MONEY-MAKING BIBLE HUCKSTERS AND MAMMON!
Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Org
Last Updated : July 23, 2006
A Sober Message Regarding Commercializing Our Christian
Heritage, A Look At The First Century Plan, A Challenge
Of Faith, And A Call To Return To Our First Love
Recently while scanning various of the Internet newsgroups,
I happened upon one of many messages in which the writer
offered some interesting information regarding Endtime
events. Following the instructions provided in the post, I
sent him a reply to obtain additional information. What I
received back was an email message which was even more
tantalizing than the first Internet post. It provided some
additional comments on the knowledge which this man claimed
to possess, but it did not contain the actual information
itself. At this point I was beginning to get a better idea
of what this man was all about. Following the instructions
again, I linked to the URL included in the email message.
Imagine the deep disappointment I experienced upon
discovering that the message posted in the newsgroup, as
well as the private email message, were only bait to lure
me and other spiritually hungry folks to what amounted to
nothing more than a commercial Christian web site.
Quite frankly, I find it objectionable that modern
Christianity has become so overrun by Bible hucksters who
feel they have the right to convert the sharing of God's
Truth into nothing more than another worldly business
venture. Being a prolific writer myself, I can understand
and appreciate that many Christian writers invest a
considerable amount of time, energy and possibly money into
their writing and research endeavors. However, this is no
excuse for anyone to sell The Truth, at least our particular
understanding of what we believe is The Truth. Like the
person who posted the message on the Internet, I have been
dedicated to sharing The Truth with those willing to hear it
for many years. However, I do not sell it. I firmly believe
in what the Lord taught us in the Gospels when He said:
"...freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8b)
In my view, to put a price on The Truth is to say that the
only ones who are worthy of hearing it are those who are
willing to pay for it. This is in direct contradiction to
the whole Spirit of the Bible. This is NOT the method which
Jesus and His followers practiced. Not only that, being as
the ideas of any Christian writer are not infallible, anyone
who is foolish enough to send in money is taking a gamble.
After all, what makes my version or your version of The
Truth any better than someone else's? We may truly and
sincerely believe in what we are writing and teaching, but
to promote it as The Truth above the writings of everyone
else is simply a product of vanity and pride. I wonder how
many people send in money to some of these writers only to
be disappointed later when they find out exactly what it is
the writers espouse. Maybe you are one who has gotten
'burned' by such things.
You see, this is the gimmick these writers use in order to
attract gullible souls to their lairs. They will tease you
and prick your curiosity with some hidden 'truth' they have
purportedly discovered, but they won't let you know exactly
what it is until you bite the bait and send in your money.
This is the same technique used by those involved in some of
the kaballistic religions. They claim to possess some secret
knowledge or some mystical power only meant for a chosen
few. You have to go through certain initiation rites and
advance one level at a time until they feel you are worthy
of the 'ultimate truth' and the powers which they possess.
This is something which I have spoken about in some of my
Endtime and New Age articles.
I'm sorry folks, but it is a bit difficult for me personally
to believe in the sincerity of some of these Bible
hucksters. If their hearts were really right with the Lord,
if they were truly interested in enlightening people instead
of just making money, they would FREELY share what the Lord
has revealed to them, and not horde it and only share it
with those who are willing to pay for it. They are guilty of
yielding to the same commercial spirit which has invaded the
world. I am reminded of several Biblical examples which I
wish to bring to your attention:
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all
them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the
tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold
doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be
called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of
thieves." (Matthew 21:12-13)
"And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles'
hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,"
(Acts 8:18)
In short, The Truth and The Power and The Spirit of God
cannot and should not be bought or sold. There is absolutely
no difference between what these Bible hucksters are doing,
and what the moneychangers did almost two thousand years
ago. Whether you sell doves in The Temple, or sell books,
magazines, tapes or videos which purportedly contain The
Truth of God, it is all the same. It is making a worldly
business out of God's Divine Business of winning the lost to
His Kingdom. It might interest you to know that the word
'publish' is mentioned eighteen times in the Authorized King
James Bible. The word 'publisheth' is mentioned four times.
In every instance, these words are not referring to writing
and selling books, but rather to verbally proclaiming or
declaring something. Here are a few examples which you may
be familiar with:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth
good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith
unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isaiah 52:7)
"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
(Romans 10:15)
Notice how Paul substitutes the word 'preach' to show the
true meaning of the word 'publish' as used by the Prophet
Isaiah. When Jesus told His Disciples in Mark 16:15 to 'Go
ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature', that is exactly what He meant: go preach, or
publish verbally the Good News. Of course, thanks to the
Lord's foresight, He gave them the wisdom to eventually
write everything down for the edification of future
generations of Christians. However, when the holy men and
Prophets of the Bible did write their various parchments,
books, Gospels and Epistles, they didn't go around selling
them. They FREELY distributed them to the Body of Believers.
