POSITIVE CHRISTIANITY AND THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

 We must beware to whom we listen lest we be persuaded lest we turn on Jesus. My faith is firm, perhaps not as firm as Abel’s, Enoch’s, Noah’s, Abraham’s, David’s, Daniel’s, and Moses’s; but my faith is firm. Abel suffered death out of faith. Enoch was taken from the world because of faith, Noah suffered persecution because of faith, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son because of faith, David was persecuted by Saul because of his faith, Daniel faced lions because of his faith, Moses left a life of luxury to live in tents to endure starvation and hatred because of his faith, and Jesus endured death as the source of faith.

  Faith is hard work! The faithful must endure to the end of tribulation — unto death (Mat 10:22). Faith is not easy. Faith is a test for fidelity to God and all those tests must be endured. Nobody can escape testing by Satan for even Jesus was tempted.

  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). All the patriarchs and prophets endured tribulation for things unseen. God promised them Paradise and eternal life, neither which they could see, if they would endure the world for His Name sake (Jesus). They believed in Jesus before he was ever born, and we have it easy — we need only believe in the Living God who died on our behalf. Christianity became much easier when people could see God walking, talking, eating, healing, and teaching.

  The faith of Abraham was great because he too was willing to sacrifice his only remaining son as Ishmael had been emancipated. Would we be willing to do that? God did that for us; would we do that for Him. Abraham was willing to. I have two sons. God would expect me to give up both of mine, but I would hesitate to even give up one! Abraham would because he had great faith in the coming Messiah. He knew that God would someday do that for him!

  Paul was jailed and sent to Rome where he was imprisoned. There he was ordered decapitated by Nero. For what reason? He was hated because he was a Christian.

  Peter suffered crucifixion upside down so as not to diminish Jesus. God has great expectations for His heirs. In the end there will be great tribulation. The final test for Christians will be their heads or preservation in the world. It will be temporal life here or an everlasting future in Paradise. Will you take the mark of the beast or the mark of God? That will not be an easy decision!

  Why all this background? “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:10). Because the great expectation of Christians is Heaven, and to be blessed therein requires Great Tribulation. I believe tribulation is waxing, and maybe in my lifetime, it will become increasingly hard until we are offered the choice: prosperity here and now or suffer the blade by beheading. I believe that will come soon because it is as in the days of Noah right now.

  How was it then? Look around you. It was then as now! I notice that Americans welcome those who would kill them. Beheading is Muslim persecution. I see the end-of-time government as Sharia Law and communism combined. We are near that stage now. Things will get tougher henceforth. I know that because the Great Reset that we are engaged in at this time is the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

  We have had mild tribulation up to 2020. With the election of seditious politicians, expect greater tribulation. It will sweep America and the world like a whirlwind and, “stupid American voters” (Jonathan Gruber quote), have ushered it in. The “swamp” is deeper than ever expected and it will not be “drained.” President Trump jumped in over his head, not even realizing the extreme measures that those who would murder their own in the womb would do to those in the world! If they would murder “their own body” as they say, then they would certainly harm yours. What can be expected with the Great Reset?

  Last week's meeting of the Great and the Good (or the Richest and Richer) was bound to draw criticism. Associated Press: The New York meeting of billionaires Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, David Rockefeller, Eli Broad, George Soros, Ted Turner, Oprah, Michael Bloomberg and others was described by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as an informal gathering... (Frank 2009)

  Their conclusion? To save the planet, the population must be reduced by 90%. It is a good guess that it will not be the rich who are exterminated but the common people. So much for the “common good” in their brand of Nazism. Their idea is less commoners for their “greater good.”

  Do you really think that the corona virus from China was an accident just in time to defeat the President and usher in the Age of Aquarius (the Era of the Antichrist)? Was it coincidence that covid19 coincided with the Great Reset and the dream of billionaires? There is a conspiracy theory and there has always been, to wit:

¹³ For thou (Lucifer) hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(Isa 14:13-14)

  That is the father of all conspiracy theories. The multitude of conspiracy theories come from that aim, and the conspirators fail to realize that they are tools for that purpose and voters their fools! Anytime that there is a political power struggle by the unrighteous, it furthers the Adversary’s political agenda. Satan desires no longer to be Satan — the Adversary of God — but to be God, and he always uses the government to obtain any power that he can.

