By Olatokunbo Odunuga
We have mentioned earlier that firm footholds for prosperity preaching can only be found in the Old Testament and I want to confidently declare that one would not find a single scripture in the New Testament to back prosperity message unless such scripture is misunderstood, distorted or misinterpreted. Let us please examine some of such popular New Testament misinterpreted references.
First of all, I observe that III John 2 for instance had been a ‘beautiful bride’ of prosperity preachers. “I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health…….” is primarily not a promise, nor a pastoral epistle to any particular church but a prayerful wish in a private letter written by John, the apostle to a beloved friend, Elder Gaius. Apart from being a personal letter, the next challenge with this scripture is with the word, “prosper”. Linguists would remind us that the meanings of words do change over an extended period of time.
What “prosper” meant in 1611 is not what it means in 2020, which now is about well-being, goodspeed and has virtually nothing to do with material and financial acquisitions. Indeed, between those ancient days in Bible land and now, there are time, historical, cultural gaps, etc. That is why the Body of Christ is gifted with sincere and anointed scholars who review the Bible from time to time.
For those who prefer the Old KJV, I wish to mention that, in view of its flaws, the beloved 1611 KJV had gone through about 15 revisions: NKJV, KJV 2000, MKJV, KJV 20th Century Edition, 21st Century KJV, American KJV, Comfortable KJV, KJV Easy Reading, Updated KJV, Divine Names KJV, Authorised Version Update, etc to the latest IKJV of 2011.I
However other versions also make the verse clearer :
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you as your soul is getting along well”- NIV
“Dear friend, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul” – NET
“My dear friend, I hope everything is going happily with you and that you are well physically and spiritually -New Jerusalem Bible.
In essence, according to Jim Bakker, John the apostle was saying simply, “I wish you a good, safe and healthy journey throughout your life even as your soul has a good and safe journey to heaven.
Let us next consider John 10: I0, “I’m come that they may have life and have it more abundantly”. I want us to understand this verse in the light of a discussion between a man, called David, who had been brainwashed and indoctrinated for years by prosperity preachers and the man Jim Bakker, de cappi de tutti himself, one of the pioneers and founding fathers of prosperity messages. David asked Bakker: “…but doesn’t Jesus also say that He came that we might have an abundant life?
They both looked up the words in a Greek-English dictionary and found that the Greek word for “life” used in this verse was “Zoe”, a word indicating “life in the spirit and soul” rather than the word, “bios”, which is used to refer to physical, material life. Bakker explained to David that, basically Jesus was saying, “I want you to have an abundant life in the spirit, which is my highest and best for you”. As the light of understanding turned on in the heart and mind of David, he said, “Hey, that verse doesn’t have anything to do with material prosperity”.
Now let us reflect on the honest confession of Jim Bakker. He admitted that when he began to study the scriptures in-depth, something he was embarrassed and ashamed to admit that he rarely took time to do in the hectic years of constant building and ministering, he was distressed at what he discovered. He realised that for years, he helped propagate an impostor, not a true gospel, but another gospel, a gospel that stated “God wants you to be rich!
Christians should have the best because we are children of God, King’s kids, as he often called it. And shouldn’t the King’s kids have the best this world has to offer”. The more he studied the bible, the more he had to admit that the prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of scriptures. He declared that his heart was crushed to think that he led so many people astray. He was appalled that he could have been so wrong and was deeply grateful that God had not struck him dead as a false prophet. He asked himself, “How could I have taught and written books on the subject of ‘how to get rich’ when Jesus spoke so clearly about the dangers of early riches”.
One of the statements of Jesus that kept ringing in his head and heart was in the parable of the sower where Jesus said that ‘the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things entering in choked the word and it became unfruitful’- Mark 4:19. The more he thought about it, the more he had to admit that he had fallen into that snare.
He had allowed the quest for material possessions and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust for other things to choke the word of God in his own life and the lives of his own family members and co-workers. As his ministry grew larger and widespread, he said he had a financial tiger by the tail, and just coming up with enough money to meet the daily budgets dominated his thoughts and time
