society are prepared to admit that apartheid was a mistake and offer a half-hearted apology for the past.
That sort of confession in my mind, is cheap and it fails to get to grips with a true confession which leads to repentance and that in turn leads to meaningful forgiveness, followed by restitution and reconciliation.” http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/ricsa/commiss/trc/ifcctest.htm
It was this sort of ‘confession’ I had in mind too – I couldn’t have put it better myself. But why hasn’t McCauley done this himself with the aforementioned problems? It is obviously because he doesn’t see a need; he believes the JDS and is willing to walk in the dark and trust that in time we ‘will see’.
For WOF people this is a true ‘exercise of faith’; you see the problem but treat it as if your confession has eliminated it, and walk on ‘believing’. OK, so you have to do some unscrupulous stuff, but so, what is new – the end justifies the means.
If you once preached, as they all have, that ‘you can’t go to heaven unless you believe this teaching’, how can you quit in the face of ‘persecution’!!
I guess it is a manifestation of the ‘permissible lies’ in Islam – ‘battle is an outwitting’, ‘kithman’ (not manifesting the faith openly to the infidels). It works.
On the other hand the Bible tells us to ‘walk in the Light’.
May God Bless His people
As an afterthought, I have managed to find proof that Kenneth Hagin Ministries has continued to teach the spiritual death of Jesus into 2014.
The following is from an avid follower of Hagin, who, in 2007, put on the Internet, a letter he wrote to the Hagins in Sept. 1998 in response to a letter he received in May 1998 from Kenneth Hagin Ministries. Its content shows they clung to the spiritual death of Jesus teaching openly inside all Rhema affiliates.
Hagins’s letter stated:
“Kenneth Hagin Ministries
P.O. Box
50126 • Tulsa,
OK 74150-0126 • (918) 258-1588
May 4, 1998
Dear Mr. Kemp:
Jesus said in John 14:19,“…because I live, ye shall live also.” Thank God that through the Resurrection of Jesus, life in all its fullness is ours! Believers have a great reason for rejoicing.
The question of whether or not Jesus died spiritually is really a very simple one to answer. 2 Corinthians 5:21says that Jesus was made to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Notice this verse does not say that Jesus committed any sin Himself. He was made sin with our sins.
Secondly, because Jesus was made sin with our sins He had to pay the penalty for sin. Romans6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. This, as we know, is not referring to physical death or else any sinner following his death could say he had paid the penalty for his sins. The death referred to is spiritual death which is separation from God.
Remember that the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and is giving life to our mortal bodies. Live this day and every day in the strength of the Lord!
Yours in Christ,
Kenneth E. Hagin”
Click to access didhedie.pdf
Thus it is obvious that the denial by Kenneth Hagin Jr that his father ever taught the JDS, was an outright lie.
The above author also wrote in response:
“September 10, 1998
Dear Kenneth E. Hagin,
…
I was disappointed a few months ago to learn from a Rhema student of the last school year that it is still being taught at Rhema that Jesus died spiritually.
This man possessed the book The Name of Jesus by Hagin (I owned a copy) and quoted from it (Hagin had bold copy for the writer’s words ‘Spiritual death also means having Satan’s nature’:
Kenneth Hagin, for example, on page 31 of The Name of Jesus
says , “Spiritual death means something more than separation from God. Spiritual death also means having Satan’s nature [his emphasis].” (ibid)
The very things that Kenneth Hagin in the May 1998 letter acknowledged he taught, can be found on their Internet sites today. (unfortunately that I cannot keep the bold formatting so include ***)
“The moment Adam sinned he became separated from God and united with the devil. Man became an outcast, driven from the Garden of Eden with no legal ground of approach to God. He no longer responds to the call of God but to his new nature and his new master. Man is more than a lawbreaker and a sinner. He is spiritually a child of the devil and partakes of his father’s nature.
…
Man cannot stand in the presence of God as he is, because he has the nature of his father, the devil. Man has to be saved by someone paying the penalty for his sin and by someone giving him a new nature.
