His tweet on October 7 goes:
The nerve."Jesus bled and died for us so that we can lay claim to the promise of financial prosperity." #ProsperityinChrist #WealthyLiving #AbundantLife
His tweet remained even after 24 hours before Team Dollar decided it's just one of those days in the Dollar empire where discernment from other believers can surely wreak havoc to the "credibility" of their boss, and so the tweet disappeared, but not without a trace.
Of course, not everyone though has the penchant to double-check scriptures as long as the sensation gives them goosebumps, thus the thousands of likes and favorites it amassed.
Imagine Jesus Christ the Son of God bled and died so that we can be prosperous, healthy and wealthy! Oh, what a eureka moment! Has anyone realized this yet? Has it not sunk in yet how "blessed" Christians truly are and highly favored by God? But why has Pastor Saeed Abedini failed to apply this "biblical principle"? He could have been spared of his now awful state in an Iranian prison and his family spared from constant bouts with depression had he realized this earlier in his ministry. Or perhaps Team Dollar has just cornered the monopoly for such biblical secret that others failed to dissect?
When prodded by commenters to cite a verse that would explicitly prove Jesus bled and died so that we can lay claim to financial prosperity, Team Dollar seemed to have responded by hibernating for the next 24 hours as if an avalanche of financial blessings suddenly hid them in a bunker.
This is where it gets even more interesting, and here's hoping Creflo summons all his intellectual aptitude and moral reasoning to defend his claim. That would be a real test of his authenticity that would either way dispel or validate accusations of him being a false teacher and ravenous wolf who shamelessly peddles the word of God for profit.
The good news for his followers: Creflo's Twitter message arrived just in time, delivered to appease and comfort, daintily packaged for his bunch of hopeful faithful, but there's a catch: let there be an unhindered flow of tithes and offerings into his bottomless coffers and all will be well.
And the bad: to those who got excited over his tweet and didn't blink to hit like and retweeted it, the bad news is your favorite Creflo Dollar is proven to be a false teacher and a ravenous wolf in sheep's clothing. If you share his belief that the only begotten Son of God became a man, bled and died on the cross so that you can live a life of financial prosperity and if you don't repent, you are on your way somersaulting to hell with this man.
The real prosperous are those who suffered the most
True born again believers of the Lord Jesus Christ have no business listening to these false teachers who perennially prostitute and bastardize the word of God for their selfish gains. The apostle Paul has this to say of them:
When prodded by commenters to cite a verse that would explicitly prove Jesus bled and died so that we can lay claim to financial prosperity, Team Dollar seemed to have responded by hibernating for the next 24 hours as if an avalanche of financial blessings suddenly hid them in a bunker.
This is where it gets even more interesting, and here's hoping Creflo summons all his intellectual aptitude and moral reasoning to defend his claim. That would be a real test of his authenticity that would either way dispel or validate accusations of him being a false teacher and ravenous wolf who shamelessly peddles the word of God for profit.
The good news for his followers: Creflo's Twitter message arrived just in time, delivered to appease and comfort, daintily packaged for his bunch of hopeful faithful, but there's a catch: let there be an unhindered flow of tithes and offerings into his bottomless coffers and all will be well.
And the bad: to those who got excited over his tweet and didn't blink to hit like and retweeted it, the bad news is your favorite Creflo Dollar is proven to be a false teacher and a ravenous wolf in sheep's clothing. If you share his belief that the only begotten Son of God became a man, bled and died on the cross so that you can live a life of financial prosperity and if you don't repent, you are on your way somersaulting to hell with this man.
The real prosperous are those who suffered the most
True born again believers of the Lord Jesus Christ have no business listening to these false teachers who perennially prostitute and bastardize the word of God for their selfish gains. The apostle Paul has this to say of them:
"For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God." ~ 2 Corinthians 2:17
If Jesus' death signaled an era of financial revolution as what Creflo Dollar shamelessly claims, then Peter who seemed to be the most charismatic and assertive of all the apostles should have regretted his gruesome death by crucifixion upside down when he can outrightly demand his Lord a vacation grande or a cruise in Mediterranean as reward for putting up with Him for three years of lack and poverty.
James, son of Zebedee could have demanded full respite from fishing all his life, if not a complete upgrade to probably a CEO job, but no he didn't complain when he was the very first among all the apostles to die by the sword. Zebedee could have petitioned Jesus to at least let John his younger son enjoy the perks and rewards due to his older son James but John himself endured the most difficult life in exile till his death in the island of Patmos.
What about Paul and Silas' frequent brushes with authorities that almost regularly landed them in prison? the whippings, constant beatings, and muggings that they endured as soon as people laid their eyes on them? It's hardly prosperity! Not an iota of wealthy living and abundant life!
False teachers like Creflo Dollar and many others that easily come to mind are masters of deceit and flattery. They are superstars in their chosen craft. They feed off the gullible that have pinned their hopes in this life - them that crave everything this carnal world offers to satisfy their carnal desires. They don't desire the Savior who is able to give them life eternal but what they can get from the Savior in this life temporal.
Why Creflo is a pampered wolf amid willing preys
Pastor Mike Abendroth on his youtube video points out that the reason why people give their money to Creflo Dollar is the very reason why people buy lottery tickets. They think giving to God's ministry is a wise investment that guarantees exponential returns. They were made to believe God fixes His eyes on the tenth of their income so that He releases unthinkable favors if it reaches church coffers so that His favorite pastors get to drive Ferraris and fly in Gulfstream jets. These false teachers' propensity to misuse and abuse Malachi 3:10 for financial gain is evil to the core.
As long as people's frenzied desire for material and financial abundance does not wane so shall there be no slowing down the career of prosperity preachers anytime soon. The time has come when people don't bother any more about the kind of doctrines that creeps into the church even if they're doctrines of demons masking as feel-good gospel. No matter what they get to eat even if it is poison disguised as sweets as long as it tastes good then they have no problem ingesting them as a panacea for their carnality.
Tips for the gullible and how not to remain one
For the record, Jesus never promised mansions on earth for His disciples but was assured on heavenly mansions reserved for them. He even told the young man who wished to follow Him to sell his possessions and give to the poor but he was aggrieved for his heart belongs to where his treasures are (Matthew 19: 21-24) Is it not a big irony that these prosperity preachers teach their followers that Jesus' death is a stamp to prosperous living while Jesus expressly laments that it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for the rich to enter heaven?
As for those champions of faith who truly understood what real prosperity meant this is what the writer of Hebrews wrote:
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." ~ Hebrew 11:13
"And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yes, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy), they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." ~ Hebrews 11: 36-38
"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." ~ Hebrews 11: 39,40
Throughout history, many have died a gruesome death while defending their faith. Historical and biblical accounts can vouch to the martyrdom of those who had willingly embraced death for the sake of Christ knowing that their reward is kept secured in heaven for eternity. Today's true disciples of Jesus have also their share of suffering and persecution, but they continue to stand their ground. Christians in Iran are threatened with hangings when they get caught; in ISIS enclave, Christians get raped, beheaded or crucified on a daily basis for not renouncing Christ; and in Indonesia churches get razed and pastors beaten; in Nigeria congregants get massacred, their women and girls raped, their men and boys hacked to death, and I could go on and on. Hardly the prosperity Creflo and all other wolves so aggressively endorse and advocate. So be warned: a blind cannot lead another blind for they both will fall into the ditch.
James, son of Zebedee could have demanded full respite from fishing all his life, if not a complete upgrade to probably a CEO job, but no he didn't complain when he was the very first among all the apostles to die by the sword. Zebedee could have petitioned Jesus to at least let John his younger son enjoy the perks and rewards due to his older son James but John himself endured the most difficult life in exile till his death in the island of Patmos.
What about Paul and Silas' frequent brushes with authorities that almost regularly landed them in prison? the whippings, constant beatings, and muggings that they endured as soon as people laid their eyes on them? It's hardly prosperity! Not an iota of wealthy living and abundant life!
False teachers like Creflo Dollar and many others that easily come to mind are masters of deceit and flattery. They are superstars in their chosen craft. They feed off the gullible that have pinned their hopes in this life - them that crave everything this carnal world offers to satisfy their carnal desires. They don't desire the Savior who is able to give them life eternal but what they can get from the Savior in this life temporal.
Why Creflo is a pampered wolf amid willing preys
Pastor Mike Abendroth on his youtube video points out that the reason why people give their money to Creflo Dollar is the very reason why people buy lottery tickets. They think giving to God's ministry is a wise investment that guarantees exponential returns. They were made to believe God fixes His eyes on the tenth of their income so that He releases unthinkable favors if it reaches church coffers so that His favorite pastors get to drive Ferraris and fly in Gulfstream jets. These false teachers' propensity to misuse and abuse Malachi 3:10 for financial gain is evil to the core.
As long as people's frenzied desire for material and financial abundance does not wane so shall there be no slowing down the career of prosperity preachers anytime soon. The time has come when people don't bother any more about the kind of doctrines that creeps into the church even if they're doctrines of demons masking as feel-good gospel. No matter what they get to eat even if it is poison disguised as sweets as long as it tastes good then they have no problem ingesting them as a panacea for their carnality.
Tips for the gullible and how not to remain one
- Those who love to flaunt their badges as "Christians" need not just to have a Twitter or Facebook account so that they could lustfully follow their favorite prosperity preachers - surely it's inadequate parameter to be called one.
