Bethel Church's Senior Associate displays brilliantly how to mangle the Bible in pursuit of carnal wealth...

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I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. -- 2Corinthians 8: 8-9 (NKJV)

"There is so much resistance to prosperity in the Body of Christ. I am not sure why people demonize prosperity and spiritualize poverty because that is definitely NOT the Bible's prospective. In fact, the Bible often speaks of poverty as a byproduct of poor attitudes and behaviors." -- Kris Vallotton

So begins the latest Facebook posting from mega-heretic Kris Vallotton of Bethel Church, where he serves as the Senior Associate Leader and Co-Founder of the blasphemous Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. Beloved we must never lose sight that behind the false doctrines that we expose is usually a monetary motivational goal. Wolves devour sheep not just for sport. They gain something from it as well. The Bible refers to people making merchandise of the Gospel and of the sheep. When Paul refers to false teachers he calls them hucksters. Bethel Church in Redding California is a literal cesspool of false doctrine but it is a cesspool flush with cash as well. Their list of offenses includes but is not limited to:

1) False signs and lying wonders -- including gem stones, gold dust and fake angel feathers

2) The creation of fake glory clouds through the sanctuary ventilation system

3) Eastern mysticism, such as centered and soaking prayers, chanting, emptying the mind

4) Experiential Christianity supersedes biblical authority

5) False direct revelations

6) Teaching the gifts of the Holy Spirit

7) The false belief that everyone can prophesy

8) The false belief that God must always heal you

9) A "Dead Raising Team"; which claims to have resurrected people

10) Grave sucking

11) Dominionist teachings

12) New Apostolic Reformation member

13) Associated with all of the top heretics on the planet

14) Oversaw the fake restoration of Todd Bentley

And even though it is not often associated with Bethel, we can safely now add prosperity gospel heresy to the list. Because that is exactly what we see here from Kris Vallotton. There is not a resistance to prosperity within the body of Christ Kris. If anything it is over materialistically focused due to the leadership enforcing unbiblical tithing models and the Purpose Driven "bless me" theologies. Everything is couched in terms of what God wants to do for us if we would just comply with His grand plan. As opposed to everything He has already done for us on Calvary. But the Kris Vallotton's of the world do not care about Calvary because he can't sell it. What he can do however is wrest scriptures out of context and lie to you about what they mean. Take for example in this same post he cites the following verses as proof of "the evils of poverty"

"How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? "A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest"- Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man."
Proverbs 6:9-11

"In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

"Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored."
Proverbs 13:18

"He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty."
Proverbs 28:19

For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."2 Thessalonians 3:10

"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8

Yes all of these verses contain the word "poverty" but that does not mean they speak to the "evils" of poverty. This is what is known as "proof-texting." A false teacher gets a silly idea in their head like God considers poverty evil, and they scour the Bible to find verses that contain the magic word and then present them as "proof" of the point they had already pre-determined. This is not the correct way to handle Scripture beloved. Kris Vallotton was not trying to hear from God but rather to confirm the talking point he likes. Let us reason together and see what God is actually saying in these verses Vallotton has abused here:

Proverbs 6: 9-11 is not about poverty being evil. It is speaking to the evils of laziness. Hence the referent to sluggard and sleeping.

Proverbs 14: 23 is also about the evils of inaction. That mere talk does not profit one.

Proverbs 13: 18 is about neglecting discipline or rejecting reproof. An unteachable spirit is one that does not learn beloved. Once again, Vallotton appears happy that the word poverty appears without bothering to understand why.

Proverbs 28: 19 is about pursuing things that result in tangible results. Tilling the land guarantees one will eat, no? But if you are off chasing empty pursuits you limit your harvest. Either way, remember these are presented by Vallotton as proof that poverty is evil. No beloved. Poverty is a result of varying factors. These four excerpts from Proverbs -- a book by the way we should never make doctrine out of -- outline a few of the general principles of how one ends up in poverty. But does Kris Vallotton mean to teach that the Christian born into poverty in a third world country is somehow deficient? What does he do with the story of Lazarus and the rich man? Who ended up in heaven in that story? Who ended up in the torments of hell, so bad that he asked if Lazarus could just dip his finger in water for his burning tongue?

2Thessalonians 3: 10 is a favored verse of prosperity preachers and they often remove the qualifying context, as Vallotton did here:

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. -- 2Thessalonians 3: 11-12 (ESV)

Once again; is this addressing the evils of poverty? Of course not. Are we sensing a theme yet? The Bible is always consistent beloved. Poverty in and of itself is not evil but might be a result of lazy, sloppy, and undisciplined behaviors. In Thessalonica, Paul was addressing a problem of people becoming busybodies instead of focusing on their work.

1Timothy 5: 8 has absolutely nothing to do with poverty at all! It is an admonition for us to take care of people in our families. But when you are trying to fleece the flock, who cares if some Bible verses are mangled? This is exactly what making merchandise of the Gospel looks like beloved. Only Vallotton was not done unfortunately as he claims Jesus was both rich and poor and cites our key verse for today as his proof. In what appears to be his only attempt at actually interpreting the bible, Kris fails miserably because he is not interested in what God says, only what he wants to say:

"There are 3 things we can glean from this verse:

1- Jesus was rich...I would suggest that He is again.

2- Jesus became poor for a purpose.

3- He became poor to make us rich." -- Kris Vallotton

Wow, just wow. If these are the three lessons you glean from the key verse I am going to assume you are like the rich young ruler and money has become an idol in your life. What is God trying to say here then? Let us start by turning to some commentaries on the matter to assure ourselves that what Vallotton is trying to do is simply not coherent orthodoxy. The Benson Commentary and Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible explain this "was rich becoming poor" as follows:

"In doing this he became poor, 1^st, in putting off the form of God, and taking on the form of a servant, appearing no longer as the Creator, but as a creature, veiling his perfections with our flesh, and concealing his glories from human eyes." -- Benson Commentary

"that though he was rich; in the perfections of his divine nature, having the fullness of the Godhead in him, all that the Father has, and so equal to him; such as eternity, immutability, infinity and immensity, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and in the works of his hands, which reach to everything that is made, the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them are, things visible and invisible; in his universal empire and dominion over all creature; and in those large revenues of glory, which are due to him from them all; which riches of his underived from another, incommunicable to another, and cannot be lost.

Yet for your sakes he became poor; by assuming human nature, with all its weaknesses and imperfections excepting sin; he appeared in it not as a lord, but in the form of a servant." -- Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I hope the main problem Kris is having is becoming evident given all of the Scripture review we have already engaged in. His primary problem is in conflating eternal riches and poverty with temporal wealth. Yes, Jesus was rich because He was God. Thus everything created was His and of His doing. Yes he became poor for a reason and what exactly was that reason? According to Kris Vallotton, it was to make us rich! When he speaks of rich he speaks of wealth in this life on this earth and that is so missing the point. Jesus took on poverty, the role of a servant, that we might be delivered from the things of this earth. That we would be set free from sin and enjoy eternal life with our Lord and Savior. How does someone who claims to be of God miss something so blatantly obvious? Proof texting beloved. Kris Vallotton is a huckster and he wanted to try and prove that God wants us rich so he took his Bible and he shredded it in order to give the appearance of biblical authority over what he was saying. But when we do the work of a Berean and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth we quickly discover that he is simply lying or grossly deceived himself. The riches God is referring to here in the key verses are not of this world. They are riches in glory that transcend this mortal frame. There are plenty of Christians worldwide who live in abject poverty. Not because they are sluggards. Not because they are lazy. But because of sin in a fallen world. That is how you can be sure that the gospel Kris Vallotton is espousing here is patently false. Were the disciples rich? They were simple fishermen and from all accounts, not especially good at that either. Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees before he gave that up to follow a shipwrecked and beaten existence for Christ. The Bible says we can expect persecution not jewels and gold. Can some Christians be rich? Sure but not if that is where their heart is beloved. That was the problem with the rich young ruler and with Vallotton. Their hearts have placed money before God. Vallotton's Facebook post now starts to wrap up with some more Bible twisting:

Ok there are many more but let's look at one more aspect of prosperity and poverty in the New Testament. Jesus told two parables (the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas) about how money and investment work in the kingdom. In both cases the servants that took the money their Lord gave them, (1 talents = $30,000 & 1 mina = $500) and made more money, were rewarded. In fact the 2 guys that did well with the minas were given authority over cities! Now this is where the story gets ugly...the guys in both stories who refused to take risks and invest their money but instead buried it, were called "wicked and lazy slaves!' But wait it gets even worse; their money was taken away from them and given to the guys who already had the most money. Simply put, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, or at least that's the way it looked from the outside. Yet, from God prospective He wasn't trying to make the rich, richer, He was simply distributing His wealth to the people who would invest it wisely. But God also took His money away from the lazy and worthless servants, (His words not mine). (See Matthew 25 and Luke 19) -- Kris Vallotton

Once again blinded by his own avarice, Kris Vallotton misses the point. These parables have nothing to do with money beloved. Money is used as an analogy but we must remember that they were parables. Was the parable of the wheat and tares actually about gardening? Was the parable of the barren fig tree really about fig trees? There are lessons Jesus is trying to convey here and those are spiritual lessons, not carnal lessons. Jesus has already addressed wealth to his disciples and the crowds that followed him. How difficult it will be for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Store up eternal treasures for there is where your heart will be. There is no ambiguity at all when Jesus speaks about money, despite what charlatans like Vallotton believe and preach. In these parables the Lord is actually God! He is giving portions of his kingdom to those who are His servants. Like Jesus one day will return, so this Lord says he will return. When he does, he evaluates what his servants have done with what he entrusted to them. He also evaluates their heart -- their motivation for why they chose what they chose. The Bible teaches clearly at the end of days we will be judged according to our works and that which is not good works in His eyes will be burned up as hay and stubble. Vallotton is so blinded by greed he cannot even see that these are parables of the kingdom of God not the kingdom of earth. How blinded? His summation reveals:

In other words, sometimes wealth and poverty are spiritual powers that empower or proactively disempower people depending on their attitude and effort toward money. How important is it that you have God's attitude towards money? Well I would say from the looks of it that your attitude is probably dictating your financial situation. Which servant do you relate to in the fore mentioned parables? The answer could change your life! -- Kris Vallotton

The Parable of the Talents actually appears with the other parables of the Kingdom, such as the Ten Virgins. They relate directly to Jesus wanting us to be about the Father's business; you know -- the Gospel? They are about who gets into heaven who does not. To reduce and cheapen them down to being about money is to not only miss the point but to do wildly and blindly. If you want to see God's attitude towards money, read the story of the rich young ruler. As if this was all just a joke to him, Vallotton signs off his post with the hashtag - #livelongandprosper but even Mr. Spock would admit that not only was his post not logical, it was not biblical. Our true prosperity is not found on this carnal earth but rather in the riches of the eternal kingdom. Do not buy the snake oil that Kris Vallotton and Bethel Church are selling beloved.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- February 22, 2017

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.