….
(***)Jesus took upon Himself our sin nature. Hebrews 9:26 says He “. . . put away sin [not sins] by the sacrifice of Himself.” He took upon Himself our sin nature, the nature of spiritual death, that we might have eternal life.”
https://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=949:from-death-to-life&catid=115&Itemid=249
“Chapter 3 WONDERFUL IN HIS DEATH
Did you ever consider that if it had all ended with Jesus’ ministry, there would be no salvation for us? If it had all ended right there, there would be no New Birth.
Thank God, Jesus was Wonderful in His death.
Many people misunderstand when you talk about Jesus’ dying spiritually (***) as well as physically. They think “death” means the cessation of life. But death in the Bible never means cessation of life, dear friends.
What happened when Adam died spiritually? He still lived physically, but he was separated spiritually from God. You see, spiritual death means separation from God!
Because Jesus took our place, He had to partake of spiritual death AS WELL AS physical death.
So He cries out here, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” You see, God had forsaken Him. That’s spiritual death (***). He was separated from God. Why did God forsake Him? Because Jesus was made sin for us, and God cannot look upon sin.
Jesus was made sin for us! He took my place! He became what I was (***), praise God, that I might become what He is (***).
Can you understand that? It’s simple—all you have to be is intelligent—yet people want to fight over it. (Actually, when you get down to brass tacks, they believe the same thing, or else they don’t believe the Bible—one of the two—or they couldn’t be saved.)***
Often people will pick some little statement out of context to argue about. Bless their hearts, you feel so sorry for them, but you shouldn’t condemn them. You feel sorry for them in the same way you would for a little child who had never gone to school and learned to read. You don’t get mad at them because they can’t read, and you can’t get aggravated with spiritual babies, either.
Just have patience with them. Some may grow up someday and become spiritually mature. And if they don’t—well, you don’t have to worry about it. They’ve got it made anyway as long as they believe Jesus as their Savior.
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Why did God forsake Jesus? Because He had become sin. Jesus never committed sin. God made Him to be sin with our sin. Was it Jesus’ body that became sin? No! It was His spirit that became sin (***), because sin is not a physical thing; it’s a spiritual thing. (***)If sin were only physical, then each one of us by dying physically could atone for ourselves(***). But, no, sin is spiritual.”
http://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=206&Itemid=31
It is clear that Kenneth Hagin Sr & Jr never repented of this teaching, nor undoubtedly would any graduate of the many Rhema Bible Training Centres worldwide.
May God Bless His people
Apologies, I have missed some quotation marks. The first paras should read:
“September 10, 1998
Dear Kenneth E. Hagin,
…
I was disappointed a few months ago to learn from a Rhema student of the last school year that it is still being taught at Rhema that Jesus died spiritually.”
This man possessed the book The Name of Jesus by Hagin (I owned a copy) and quoted from it (Hagin had bold copy for the writer’s words ‘Spiritual death also means having Satan’s nature’:
“Kenneth Hagin, for example, on page 31 of The Name of Jesus
says , “Spiritual death means something more than separation from God. Spiritual death also means having Satan’s nature [his emphasis].” “(ibid)
Your
“Forget 99% of Western apologetics. Who CARES about who’s debating another biology/zoology/whatever professor turned atheist/darwinist crusader? I’d dare suggest that the debates that need to be done have already be done fifteen times over again. Let’s give all our apologists a holiday and send in someone who will settle the issues at hand”
is spot on. That is why I got bored with Justin Brieley’s “Unbelievable” program.
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Greetings! It’s only the Almighty that connect His children at the appropriate time. I write to partner with you because of the liked-minded faith and belief we do share.
Interesting observations. I must however point out that, you’re wrong with the first church since they are one of the few churches left in the world that preach the truth. I don’t know much about the other churches but I have first hand experience on how Deeper Life is tagged as being too holy centric.
Some of your pronouncements like their leader lying through his teeth sounds rather mischievous.
