I have nothing against working hard and making a decent living. But there is a sect in Christianity that pushes a false gospel for the sole purpose of fleecing the very ones they are supposed to be caring for. In a sense, they create a sort of pyramid scheme and call it “the gospel” when, in fact, it’s a dangerous heresy.
The Prosperity Gospel is a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches that Jesus’ primary purpose for his life, death, burial, and resurrection wasn’t to atone for sins, but to make people who have enough “faith” healthy and wealthy. This false gospel carries with it several other false teachings such as positive confession, that is the ability to speak things into existence the way God does.
John MacArthur has described it as a “spiritual Ponzi scheme” where the peasants at the bottom give their “tithes” and “offerings” to organizations led by these kinds of people with promises of returns of financial blessings from God. Yet, only those who are lucky enough to make it to the top of the pyramid actually ever receive anything.
Among the worst of these aberrant churches is Bethel Church. Bethel Church in Redding, CA is pastored by Bill Johnson who claims to be an Apostle — that is, he claims Apostolic authority just like the twelve men during Christ’s time on Earth. Bethel Redding, like all cults, is filled with aberrant, unbiblical teachings and doctrines of demons, including false manifestations of the Holy Spirit, grave sucking, and the Prosperity Gospel.
Steven Kozar of the Messed Up Church has revealed exactly how much the leaders of the Bethel cult actually make from their congregations—and you simply won’t believe how much it is. Below is a short clip from the full presentation (which you can watch at this link) where Kozar examines the tax forms from Bethel and follows the money trail to expose these ridiculous numbers. Again, it would be one thing if these people were making money honestly, but lying to their congregants about financial blessings while practicing a Ponzi scheme is just wrong.
Watch:
