Many of the leaders in this movement claim that God, Jesus, or angels appeared to them and taught them these ideas. But we must ask, "Are these revelations biblical if they condone actions that are unbiblical or foolhardy?" In fact, the supposedly divine visions, revelations, prophecies and interpretations are often so false or unbiblical that one wonders if these visions are from their own mind or, worse yet, from the devil. For example, the history of the Old Testament is not without persons claiming to be spiritual leaders who thought that the visions of their own mind originated in God. But God told them, "The prophets are prophesying lies in My name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusions of their own minds." (Jeremiah 14:14, NIV).
Nevertheless, almost to a man, the Faith leaders claim God as their authority. Kenneth Copeland implies many of his teachings are a result of divine revelation. For example, his Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours "has been birthed by a natural flow of revelation knowledge from my heart to yours." The Jesus Copeland spoke to told Kenneth that he must "believe that your words have power, and the things you say will come to pass. The result is that you can have whatever you say when you believe."
Kenneth Hagin teaches "The Lord Himself taught me about prosperity ... I got it directly from heaven." For example, Hagin claims, "The Lord spoke to me and said, 'Don't pray for money anymore. You have authority through My name to claim prosperity.'"
Oral Roberts claims that his "Seed Faith" principles and other materials in his books were revealed directly to him by Jesus as, "fresh revelations straight from the throne room of God." Paul Yonggi Cho also claims his "fourth dimension" ideas and other teachings were given by God.
In Jerry Savelle's prosperity series we are told, "The revelation knowledge in this set was given to Brother Savelle supernaturally by God." Savelle himself claims, "The Lord supernaturally appeared to me in my hotel room...He said this to me 'My people are in financial famine and I'm giving you the assignment to go tell them how to get out.'" Savelle claims several other of his books were received "through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit."
In God's Creative Power, Charles Capps claims that God spoke to him directly in August of 1973: "The Word of the Lord came unto me saying, 'If men would believe me, long prayers are not necessary. Just speaking the Word will bring what you desire. My creative power is given to man in Word form. I have ceased for a time from my work and have given men the book of MY CREATIVE POWER...but for my Word to be effective men must speak it.'" Thus "Jesus" told Capps "I have told my people that they can have WHAT THEY SAY..."
In God's Miracle Plan for Man, Robert Tilton claims "In this book, God directed me by His Holy Spirit to write certain things to you. I have leaned on Him for every word...Contained in these pages are special words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and prophecies from the Lord..." In Solving the Mystery of the Miracle Money, Tilton claims, "The words in this book are not my words; they are the words of ... the Holy Spirit..." In God's Laws of Success he even implies that his books are on the same level as those of the New Testament. Thus, he does not blanch when he claims, "The Spirit of the Lord has given me this prosperity message to share with you."
In summary, all these men claim direct counsel from God. But is this really true? The inspiration supposedly given by Jesus and the angels and the words they spoke to these men do not sound at all like the biblical Jesus or the angels that speak for God in the Bible. Proof of this can be seen in the consistent misinterpretation of the Bible that such inspiration has produced.
(The Facts on the Faith Movement by John Ankerberg & John Weldon)
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