The same old thing as the new thing

Recently prophet Benny Hinn gave a prophecy on 12/30/02 explaining on “ the 18th of December at 2 am I awakened to a prophecy ringing in my heart. I was hearing myself prophesy. ... Jeremiah the prophet said that when the Spirit of God came upon him, when the word of the Lord came upon him, it was as fire came into his being. And he could not hold the prophesy. When the Word of the Lord is given to you, you'll prophesy even if you're alone in that place. And so I felt as though my mouth was about to burst with this prophesy. But what I heard was frightening. That was on Wednesday. Thursday morning at 2 am in fact. And now I'm hearing the words “Rivers of blood, rivers of blood.” And the Lord revealed to me what's coming in the next few days and weeks with this war with Iraq. I will tell you this, I won't say everything, but I'll tell you this -- dangerous days are ahead for this world. …I will tell you this, Satan is ready to unleash horror and terror on this earth as never before. But I heard the Lord say, literally I heard Him speak those words, He said, “Dark days are ahead for the world, and bright days for my people.” (Applause) I was prophesying it. “Those who know me and those who walk with me will know light and beauty, says the Lord.” God began to speak these words. Hinn: Now soon I will share the whole prophesy. But then a second prophesy came. But saints, in that first prophesy I saw things that frightened me.” “Hinn: But then there was a second prophesy where I saw a scroll unfold before me and God showed me Satan's plan for the future.”

“I sensed things I never thought I'd sense. For the first time in years, Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. He's coming very quickly.”

“Hinn: I am hearing it from the Lord right this minute as I'm standing here, I'm hearing from the Holy Spirit that a change is coming, a mighty change … yes, Lord, thank you … yes, Lord, thank you … I'm just hearing the Lord telling me when. I'm telling you ... Steve: When? Hinn: March 3rd. I just heard March 3rd in my ears. … I'm hearing the Lord say that to me. Hinn: But I'm hearing the Lord say that to me. (Benny Hinn, TBN “Praise The Lord”, 12/30/02)

Hinn compares himself to the prophet Jeremiah which has no true comparison. Hinn shares about coming in the next few days and weeks with this war with Iraq, rivers of blood. Well nothing happened in the weeks after he spoke this, certainly there was no bloodbath as he claimed. Yet we all know anything can happen in this world today and violence can break out even in our own country. What kind of prophesy is this that is so vague and wrong! We can add this day to the list of all the other prophecies that have not come to pass from Hinn’s lord. Yet it gets more indicting

“God Himself awoke Benny with a prophesy that is frightening to say the least. That's right God told Hinn that “rivers of blood” will come in the near future unless fervent prayer is exercised on behalf of TBN partners and the Body of Christ in general. He told Rod Parsley on this program that great judgment is coming and this is in addition to the fire, shaking, shuddering, and raining that is also supposed to come upon the church as seen in Hinn's past dreams. He said in closing that Mar. 3 will be a day to be remembered because God personally told him that He would do “something” super supernatural that day that was not for the pastors like Parsley or Hinn but for regular church people. We should of course get ready for whatever is coming by sowing a healthy financial seed into these guys ministries, and that almost goes without saying these days from them. (Benny Hinn, TBN, quoted in an email by a viewer on 2/27/03)

Well this day MAR.3 came and went like any other day, and this prophesy went bust as usual. Is anyone paying attention!!! The prophesy train pulls out of one station to the next and continues down the track…and the people get on board.

Only a few weeks later Mar.16,2003  Hinn has John Hagee as a guest. Although Hagee is one of the more intelligent word faith teachers it does not help his integrity by appearing on the Benny Hinn program. Hinn’s interview was about what is happening in the world today with Iraq and after this war. After Hagee gives an explanation of Ex.38 and a Muslim coalition descending on Israel. He says Jesus is coming back at any time to rapture the church, that it will occur before Ez.38 “The church of Jesus Christ could be raptured in months, think about that!” Hinn agrees and says “your right scripturally” it could happen in the next 6 months or next year. Hagee then admonishes the people that we need to give our time to witnessing “if you have a soul to win, win it now, if you have song to sing, sing it now, if you have an offering to give, give it now you may not be here next week.” He then says “he’s coming for those who look for his glorious appearing, the flip of the logic is. if your not looking for his coming he’s not coming for you. He’s just coming for those who are looking for him. I’m looking for him.”

Hinn then says, “I think all of us in the church have sensed something in our hearts about this war?” The audience responds in agreement. Hagee then tells people to get ready for the coming of the son of man because “were getting ready to leave this world, Jesus Christ is soon to appear in the clouds of heaven and everything people are developing ulcers trying to get together does not amount to that (clicks his fingers) were getting ready to meet the son of God in the heavens, because we are that close.”

