Truth Magazine

By Steve Wolfgang

The fastest-growing “televangelism ministry” in the United States today belongs to Jimmy Swaggart. His 270-acre complex in Baton Rouge, LA, includes his million-dollar home, a 7,000-seat church, a state-of-the art television production studio, a 15,000-square-foot printing/mailing operation employing more than 1,000 people, and a 1000-student which will Bible college (which received 18,000 applications for the initial class of 400 students). According to Arbitron,

“The Jimmy Swaggart Hour” TV program reaches more than 2 million households; Newsweek recently reported his 1986 revenues at $142 million.

Not bad for a small-town boy (born in the one stoplight hamlet of Ferriday, LA). That Swaggart has sold more than 15 million “gospel” record albums is not surprising, since he grew up with his cousins, rock ‘n’ roller Jerry Lee Lewis and country singer Mickey Gilley.

Swaggart, like Jim Bakker, is a member of the “Assemblies of God,” supposedly the fastest-growing American religious denomination. In fact, it was evidently Swaggart who first called attention to Bakker’s adultery with Jessica Hahn which has been so widely-reported in the news media recently. The Assemblies of God, with headquarters, publishing enterprises, and a seminary all located in Springfield, MO, consist of 10,866 congregatoins; during the last decade, they averaged 332 new congregations each year, but that growth has produced some internal tensions.

According to Martin E. Marty, church historian from the University of Chicago, there are “two separate movements” within the Assemblies of God, which have typically been handled by often having two congregations in the same town. “In one, there are pickup trucks in the parking lot and handbills advertising square dances on the bulletin board,” says Marty; “At the other, there are Oldsmobiles and the people go to weekend retreats on how to make money.” Observers of both Swaggart and Bakker can easily tell who might appeal to which subgroup. As anyone who has observed both can verify, “they appeal to very different segments within that denomination” (as sociologist of religion Jeffrey K. Hadden of the University of Virginia recently commented).

Doctrinally, the Assemblies affirm sixteen “fundamental truths” in their creed, including “Unity of One Being in Father Son, and Holy Ghost,” “Water Baptism,” “Baptism in the Holy Ghost,” “Sanctification,” “Divine Healing,” and “The Millennial Reign of Christ” (an earthly reign following the “rapture” which will “bring the salvation of national Israel”).

Swaggart began as a street preacher in Mangham, Louisiana at age 19 (a passing patrolman commented, “Son, you’ve got the fire”). He soon moved into small Pentecostal churches; after about twelve years he began to conduct his “crusades” in the city-wide auditoriums of large, metropolitan areas. His first radio broadcast on an Atlanta station in January 1969 launched his entry into media evangelism. The growth of his organization was accompanied by the production of a slick, fullcolor 36-page monthly magazine, The Evangelist, sent into about 700,000 homes. The Swaggart organization has spread to include overseas branch offices in Brazil, Chile, Central America, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Swaggart’s main growth, however, has been through television. In his own words, “That’s when it exploded… some people say that Jimmy Swaggart and television were made for each other.” Whether that is true or not, there is no doubting sociologist Hadden’s assessment that “Swaggart has the fastest growing audience of them all this past decade.” Swaggart’s aggressive attacks on immorality and his willingness to take unpopular positions have no doubt contributed to his distinctive message in a vast sea of health-and-wealth hucksters preaching a gospel of prosperity. Truly, he would appear to the “rising star” of television evangelists.

Sources

David Edwin Harrell, AM Things Are Possible., The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America (1975); The Evangelist: Voice of the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries 13:9 (September, 1981; “Special 25th Anniversary Edition”); William W. Menzies, Anointed To Serve. The Story of The Assemblies of God (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1971); issues of Time, Newsweek, and US News for April 6, 1987.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 12, p. 361
June 18, 1987

By Daniel W. Petty

Ernest Angley was born and reared in rural North Carolina in the Charlotte area. Angley’s family was Baptist by denominational affiliation, and he was raised in the Baptist church. He believed that he experienced a “born-again” experience at eighteen years of age, and a few months later left the Charlotte area to attend a southern Bible college. In addition to this experience of conversion, Angley also believes that when he was seven, God showed him millions of stars and told him how many souls he would win for Christ.

Angley and his wife Esther (“Angel”) spent several years as traveling evangelists before settling down in Akron, Ohio in 1954. They began to build Grace Cathedral in 1957, and the membership of Angley’s church today is reported to be over 6000. Angley holds “Miracle and Salvation” crusades across the US and in other countries.

Though raised a Baptist, Angley claims no denominational affiliation. The bimonthly publication of Grace Cathedral, The Power of the Holy Ghost, published since the mid-1950’s, states that the church is “strictly interdenominational.” This magazine, as well as Angley’s TV ministry, begun in 1973, strongly emphasizes miraculous healing. His programs, “The Ernest Angley Hour” and “The Ninety and Nine Club,” feature healings videotaped during his “Miracle and Salvation” crusades. He often puts his hand up to the camera and invites the TV audience to put their hand on their television for healing. A typical edition of his magazine will consist of testimonials of those healed by Angley, and a scattering of articles or sermons teaching a doctrine of physical healing or premillennialism.

Angley performs before a galaxy of stars on a deep blue background. The most flamboyant of healers, he has been called the “lunatic fringe” of religious broadcasting. He sees demons leaving the bodies of the healed, and angels by his side at healing services.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 12, p. 369
June 18, 1987

By Wilson Adams

In Matthew 19:23 Jesus discusses the perils of prosperity by saying, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” I’ve never really had trouble with that verse because I’ve always laid its application on the backs of the Rockefellers, the Kennedys, the Malcomb Forbes of society – you know, the Fortune 500 guys, the real money people. I’m not sure anymore. The more I think about it the more I am convinced that Jesus was essentially talking to me – and you (if you maintain the average middle-class American lifestyle). By the world’s standard of measurement we give a new definition to the concept of prosperity. We make more money in a week than much of the world makes in a year. We have homes, and cars, and the latest gadgets of our modem technological age. And what we can’t pay for we “charge” to a standard of living that is exceedingly expensive. Ali of this makes me take a fresh look at the Master’s warning. Maybe you should, too.

The Bible has much to say about money matters because in God’s eyes money matters. How am I to view my prosperity? Should I pray for financial success? What about the wealthy wicked? Does the providential promise of Romans 8:28 include my monetary pursuits? – all are probing questions and real questions that constantly confront the Christian.

Prayer and Prosperity

God answers prayer. I believe that, preach it and have seen it happen. The question is: What should we pray for? It should be obvious that if we are told to pray for something then surely God will be involved in that area of our interest. Scripture teaches us that we should pray for our spiritual needs, our health (2 Jn. 2), our safety (Rom. 1:9-10), the necessities of life (Matt. 6:11) and our national leaders (1 Tim. 2:2) – to name only a few. But should I pray for God’s blessings in the area of my business or financial prosperity? Well, I do and I think you should, too. (I once heard a preacher say that if you are involved in an area of activity that you cannot pray about, then you had better quit it. Now that’s a point worth pondering!)

Here is the passage: James 4:13-15. It says,

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. ” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow… Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”

“This” or “that” what? He is talking about buying and selling and receiving financial profit. And just what is the point of the passage? Rather than say, “I’m going to do this. . . ” or “I’m going to accomplish that . . .” – we must recognize that God is involved in our business activities and that it is not all our own doing. “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil” (v. 16).

What about you? When you make business plans and monetary goals do you strike out on your own or do you ask for God’s blessing and will to be accomplished? And when you have prospered and fared well financially, do you take the credit or do you take your thanksgiving to the Throne? It’s a potent passage.

I’m a firm believer that we should pray for the Lord to make us successful in all that we do. (Nehemiah understood the point when he prayed, “O Lord, I beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant . . . and make Thy servant successful today, and grant him compassion before this man” [1: 11]. Nehemiah knew he could not have success in his rebuilding plans without the approval of the Persian potentate. Thus, he prayed for God to give him success as he presented his request before the King.) So it is with us. If I am going to find success with my family and the raising of my children in a wicked world, then I must have God’s help. If I am going to experience success in reaching and teaching the lost, I need divine aid. And, if I am going to have success in the financial market place, I need the Lord’s favor. Do you know what prayer really is? Prayer (among other things) is our asking for God’s providence (“providing”) in the areas for which we have prayed, conditioned upon His approval and will. And that brings up another question:

Will God Give Me Everything I Pray For?

Will God answer my every prayer? Yes! Will God give me everything I pray for? No! Here surfaces the problem. of the TV preacher. The TV kings of the electronic evangelistic circuit answer “yes” to both questions upon the condition that you include them in your financial future. (Doesn’t this sound like the old “Send me $10 and I’ll send you my secret on ‘How To Make A Million… scam? It sure looks suspicious to me . . . . )

A reading of passages like Psalms 5:12; 37:25; Matthew 6:25-33 and a host of others leaves one inescapable conclusion: God has promised to provide the needs of the righteous. That says three things:

1. God has promised to provide the needs of the righteous. The Bible doesn’t say, “Well, maybe God will provide . . .” It says, “Seek first His kindgom and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.” And look at Romans 8:28, too. That sounds like a sure thing.

2. God has promised to provide the needs of the righteous. The wicked have no such guarantee (Isa. 59:1-2).

3. God has promised to provide the needs of the righteous. Here is where the rubber of “TV theology” meets the road of reality. Yes, God will provide our needs as he defines them. Herein is the greatest problem area in dealing with the question of the Christian and his prosperity. It’s up to God to define needs – not us! Often times we think we need what we really don’t need. For example, I take my little five year old to K-Mart and he sees the Tonka trucks and the G.I. Joe action figures and he says, “Dad, I want that! ” And, like every good father will do, I give him the daddy-can’t-give-you-everything-you-want-but-only-what-you-need little talk – and then, do you know what he says? He says, “O.K. dad, then I need that!” (You’ve been there, right?) Do you know that that is exactly what we do to the Lord? We just seem to want and/or need everything. Get the point: God will give us what we need (not always what we want) with the understanding that he defines our “needs” and not we ourselves.

And here are two other points worth our consideration: (1) My needs may not be my needs because it may not be the best for me. When I buy my kids a giant slurpee at the corner convenience store and five minutes later they want (excuse me, “need”) a snow cone from the ice-cream man, I refuse. And why? Because I know that it’s not best for them. In the same way I may pray, “Lord, I need to get this job promotion” or “I need to be more prosperous than I am” – God will answer that prayer but His answer may be “No” because He knows that greater financial prosperity may not be the best thing for me. Material prosperity is not always the best for people (1 Cor. 1:26). Some can handle it, others cannot. God knows what I need and He will provide according to his wisdom. And, (2) My needs may not be my needs because it may not be the best for others. I need to realize that God doesn’t work just for me. What I want may not be in the best interest of my family, my brother or somebody else that God cares for, too. (There is a lot to consider, here.)

What About The Wealthy Wicked?

That was the question that Asaph asked in Psalm 73. He said, “My feet came close to stumbling when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (vv. 2-3). Asaph’s faith was on thin ice. He said, “Hey, God, whose side are you on?” “Why are you blessing all these rich sinners?” God never answered his question. What He did do was to show the psalmist that while the wicked may seem to have an easier time on the road of life, the fact remains that they are going in the wrong direction I They are basking in the sunshine on the deck of the Titanic. They may have health, wealth, and worldly success but they don’t have God, and thus they don’t have anything.

When I pondered to understand this,

It was troublesome in my sight.

Until I came into the sanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their end (73:16-17).

I may not understand why God blesses the wealthy wicked but I do understand one thing: I know that I wouldn’t want every millionaire in America to go broke – would you? (Seems like that happened once before.) It may just be that God is blessing all the rich sinners so that through them He can bless me and give me what I need to maintain a comfortable life.

What Have We Really Said?

Does God want His children to prosper financially? (I certainly couldn’t give a sweeping “no” to that question – could you?) It looks to me like one of those “Yes, but . . . maybe” questions. Yes, God would like us to prosper financially but, maybe He says “No” to too much too soon because in His wisdom it’s not the best for us. He may bless some in more generous financial ways seeing that they can handle it better than others. On the other hand, He may choose to withhold financial blessings from some to see if their faith can be loyal while their pocketbook is lacking. (Now does that mean that such a person is any less righteous than the other guy? The book of Job answers that one.) Truthfully, I don’t know what God always does. A better question would be: Does God want what’s best for His children?” I do know the answer to that and it is an unequivocal: Yes! And what is best for His children may not always be financial prosperity. But that’s God’s decision and not the decision of the “plug in preachers.”

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 12, pp. 370-371
June 18, 1987

By Allen S. Dvorak

Little David Willmann is dead. He died of bone cancer last year in Cincinnati, Ohio. Seven years is not a long time to live on this earth, but the real tragedy is that perhaps David Willmann did not have to die. Maybe if surgery had been performed when the doctors had recommended it, the cancer could have been stopped before it ravaged his youthful body and eventually took his life. But David Willmann’s parents, Douglas and Lori Willmann, would not allow surgery for religious reasons. His father was quoted as saying, “David was healed 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ died on the cross. Christ provided us with eternal salvation. The blood he shed on the cross healed us from all sickness. The only way we can achieve that healing is to have faith and believe that it has happened.”(1)

Although David was made a ward of the court, the delay involved probably cost him his life. I am fairly confident that his parents were merely acting on the basis of their convictions, but their sincerity did not save the life of their small son. Was their faith simply inadequate? Could little David Willmarm really have been healed of cancer by the death of Jesus on the cross?

There are many people who believe and teach the “gospel of good health,” that the atonement of Christ can alleviate physical illness in this life. Is this true? Can we be free in this life from the suffering of physical illness by virtue of the atonement of Christ? To answer this question we must first examine the purpose of the atonement.

The concept of atonement is introduced and developed in the Old Testament. The shedding of blood (the taking of a life) was central to the idea of atonement. For this reason the Israelites were forbidden to eat blood; the life is in the blood and God gave the blood of animals to the Hebrews for the purpose of making atonement for their souls (Lev. 17:10-14). A contextual word study of “atonement” indicates further that blood was offered for the atonement of unclean persons or objects (Lev. 14:18-20, 48-53, 16:30-34; see also Lev. 12 and 15 and Exod. 29:36-37). When atonement had been made, the person or object was again considered “clean.” The Hebrew word most commonly translated “atonement” literally means “to cover. ” The idea seems to be that when blood was offered, the cause of the “uncleanness” (sin, leprosy, etc.) was “covered,” i.e., removed from God’s sight.

The doctrine of atonement reached its clearest expression under the Old Law in the events of the Day of Atonement. Upon that day, the high priest took blood for his household and the rest of the people into the holy of holies to make atonement for sin, to cleanse them from their spiritual “uncleanness” (Lev. 16:30). The writer of Hebrews reveals that this ritual was a type of the sacrifice offered by Christ (Heb. 9). Jesus made atonement for our “uncleanness” when He shed His blood and then, as our High Priest, presented His blood before the Father. The atonement of Christ was offered because man was estranged from God. The cause of that estrangement was sin and it is amply clear that the blood of Christ was shed for the forgiveness of sin (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:26-28). When His blood “covers” our sins we can again enjoy the fellowship with God that had been interrupted by sin (Rom. 5:1, 9-10). Because of the atonement of Christ, man can be reconciled to God.

Physically Healed By The Atonement?

Some “faith healers” suggest that we can be physically healed by miraculous means on the basis of the atonement. Isaiah 53:4-5 is given as evidence that our illnesses were “healed” in prospect on the cross. All we must do now, we are told, is “stand on the atonement,” i.e., claim that healing as a benefit of the atonement.(2) Isaiah 53:4-5 reads as follows:

(4) “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. (5) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

The first half of verse 4 is quoted in Matthew 8:17 with obvious reference to physical healing that Jesus did on that occasion. It is thus argued that since Isaiah 53 discusses the atonement, physical healing is available. Two observations should be made in reply to this assertion. First, the section of Isaiah 53 which Matthew quoted does not have to do with the atonement. It is certainly true that verse 5 has reference to the atonement, but that is not what Matthew quoted – he affirmed that the healing by Jesus was the fulfillment of verse 4a – not of verse 5. Not all of Isaiah 53 has direct reference to the atonement; we must remember that the atonement was made when Christ shed His blood and offered it before the Father. Secondly, the healing recorded in Matthew 8 was done before the atonement was offered and thus could not have been as a result of or on the basis of the atonement!(3)

Some would point triumphantly to the concluding phrase in Isaiah 53:5 (“by His stripes we are healed”) as evidence that physical healing was contemplated in the atonement. However, the apostle Peter alludes to this very expression with clear reference to the forgiveness of sins rather that physical healing (1 Pet. 2:24). Our conclusion is further sustained by Arndt and Gingrich who suggest that the word translated “healed” in that passage (1 Peter 2:24) can be used in the figurative sense of deliverance from sin .(4)

Physical Illness And Sin

It seems clear that the atonement was offered to “cover” sins and not for physical illness. It is not physical illness which causes man to be separated from God – it is sin (Isa. 59:1-2). On the other hand, could it be that physical illness is caused by personal sin and thus the atonement would afford physical healing by removing the sin which caused the sickness in the first place? While we sometimes suffer physically because of our own sins, the Scriptures do not teach that all physical illness or suffering is the result of or punishment for personal sin. The most obvious example of innocent suffering is that of Job. It is plain that the physical illness of Job was not caused by any sin on his part (Job 2:7; 1:1,8,22). When the disciples of Jesus saw the blind man of John 9, they asked Jesus who had sinned so that the man was born blind. Jesus replied that the man’s disability was not punishment for anyone’s sin (John 9:1-3).

The Scriptures also reveal that New Testament saints, those who enjoyed the benefits of the atonement, were sometimes physically ill. Timothy was frequently sick (1 Tim. 5:23). Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20). Epaphroditus, who was commended highly by Paul, was sick “almost unto death” (Phil. 2:25-30). If the atonement provided for relief from physical illness, why did these saints become ill? In fact, why would any person who has obeyed the gospel and is thus entitled to the benefits of the blood of Christ ever become sick if the atonement provided for healing? Since the atonement was offered on behalf of those who were estranged from God, it can be concluded that if the atonement is for physical healing, then those who are physically sick are separated from God. The Scriptures teach no such thing!

The Danger Of The Doctrine

The tragedy of the “gospel of good health” is that it creates false hope. It targets those who, because of their sickness, are often poorly equipped emotionally to resist its welcome appeal even in light of obvious failures. The desire to be well is so strong that men and women will grasp at the opportunity to be healed miraculously, particularly if medical science can do little or nothing for them. When the promised benefits do not materialize, despair or even anger against God can follow. Little David Willmann died.

Even more importantly, the “gospel of good health” places undue emphasis on physical health. It focuses the attention of men on the physical rather than on the spiritual. It is certainly desirable to be physically healthy, but the most important need for man is to be spiritually healthy. Jesus shed his precious blood for the lofty purpose of providing forgiveness of sins, thus promoting man’s spiritual health. Praise God – by his stripes I am healed!

Endnotes

1. Cincinnati Enquirer, no date available.

2. Oral Roberts, If You Need Healing – Do Thesee Things! (Tulsa: Standard Publishing Co., 1947), pp. 45-46. Quoted by David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Oral Roberts. An American Life (Bloomington, In.: Indiana University Press, 1985), p. 450.

3. Waymond D. Miller, Modern Divine Healing (Fort Worth: Miller Publishing Co., 1956), pp. 58-61.

4. William F. Arndt and F. Widbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 368.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 12, pp. 368-369, 390
June 18, 1987