  Now let us examine the topic at hand:

  Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth. (Wilson 2007)

  Abraham was indeed promised prosperity for his posterity. However, the Hebrews thought it was prosperity in this world, but Abraham knew that it was prosperity — The Promise Land — in heaven. The Jews were headed toward Utopia but Abraham toward Paradise in another realm. As such, Judaism, as practiced, was the prosperity gospel. They expected Jesus to come riding a white horse to be king and defeat the Romans. How naïve! Jesus was born in a manger and rode an ass. He made asses out of the prosperity priests!

  God never promised prosperity in the world. He promised provisions for the faithful but certainly not riches, “Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, ‘How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!’” (Mark 10:23). So much for the prosperity gospel, but false teachers also pursue physical well-being and through faith, positive speech, and such; that material wealth will increase. Does that sound familiar? It should! “Gods’ like that are Muslim Jenn (genies). Rub the bottle three times with positive thought and voila — your dreams come true!

  Prosperity theology is alchemy: think gold and gold is what you shall have! God does not work that way. Christians are called to sacrifice: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). Is laying down your life on behalf of another positive thinking with prosperity here? Positive should be toward improvement by the standards of the world, but by God’s standards, positive means death, to wit: “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). That is not what Joel Osteen has in mind!

  What is in the way of positive thinking? Reality. The world has laws and principles. There are mostly objective things in the world. Jesus may turn water into wine, but no one has that great of faith! Jesus acknowledged that. Positive thinking will not change the physical laws unless you are Jesus. I know Jesus, and you are not Him and neither am I. Positive thinking is working miracles. Do you really think that your mind can control the stock market, which team wins, and change the cards dealt to you? That is irrational thinking. Reality interferes with positive thinking.

  The theology of “positive thought” and “prosperity theology” is little more than a revival of Nazism’s “Positive Christianity” which most thought had died and would never return. Th motto “Build Back Better” is a version of Positive Christianity. “Better” to most is a socialist Utopia. Unfortunately, as Utopias are built, Paradise is diminished. Utopians pursue pleasure on Earth, and Christians prosperity in Paradise.

  What is prosperity? Eternal life in incorruptible flesh. That glorious body is at the Resurrection. Prosperity theology pursues that here! Their wish is for Paradise now, but scripture warns of Great Tribulation! Is God wrong, or is it Joel Osteen and others like him?

  When are people most often blessed? When they are down and out! Whoever God forgives the most, love him the most (Luke 7:47). The oppressed receive the better reward as was the case with the Hebrews (Jud 4:3).

  Rational people play the hand they are dealt. Thinking that cards will be changed in your hand is magical trickery by slight of hand, not the Way of God. In cards, that would be cheating. God wants you to play the hand that He deals to you.

  Not playing life as it is, is a fantasy world. Germans, for many years, cherished their positive theology. They though they were supreme and deserved more than other races. They thought wrong was right because they thought positively about their fantasy. They even created a positive non-Jewish Jesus to please themselves. They made an Aryan Superman out of the humble Jewish God. Can you not see the power in positive thinking? It results in negative theology.

  God created mankind humbler than the angels because Jesus was made a man lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5).  Angels can overcome the world. Jesus did too, but we can overcome the world only by Jesus. “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Positive thinking is not changing things in the world but relying on Jesus for deliverance from the world. Prosperity is never achieved in life and is only available in death. The world can be overcome by righteous living, not by positive thinking. Part of righteous living is enduring the persecutions in the world.

  If Paul had thought, Nero will surely not kill me, would that have changed Nero’s intention to kill Paul? No! God had a purpose for Paul and it was not for prosperity in this world. That is much like God’s purpose for Moses was not as pharaoh in Egypt but a saint who suffered on the Way to Paradise!

  In conclusion, if your church or preacher teaches the prosperity gospel, it is not gospel at all, but an anti-gospel. People blame God when positive thinking fails them, but that is not what God teaches. He teaches the Doctrine of Salvation for the oppressed into Heaven.

The original sin was when two people were not content with provisions, but desired Epicurean delights from a forbidden tree. The Tree of Life was the true prosperity, but two naïve people ate from the one they thought was the Tree of Prosperity. 

(picture credit: Getty Images; "Aladdin and the Ephrite")

they thought was the Tree of Prosperity.