Does Hinn believe Jesus is really coming soon?

I have nothing against this view in fact I like what he said about the immanency of Christ. However, what I am disgusted about is what Hinn did afterwards using it a grandstand opportunity to ask people for money. “Saints now listen to me, what we do for the Lord must be done now, you feel the urgency…souls are waiting by the millions, our ministry will do our job we will be faithful in our vineyard where God has placed us…but the important thing is we must not fail him, we cannot fail him he’s depending on us, I’m asking you as my partner asking you those that watch this program and have been blessed to support the work of God. If you have not in the past do it now, do it now for the sake of souls… I need many to stand with me, the healing ministry as pastor Hagee said earlier draws attention, people are watching and when they see the power of God, then we can say now Jesus is the answer. So today do your best, do your best to keep this ministry strong.” In fact there are some wonderful open doors for me right now on television and I don’t want to say yes before I know that you’ll support me, so we got to do it together. You can call in your donation or simply send it to …” (Mar.16, 2003)

It is this kind of manipulation that gets me angry enough to write this, because I care for people and this is nothing less than an opportunist taking advantage of a good pitch to further his kingdom. Is this what you tell people to do when Jesus is coming soon, send money to help his ministry?

You can always tell what something is about by how they wrap it up with the punchline.

On the November 9, 1990 Praise-a-Thon, Hinn told Crouch a new revelation. “Paul, I can say this -- Are you ready for this? We may have two years before the rapture. . . Can I be blunt with ya? I don't know if we have two years left. . . I'm gonna prove to you from the Word tonight, that we have less than two years.” Crouch then told people to give  because of the time element we have left.1993 came and went with no rapture, and Hinn seems to have reversed his view. Hinn moved from his Alaqua home that was $685,000, and now lives in a 3 and half million dollar house. He has everything paid for in his ministry, and if he really believed Hagee’s stirring for people to get with it, he would not be saying what he did. Wouldn't they be telling everyone to drop what you are doing and use every spare minute to witness to others?

But there is more. In fact, one may question if Hinn actually believes any of this that was said. John Paul Jackson who was on Hinn's program Dec. 30, 2002 when Hinn gave his prophesy of Mar.3, 2003 had this to say: “Now what God is doing in these dreams is He's giving you a taste of a level of influence and insight and perception, spiritual perception, that you're going to walk in, in a more consistent basis in the weeks and months and years to come.” 

 John Paul Jackson has become known as an expert on dreams and dream interpretation he was on another previous program of Hinn’s at the beginning of 2002. He prophesied for Hinn what his ministry would be doing years in the future. The Lord told Hinn in his dream, “I’m going to give you eight years and then you have to walk through it.” He asks Jackson for God to speak to him to help understand this, John Paul: “Benny your clock started ticking last week when you walked through the house with your mother, that clock started ticking, so right around the year Christmas, new years 2010 this gate is going to open for you. And in the process of that opening it is exactly what is written in the book of Thiatira of Revelation, to the church of Thiatira, saying if you overcome this I will give you the ability to rule over nations; If you overcome this deep things of Satan, deeper then you think right now, when you overcome this you will have overcome that which seeks to usurp your reward.”

Jackson says “The gates of the 2nd dream represent a new authority that God is going to pour out to those who walk at a level unprecedented since the early church….” Hinn: “So what the lord was saying to me then was in the next eight years I am to fulfill the first dream.” Jackson: “actually what he was saying is you will fulfill the first dream, he was also saying to you, that, it is a process its not going to be instantaneous...” (This is Your Day Jan.16, 2002).

Putting aside the ominous tone of Hinn ruling over nations, I bring your attention to what both Hinn and Jackson who interpreted the dream said. The Lord told Hinn I’m going to give you eight years, Jackson gives the date of 2010. Hinn is affirming this interpretation as true, the Lord(?) has given him the date and he is required to do things along the way. So either Hagee is wrong about the rapture happening soon or Hinn, who has heard from his lord, told him years in advance what he would be doing on earth is wrong. Both cannot be right. Jesus said we cannot know the day or the hour but from these revelations we now know when Jesus will NOT come back...until.

Again these men bring confusion laying down a crooked line. Even though Hinn said “He's coming very quickly,” and affirmed to Hagee your right scripturally. In light of what Hagee said,s does Hinn actually believe Jesus could be coming soon if he accept a prophecy that says the opposite?

Oh yes, I forgot one other detail that may help us understand who is speaking to Hinn. In his Honolulu crusade in 1997 “I asked the Lord, I said, “Lord, how long will I live?” He told me, He said, “Sixty-nine, if you take care of yourself, seventy-three” (Hawaii Crusade Blaisdell center 2/28/97).