It was similar to a free courier or postal system to
maintain communication between the early Believers. The idea
was to exalt the Lord, and to instruct, strengthen and edify
the Church, the worldwide Body of Believers. It wasn't to
make a profit.
Imagine if the writers of the Bible had only sold their
works to those who could afford it. Would The Truth of the
Bible be as widely dispersed as it is today? Probably not.
It would be similar to when the Roman Catholic Church
purposely kept the Bible in Latin and out of the hands of
the common people so they could dictate what it meant and
thus maintain control over the consciences of the masses. Is
it any wonder then that today the Roman Catholic Church has
compromised with the System and continues to be one of the
world's largest commercial enterprises? Sadly, many other
denominations have quickly followed in their footsteps, and
are guilty of the very same things. In our modern day, these
money-minded Christians don't even realize that they have
fulfilled one of the very things Jesus warned us against
when He said:
"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the
mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may
receive you into everlasting habitations." (Luke 16:9)
Some Christians nowadays claim that the Lord came to give us
the abundant life. They pull out all of their favorite
verses to justify their selfish living, but they have gotten
it all wrong. Jesus was not talking about physical
abundance, but spiritual abundance, being rich in Spirit. In
fact, if we turn to the Sermon on the Mount, we find the
following verses:
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)
So who has misinterpreted the Scriptures? They certainly
don't talk about an abundant life in the flesh as these
material-minded Christians claim. Only a few verses later,
Jesus made it even more clear when He said:
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
(Matthew 6:24)
Like Bob Dylan said a number of years ago in one of his
songs, 'Now it may be the Devil, and it may be the Lord, but
you gotta serve somebody!' Poor Dylan suffered a degree of
persecution after writing that one! Unfortunately, from what
I understand, he was like the seed sown on the stony ground
and he didn't last very long. (See Matthew 13:3-23). So
again, when you verbally preach the Word of God, such as
through public witnessing, singing and passing out tracts,
you are fulfilling the true meaning of the Biblical word
'publish'. You are FREELY sharing The Truth with all who
will receive it and not with just a select few who can
afford to pay for it. Jesus has already paid the Price in
full by His Sacrifice on the Cross. As the Apostle Paul
tells us in his Epistle to the Corinthians:
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
(1 Corinthians 6:20)
As far as I am concerned, when the Lord reveals something to
His servants, it is our responsibility to FREELY share it
with as many as we can without giving any thought as to what
we might get in return. Isn't that the Biblical principle?
Some of you know that I devote a lot of time and energy to
this writing ministry. I also invest quite a bit of money in
it as well. I don't care if I never earn any money from it,
and I don't anticipate that I ever will, because I am not
trying to. As you should all know by now, I am only
interested in sharing what I believe may be The Truth
according to the understanding I have been given. As I have
said before, I believe we each possess different pieces of
the puzzle. No one person possesses the entire puzzle or
knows it all, not me, not you, none of us. If anyone thinks
they do, then they are just deceiving themselves and are
lifted up in their own pride and vanity. As the Apostle Paul
also tells us:
"Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we
all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity
edifieth." (1 Corinthians 8:1)
I've have seen some websites where they basically claim,
'Oh, we've got The Truth! Everyone else is wrong! You won't
find this kind of information anywhere else! We are unique!
We are the one and only!' Well, I say HOGWASH! Some of those
sites are affiliated with some church or religious
organization and are just pushing their particular
doctrines, and some of them have piles of money to throw
around as well. The point is, if they say, 'Everyone else is
wrong and we are right', you better be careful, and don't
send them any money! It is only in coming together and
sharing what we have that we can all get a clearer
understanding of God's Whole Picture. We may not always see
eye to eye on every single point, but at least we are
talking and discussing and making our ideas available for
each other's consideration instead of hording or selling
what the Lord has given us.
I would have been interested in reading some of the material
which this person has to offer; however, I am not about to
encourage him to continue in his practices by sending him
money. It is my view that those who preach the Gospel should
find some other means of supporting themselves so that they
can deliver The Truth of God FREELY to the spiritually
destitute of the world. The Apostle Paul had to deal with
this same problem and wrote the following:
"Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not
power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a
sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the
brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas,
have not we power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare
any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and
eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and
eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a
man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written
in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the
ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no
doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in
hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker
of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is
it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If
others be partakers of this power over you, are not we
rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer
all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do
ye not know that they which minister about holy things live
of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the
altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord
ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of
the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:3-14)
Some people have used these verses as a justification for
commercializing Christianity. There is an old saying some of
them use which goes something like 'The Gospel am free, but
it cost somethin' to pipe it to ya!' However, I am sure that
is NOT what Paul meant by the above verses. My understanding
is that if we preach the Gospel, then those to whom we are
ministering who gladly receive it, should feel some kind of
obligation to help support us. Perhaps they can give us a
rent-free place to live, or food to eat, or clothes to wear.
That is basically all any of us really needs to survive
happily, and of course a computer if you happen to have an
electronic ministry as I do. If you are a travelling
missionary, a car or truck with a trailer or camper would
take the place of a stationary home. Folks can also donate
monetary gifts as well to help pay for utilities, gasoline,
etc. However, Paul also makes it very clear that we are NOT
to force people to pay us before we are willing to give them
the Gospel; and this is exactly what some people are doing,
such as the person who inspired this article. Some folks are
very quick to quote that last verse:
"Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the
gospel should live of the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:14)
However, they neglect to read what he says a few verses
before that:
"Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all
things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ."
(1 Corinthians 9:12b)
In other words, he is saying that by trying to force people
to give you money or support you in some way, you are
hindering the Gospel. You are abusing your position and
power as a minister of God's Word, and misrepresenting the
Gospel. You are giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ a bad
name; and no one can deny that Christianity today,
particularly in America, has a very bad name, and a very bad
image because of all of the commercialism going on. You've
got churches who own vast amounts of real estate and large
companies worldwide; you have big preachers making
multi-million dollar TV deals, and other goings on. This
sounds exactly like what the Spirit said to the church at
Laodicea:
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of
my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that
thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent." (Revelation 3:15-19)
Not only that, it sounds exactly like the braggings of
Babylon the Great Whore, which many view as being the false
religious system of our day:
"How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,
so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no
sorrow." (Revelation 18:7)
For more in-depth information on this topic, please refer to
my article 'Revelation's Babylon The Great Whore'. So then,
what Paul is really saying is that those we minister to
should feel obligated to help support us. However, if they
don't, for whatever their reasons, then it is better to
suffer want (need) for the Gospel's sake than to become a
selfish shepherd of the Word who will only share The Truth
with those who are willing to pay for it in some way. Paul
clarified this even further a few verses later when he said:
"What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the
gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that
I abuse not my power in the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:18)
You see that 'without charge'? You can't make it any clearer
than that. Unfortunately, many money-minded Christians
totally ignore everything below verse fourteen. I encourage
you to read the whole chapter slowly to obtain a better
understanding of exactly what is meant by these verses. In
his letter to the Philippians, Paul further expounded upon
these thoughts when he said:
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both
how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and
in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
(Philippians 4:11-13)
Now, if Paul was charging for his services, if he was
charging to share the Word of God with people, why would he
even make such statements? He would have all of his needs
met all of the time, right? It is obvious that he wasn't
asking for anything. He was trusting God to touch people's
hearts to share with him, just as he was sharing his
spiritual riches with them as he stated in his Epistle to
the Corinthians. Peter also warns us about abusing the
flocks of God and raping them financially when he says:
"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords
over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And
when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a
crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:2-4)
You see, we are not to seek financial reward for preaching
the Gospel. We are not to do it for filthy lucre's sake. We
are to preach simply out of our love for lost souls, even if
we never receive any reward or recognition here on Earth. We
have our reward, and it is in Heaven. Even in the Old
Testament, the Lord was constantly rebuking the selfish
false shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves,
getting rich and fat and lazy, instead of feeding the Lord's
sheep. If you want to read a prime example of this, read
Ezekiel chapter thirty-four.
So then, as should now be seen, I am not saying that it is
wrong to use all of these different methods of preaching the
Gospel such as printing books, magazines and newsletters,
producing music and lesson tapes, and making videos. You
should do whatever works for you. You should do whatever the
Lord shows you to do. As Paul explains in his first Epistle
to the Corinthians, we each have our chosen ministry. We
each have our gifts. However, what I am saying is that when
you deny people The Truth because they can't afford to pay
for it, then it is really time to check your heart and see
what your real motives are for doing it. After listing all
of the different gifts and ministries of the Spirit in
chapter twelve, Paul concludes by saying:
"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you
a more excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:31)
It is right after this that he launches into chapter
thirteen regarding the gift of charity, that is, love. If
you are saying, 'Pay me first, and then I will send you what
the Lord has shown me', then buddy, you have got your
priorities all wrong! You are not lovingly sharing the
Gospel with the Lord's sheep, you are raping them! You are
not really serving the Lord, you are serving filthy lucre!