Unless I’m mistaken the point 12 of their doctrinal statement doesn’t sound prosperity driven to me.
Jesus said it would be hard for a rich man to serve him but He never stated it’s fine to be very poor so your point may make for a good discussion but it is moot.
As Christians, it’s necessary we search the scriptures because the Bible tells us, in them we think we have eternal life. I also think as Christians, there’s every reason for us to subject every sermon to God’s will by reading the Bible.
I’ve started researching on Menno Simons and I agree with him on the few I have read on his views.
I serve no pastor but I appreciate holy-centric ones and the Deeper Life leader is one of those.
I’ll suggest you exercise some level of discretion in some of your articles since the Bible tells us we shall be held accountable for every idle word on the day of judgement.
I’m sure you’re doing your best to propagate the Good News but be careful it doesn’t become the means by which you’re disqualified that day.
God’s grace and peace to all his true children.
Are you sure about the doctrines of Rhema church? Read them again please. I think that Rhema could be strange but the doctrine doesn’t indicate this.
Do you speak in tongues?
Yes.
I’m sure.
All the information was first hand.
Why are my spiritual gifts relevant to whether or not something is true?
David Oyedepo, claims that he got his money from supernatural blessing to start off his ministry
In his book ministry exploits, not bad at all from nobody to international stardom fame.
All those super churches seems to have a very similar pattern if you carefully study them.
They all appears to be super network of business under different names, a tree can only bears fruits after it’s own kind
The sad facts of the matter is the they are taking all their church members with them to hell
Such a pitiful generation, more should been done to save people From such money making schemes. For those who do not preach against are with them
I pray and ask you all to pray so I marry Amy-Jane Peard, she is the love of my life, she is in U.K. I’m Jim Havemayer (Jaime Flores)
Uh, sure! Why not!
Quite amusing to see Deeper Life Bible Church here. The church isn’t a prosperity driven church. It’s basis is Holiness, practical Christian living and making heaven. So I wonder how such a church isn’t speaking the truth. It’s one of the very few churches in Nigeria precisely, even the world that still hold on to the undiluted word of God.
Beloved, I suggest you focus more on helping people come to God and grow in his grace so as to make it to Heaven finally and not go about picking churches here and there to criticise cause that’s not the evangelism that we were called to in mark 16:15.
And about healings, I must let you know that God is a God of possibilities and is not limited to what we humans have to say or think. Why can’t he cure cancer or HIV is it uncurable? Since Jesus rose up Lazarus from the dead, he can as well heal any sickness. Come to him genuinely today and he’ll show you the unlimited power of his might.
Greater than all, he’s coming very soon and we highly anticipate this event so to be part of those who would live in paradise with the King forever, you must walk in Holiness for BE YE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY.
Thank you very much beloved and God bless.
It’s always interesting how you folks show up and criticize me for criticizing, and then passively suggest that I’m an unbeliever when you comment on how I’m divisive.
It’s also rich for you to tell me to focus on something else that is more edifying when you show up and comment on a post that is several years old. Did you bother, even for a second, to learn anything about what I’ve been working on since this post was written?
Of course not.
As for the article, did you look at any of the documentation I provided you?
Do you have any response to the “straight from the horse’s mouth” statements I provided?
No. Of course not.
yeah even here in the Philippines, a lot of preacher preaching about prosperity gospel.
Yeah, I’ve seen some of that and heard of that happening too.
It’s horrible how the prosperity gospel has found so much fertile ground overseas.
Backsliding is inevitable among churches, unless there are periodical revivals.
Church leaders cannot simply plod on, and in the hope that they will remain on the narrow path. Nay, that is not how it works.
There must be periodic breaking up of the fallow ground, and the leaders themselves must seek a fresh understanding of walking with the Lord.
Without this, both the leaders and their churches, as well as the members, will gradually imbibe the practices of the world.
Genuine, heaven-sent, earth-shaking revivals are necessary if the church just remain on the narrow path.