But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. -- 2Peter 2: 1-3 (NLT)
God has not left us uninformed beloved. There are warnings after warnings after warnings in His Word about the proliferation of false teaching that will arise in the church. God has gone deeper than that however. He has addressed the types of false teachings we would see so that we might easily identify them and rebuke them. Unfortunately, He also reminds us that many in the church are the ones who demand the false teachings. They gather to themselves teachers who will tell them exactly what they want to hear. That God loves them so much He doesn't care if they sin anymore. That God manifests Himself within our personal experiences. That God desires that all of us be rich beyond the dreams of avarice. Just this morning I saw a comment from someone alleging to be Christian that said, "I believe God would not send anyone to hell." The only way you believe that is if you do not read your Bible. Any sentence that starts with "I believe God is simply us recreating God in our own image.
Today we are going to focus in on people in church leadership who shamelessly engage in spiritual armed robbery. Our key verses warn us about these types of charlatans. They deny the Master by pretending that they hear from Him and selling the blessings of God for money. They essentially pimp God out as a pious ponzi scheme. Today we will be looking specifically at Paula White and a recent teaching she delivered. Please realize that Paula White has fleeced over five million dollars from the people of God. She is highly considered when people are talking about female leadership in the church today and she is nothing but a snake oil saleswoman. It is because of women like this the way of the truth is slandered. The world sees this con artist for what she is but the church revels in her demonic teachings. She is one of the ravenous wolves the Bible warns us about beloved. There is nothing redeemable about her ministry. I used the NLT version for the key verses because of the plain way it states the main point:
In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money.
Hold onto that Scripture as we progress today and you will see it come alive in front of your eyes. Another translation says that they make merchandise of you. That is all she sees you as. Thankfully, God condemned her long ago and her eventual destruction will not be delayed. Let's examine a teaching Paula White did recently on Pentecost:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R2ut3i_JWY
Paula wastes no time in setting up numerology as the backbone of this teaching. That because there are fifty days between the resurrection and Pentecost, there must be significance within the number fifty. Thus, because every fifty years in ancient Israel they had a jubilee year she tries to wedge that into your life. So during Jubilee for example, all debts were cancelled, so this must mean that Pentecost is also an appointed time for "supernatural debt cancellation." What utter garbage. First of all, Jubilee is not even followed today by Jewish people. Secondly, it only applied to them and most importantly, how in the world is this transferred to the church? Answer? It's not. White however shamelessly promises that this is the year you will have double portion. This is the year that you have a divine advantage. This is the year of supernatural increase. Says who? Not God. Not His Word. Says Paula White. And for whom are these great things supposed to occur? Apparently everyone who is watching her show. What blasphemous nonsense.
One of the tricks these bandits use is to provide just enough Scripture, misinterpreted or out of context, to give the veneer that the teaching is biblical. Because she is trying to use Pentecost to convince you to send her money, she reads the first four verses of Acts Chapter Two. She zeroes in on one word:
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. -- Acts 2: 2 (NIV)
After reading this verse Paula pauses to pray a "suddenly" for our lives. Pray a what? Beloved the word suddenly is used here as an adjective to describe that the Holy Spirit fell quickly. It is not prophetic for other "suddenlies" in our lives. This text is not about us. It is about Jesus Christ. Not to Paula White however. Not when she is trying to make some cash. Instead, she brazenly states that God has made a covenant to usher in a new season on Pentecost. Is this in the Bible? Absolutely not. God has made no such covenant. He has made no such promise.
White then mangles the purpose for the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember denying the Master? She correctly points out that Passover is in remembrance of when they applied blood to the doorpost so the death angel would pass over them. So what does that mean for us as believers? It is a type of Christ. Now we have the blood of Jesus on the doorpost of our lives. This means when it is time for judgment on the last day, God will pass over us and we will not be condemned to eternal suffering. The death angel was from God beloved. He sent the death angel. It was the final plague upon Egypt. Let's see what Paula does with this:
"So when the blood is applied to the heart of your life, to the doorpost of your heart, then the death angel, the satanic forces, will pass over. It literally means that God's hand would be stretched out for you. And that no weapon formed against you shall be able to prosper." -- Paula White
Beloved allow me to explain. The truth of Passover for the believer is the crux of our faith. That we have the hope of glory now. That we will spend eternity with the Father. But those are all eternal considerations. They are not carnal in nature so Paula White can't sell them. She traffics in the temporal blessings. She can sell debt cancellation. She can sell worldly prosperity. So she must make the Passover revelation carnal in order to make her sales pitch. Instead of a glorious picture of an eternal life with the Creator, she reduces it down to overcoming "satanic forces" so God's mighty hand of blessing can stretch out for you. It is insulting in its blasphemous nature. Just as insulting as when she claimed that every time we faced a Pharaoh, God delivered us because the blood of Jesus delivers us. What on earth are you talking about? We were not there in ancient Egypt Paula. That story is not about us. I have never faced Pharaoh or Goliath. Those are stories that are supposed to point us to Christ; not your bank account. The blood of Jesus delivers us from final judgment, not the "Pharaohs we face."
Having established her unbiblical premise she goes for the kill. Since Pentecost is derived from the feast days of Israel, Paula leverages the Old Testament and the offerings the Israelites were required to make to pretend that the key to Pentecost is to present and offering to the Lord. Of course that means an offering to Paula White. She brazenly says that some offer 50, 500 or even 5000 dollars because after all, this is holy.
"These are the mandated times that God says you must bring to me, don't stand before me empty-handed. So I want you to call our toll free number right now. And as you honor God with an offering, you are standing in position, ready to receive revelation and harvest. For the outpouring of what God has for you." -- Paula White
