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| The Non-Biblical Teachings of Benny Hinn | |||||
 Printer Friendly Version - opens in separate window Introduction In a previous article Christian Fads, Gimmicks and Spoofs, I mentioned, as an example, Benny Hinn. As it often does this brought a large post bag. Interestingly enough, not just those who felt we were wrong to criticise Benny Hinn, but also from those who felt we did not go far enough. As a result many were crying, "what is your evidence to say these things?" This is a valid question and so I have collected a number of quotations and examples, which lead us to conclude that when you compare Benny Hinn's teaching with that of evangelical Bible believers, there are some distinct differences. I present this evidence below and ask you to check it out. Many of the quotes are 10 years old, but as far as
I am aware, apart from one statement on the Trinity that I mention,
none of them have been rescinded, and this is the current teaching of
Benny Hinn. If however you can show clearly that he has changed his
teaching or that any of these quotes are taken out of context please
let me know and I will print a clear retraction. Several have questioned why we speak against an apparent
man of God like Benny Hinn. Some get very upset that we dare seek to
"touch the Lord's anointed." If this phrase is taken in context
you will discover that we are acting in obedience to the Scriptures.
David did speak out against Saul and helped those who were oppressed
by him. What David would not do, however, was to remove him from the
position that God had given him - that was up to God alone. Others say to us that we should not deal with these
issues publicly but approach Benny Hinn in private. However, as these
statements have all been stated in public and have gone far and wide
we believe we do need to print our thoughts on them so that everyone
has the opportunity to look at things from a different perspective and
then make up their own mind. We do not highlight the teachings and actions of this
man without evidence and so we list below first, the non-Biblical teachings
and then the false prophecies. As Christians, having checked out the
evidence for ourselves to see it is not out of context or made up, we
must answer the question, "can we accept such a man as a true servant
of God?" Non-biblical Teachings Christ's Death "He [Jesus] who is righteous
by choice said, 'The only way I can stop sin is by Me becoming it. I
can't just stop it by letting it touch Me; I and it must become one.'
Hear this! He who is the nature of God became the nature of Satan where
He became sin!" - Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) 1 December
1990. To say that Jesus became the nature of Satan is heretical on two counts. First, if He became the nature of Satan He would have been a rebel and deceiver, however Jesus was perfect to the last breath and on the Cross He paid the penalty for sin but not by becoming the nature of Satan. Second, Satan is only a created being and so if Jesus became the nature of Satan He would cease to be God. We need to be clear that the Bible does say that Jesus
became sin but scriptures also clearly show that He did not take on
the nature of Satan. For instance Hebrews 4:15 shows that He was without
sin and 1 Peter 2:22 that no deceit was in Him. Who I Am in Christ "Though we are not Almighty
God Himself, nevertheless, we are now divine." - TBN 1 December
1990. "When you say I am a Christian,
you are saying 'I am a messiah' in Hebrew. I am a little messiah walking
on earth." - Praise-a-Thon, TBN 6 November
1990. "Then you are divine…
Then you're not human." Orlando Christian Centre Broadcast, 1 Dec,
1990. There are many other quotes too where he has said
similar things and yet again these statements are clearly heretical.
The Bible clearly shows from the first verses (Genesis 1:1) that God
is uncreated and we are all created beings. We as humans can never become
god and we can never be divine. We are certainly not 'Jehovah' or 'a
little messiah'. There was only one Jehovah and only one messiah. To be a 'little' anything means we are of the same
nature but just a smaller version. Indeed Christ is in us and when we
see Him we shall be like Him but we will never be a little 'god' even
in our new resurrection state. "Christians are 'Little Messiah's'
and 'little gods' on the earth. Thus [Encouraging the audience]...say
I am a God-man… This spirit-man within me is a God-man, say I'm
born of heaven a God-man. I'm a God man. I am a sample of Jesus. I'm
a super being. Say it! Say it! Who's a super being? I walk in the realm
of the supernatural. Say it!...You want to prosper? Money will be falling
on you from left, right and centre. God will begin to prosper you; for
money always follows righteousness....Say after me, everything I ever
want is in me already." - TBN 6 Dec.1990. This quote starts with the same claim that we are a little gods, 'a sample of Jesus,' whatever that is and then links this righteous life with money. This is amazing because the Righteous One was not showered with money and as Scripture says, "the love of money is the root of all evil" - (1 Timothy 6:10) - the opposite of righteousness. This is not only teaching the heretical view that man is 'a god' but then bringing the salvation of Christ down to the level of me prospering with money! This is not the true Gospel. The Trinity "God the Father, ladies and
gentleman, is a person and He is a triune being by Himself, separate
from the Son and the Holy Ghost... See, God the Father is a person,
God the Son is a person, God the Holy Ghost is a person; but each one
of them is a triune being by himself. If I can shock you and maybe I
should, there's nine of them! What did you say? Let me explain. God
the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person with his own personal
spirit, with his own personal soul and his own personal spirit body.