- They should have a firm belief that the Bible is the Word of God, it is infallible, and the final authority under the sun by which humanity is called to live by, and that biblical truths override the aesthetically lovely tweets by their "idols".
- Let there be no doubt that Jesus was serious when he told those who want to follow Him to "deny himself, and take up his cross daily" (Luke 9:23). So what's with he hashtags #ProsperityinChrist #WealthyLiving #AbundantLife got to do with self-denial and carrying one's cross?
- If you really want to convince yourself that you are on the same road as Jesus, let this be a warning: Jesus might not be the role model you want to emulate, His life exemplified utter humility, being born on a manger when as an infant He already suffered rejection (Luke 2:7), went hungry (Mark 11:12), got tired and exhausted while doing God's work (John 4:6), and had no place to lay his head (Luke 9:58). Hardly the things you dream about, are they?
- Jesus was assuredly clear in his command to "store up riches in heaven and not on earth" (Matthew 6: 19,20), and verse 21 warns the danger: "for where your treasure is, there you heart will also be".
- Jesus says, "if you love me obey my commandments". Let's break it down: Loving God with all your heart, soul and mind as the greatest commandment and loving one's neighbor as oneself being the second greatest (Matthew 22: 36-38) -- is by no means a command to enrich oneself and wallow in abundance in the midst of Christian beheadings for not renouncing Christ! Has God been playing favorites for "Christians" in their Ferraris and palatial mansions?
- You followers of Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, Joyce Myer, Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes, Paula White, Rick Warren and all other prosperity preachers a.k.a wolves in sheep's clothing, let this be known to you once and for all, that JESUS, yes the Jesus of the Bible (not the type of Jesus that you get to hear about on Sundays in your flashy 20-thousand or more seater megachurches) -- became a man, suffered and died on the cross to pay our debts, but was raised to life again so that you and me filthy sinners may obtain forgiveness and receive eternal life if we repent and believe. Yes, that's the real reason Christ died a humiliating and gruesomely painful death, not for you to obtain material and financial wealth just like your favorite Creflo Dollar wants you to believe.
- Lastly, read your Bible diligently, ask wisdom and discernment from the Holy Spirit because God is faithful, He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Put on the full armor of God, part of which is your belt of truth so that when deception comes you are safely standing on solid ground.
Blasphemy of the highest order
It's safe to assume that Creflo Dollar might still be reeling from a trauma for an intentional blunder on Twitter that left him battered with strong rebukes and calls for repentance. If he indeed is a man of God he would have apologized to his followers right away without any reservation for his wayward theology. He must have also repented publicly for his sheer arrogance of assigning the death of the Lord Jesus Christ a brand new purpose, that is to for us to obtain financial prosperity. But he won't have any of that.
Cheapening the blood of Jesus by equating it to a barter commodity for financial gain is blasphemy of the highest order. If anything, no amount of rebuke will ever diminish Creflo's determination to keep his empire flourishing; after all that is what he believes the purpose why Jesus bled and died. Sadly, only few will get to see the fangs peeking out beneath the wolves' nostrils all along feigned as sheeps. And these are the kind that Paul had warned about:
"Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron." ~ 1 Timothy 4:1,2Real prosperity according to Scriptures
For the record, Jesus never promised mansions on earth for His disciples but was assured on heavenly mansions reserved for them. He even told the young man who wished to follow Him to sell his possessions and give to the poor but he was aggrieved for his heart belongs to where his treasures are (Matthew 19: 21-24) Is it not a big irony that these prosperity preachers teach their followers that Jesus' death is a stamp to prosperous living while Jesus expressly laments that it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for the rich to enter heaven?
As for those champions of faith who truly understood what real prosperity meant this is what the writer of Hebrews wrote:
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." ~ Hebrew 11:13
"And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourging, yes, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy), they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." ~ Hebrews 11: 36-38
"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." ~ Hebrews 11: 39,40
Throughout history, many have died a gruesome death while defending their faith. Historical and biblical accounts can vouch to the martyrdom of those who had willingly embraced death for the sake of Christ knowing that their reward is kept secured in heaven for eternity. Today's true disciples of Jesus have also their share of suffering and persecution, but they continue to stand their ground. Christians in Iran are threatened with hangings when they get caught; in ISIS enclave, Christians get raped, beheaded or crucified on a daily basis for not renouncing Christ; and in Indonesia churches get razed and pastors beaten; in Nigeria congregants get massacred, their women and girls raped, their men and boys hacked to death, and I could go on and on. Hardly the prosperity Creflo and all other wolves so aggressively endorse and advocate. So be warned: a blind cannot lead another blind for they both will fall into the ditch.
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