You say, I never heard that! Well, you think you are in church to hear
things you heard for the last fifty years?" Orlando Christian Centre
Broadcast, 13 Oct. 1990. Later on a TBN Show, Hinn tried to laugh it off when
he said, "This thing has almost become
comical. Paul, here is what I believe. God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Ghost - three separate individuals, one in essence, one
in work, and may I add, each of them possesses his own spirit body.
That's what I believe." TBN, 23 Oct. 1992 You cannot just laugh off what was supposed to be anointed teaching; which in Hinn's understanding is revelation from God Himself. God never changed His mind and never in Scripture do we find 'these nine beings,' so where did Hinn get this teaching from in the first place? When you can be so far wrong on such a central issue, can you ever again trust such teaching? What is obvious from the end of the quote is that Hinn feels he must bring something 'new' all the time. See the first quote in the next section regarding this. Even now though, with the 'new' version of his Trinity there are problems, because the Bible does not teach that there are three spirit bodies in the Godhead. Other Issues "If we quit giving you new revelations we're dead." - TBN 9 Dec.1990 As we say above, this is Hinn's attitude. However, what this produces is a pressure to say something that has never been heard before, so that the revelation can keep flowing and the 'anointing' is seen still to be there. Why change the Biblical teachings of the past 50 years? Is there always a new revelation? Surely there is nothing new in the sense of hearing something that has not been taught before. On another issue Hinn described a Roman Catholic communion he partook in. "I was feeling the actual form of a body... when we partake of the communion, it really is Jesus and He heals your body. So how can you stay weak and sick?" PTL, 27 Dec. 1994 Evangelical Christians, of which Hinn claims to be one, believe that the emblems represent the body and blood of the Lord, not become them! "You know what? We've said this a million times and it's not even scriptural - all because of Job: 'The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.' [Job 1:21] I have news for you: that is not Bible, that's not Bible. The Lord giveth and never taketh away. And just because he said, 'blessed be the name of the Lord,' don't mean that he's right. When he said, 'blessed be the name,' he was just being religious. And being religious don't mean you're right." - TBN, 3 November 1990. The Bible is not God's Word according to Benny Hinn. He has superior revelation to Job and indeed other passages in Scripture which deal with the Lord taking away. God is sovereign and there are times of testing when God takes away so that we trust Him and not the possessions. Hinn changes Job from the righteous man that God said he was to a religious person who did not know what he was talking about. "Poverty comes from Hell. Prosperity comes from Heaven. Adam had complete dominion over the earth and all it contains. A. Adam could fly like a bird. B. Adam could swim underwater and breathe like a fish. Adam went to the moon. Adam walked on water. Adam was a super being; He was the first superman that lived. Adam had dominion over the sun, moon & stars. Christians do not have Christ in their hearts. Sow a big seed, when you confess it, you are activating the supernatural forces of God." - Praise-a-Thon, TBN November 1990. Who really knows what was in Hinn's mind when he brought this extra-biblical and bible-denying word. Is this really the teaching of a man of God or is it the ramblings of someone who feels they must always be bringing some new revelation? "… the anointing is dependent upon my words. God will not move unless I say it. Why? Because He has made us coworkers with Him. He set things up that way. - The Anointing, Benny Hinn, p.82, Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 1992. This statement that God is dependant on us is still the teaching of Hinn as it was repeated on a 'TV Special' broadcast on 31 December 2002. Here Hinn relates a dream and at one point clearly says that God told him that He is dependant on man. This is clearly denied by Scripture and indeed if you take that statement to be factual you would realise that God would no longer be God! This, in other words, is false teaching and denies the Word of God. THE FALSE PROPHECIES OF BENNY HINN "The Spirit tells me - Fidel Castro will die - in the 90's. Oooh my! Some will try to kill him and they will not succeed. But there will come a change in his physical health, and he will not stay in power, and Cuba will be visited of God." - Orlando Christian Centre, 31 December 1989. "The Lord also tells me to tell you in the mid 90's, about '94-'95, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America. But He will not destroy it - with what many minds have thought Him to be, He will destroy it with fire. And many will turn and be saved, and many will rebel and be destroyed." - Orlando Christian Centre, 31 December 1989. In the 'TV Special' mentioned above a prophetic statement was also made that in the dream (received early December 2002) God told him that in the next few days and weeks we will see rivers of blood and Satan will unleash horror and terror on this earth as never before. Please note that these are not 'I think' or I feel' statements but are given under (as Hinn believes) the direct anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is God's Word coming through Him. In fact in the first two prophecies mentioned above, he had to ask what he said, because he was so taken over he had no idea what he was saying. These therefore, are specific prophecies which have clearly not come true. Benny Hinn, by his own words, is a false prophet and therefore not to be trusted. Press here for a further article
regarding the ministry of Benny Hinn. |
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