Remember the warning issued by Paul when he wrote to
Timothy:
"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
(1 Timothy 6:10)
I don't know about where you live, but where I live, the
hospital is not allowed to turn away anyone because they
don't have any money. They have their financial problems
because of it, but I think they are doing the right thing.
Aren't we Christians supposed to be spiritual doctors as
well? Aren't we suppose to help heal people in a spiritual
sense by bringing them to Jesus and sharing The Truth with
them, whether they can pay us for it or not? Just think,
Moses could have stayed in Egypt living royally. Maybe
Elijah could have earned his millions by stopping the rain
for the enemies of Israel. Jesus could easily have been a
billionaire in His day had He charged for His services. Paul
could have continued living as a self-righteous affluent
Pharisee instead of becoming number one on the Jews' wanted
list. But that is not what any of them did. They all forsook
their rich heritage to share the Gospel with the poor. As
Paul so eloquently puts it:
"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count
them but dung, that I may win Christ," (Philippians 3:8)
Clearly, none of these men were money-minded in the least.
They sought after the true Heavenly Riches, just as they
sought to share the same with the poor of the Earth, FREE of
charge. Regardless of what method you use to preach the
Gospel, I know that if you are in God's Will, He will take
care of you somehow in some way. The Lord has promised to
provide all of our needs if we truly seek His Kingdom first,
even if it means subsisting on donations and charity. Here
are a few Scriptures for your consideration:
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you." (Matthew 6:33)
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
As the old saying goes, 'Where God guides, He will also
provide'. If we look to the New Testament Church pattern, we
see that the Disciples of the Early Church made ends meet
through a variety of methods. Primary among these was their
sharing of the goods or money donated by new Disciples, as
well as others who believed in and supported their work:
"And all that believed were together, and had all things
common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need." (Acts 2:44-45)
"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many
as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought
the prices of the things that were sold," (Acts 4:34)
When one congregation had more than it needed, it would
share with another. For example, consider how Paul and
Barnabas were sent to help The Elders in Jerusalem:
"And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified
by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout
all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius
Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his
ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which
dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the
elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." (Acts 11:28-30)
There are many Christians today who say, 'Oh, that was for
then; we cannot possibly live like that now. Life has become
much too complicated'. While this may be partially true, the
fact of the matter is, that it is only due to our lack of
faith in the Lord, as well as the selfish lifestyles we
lead, that these things are no longer possible today. I know
that some have attempted it, and have been partially
successful at it for a number of years; but eventually it
seems that selfishness and material-mindedness creep in. Not
only that, but the System frowns upon Christian communal
living. Just try it, and you will be quickly branded as a
dangerous cult by respectable civic and religious leaders
alike! But it's not that God can't or is unwilling to
provide today as He did in those days. After all, we are
told:
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may
be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the
LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
(Hebrews 13:8)
If you are interested in reading more about the Early Church
Plan, I encourage you to read my companion article 'Where
Are The First Century Churches?' The point is, God can and
will provide today, just as He did two thousand years ago,
IF we only have the faith to believe. Sadly, many have
replaced their faith in the True God with faith in the god
of this world and his system of things. Today some still
proclaim 'In God We Trust,' but it is in another god printed
or molded on worldly money. Eventually, even that will be
replaced by a more diabolical system. Credit cards and Smart
Cards won't even be enough then. Eventually, the god of this
world will not be happy until he has some folks worshipping
him directly. Ultimately, he will give his loyal followers a
unique mark, possibly a bio-chip identification and credit
implant to show that they truly belong to him:
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding
count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a
man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."
(Revelation 13:16-18)
So we must ask ourselves then, what is going to happen to
all of these Christian writers and wheeler-dealers who
currently depend upon filthy lucre, the unrighteous mammon,
for their existence? What are they going to do then when no
one has any money left to buy their precious books,
magazines, tapes and videos? Are they just going to stop
preaching the Gospel? Are they going to go along with the
crowd and accept the Mark of the Beast so they can continue
to survive and sell their brand of religion? Even more
importantly, if you are such a Bible huckster, what are you
going to do when some day you have to face the Lord? Are you
going to say:
"Well Lord, you ought to be real proud of me. Yessirree, I
sold one million copies of my book on how to be a successful
Christian, and three million copies of my Endtime video with
special emphasis on the Book of Daniel, and five million
copies of my tapes on the book of Revelation with special
sound effects. I was a well-respected member of my church
and a pillar of my community. I was an acclaimed Christian
writer and..."
And then the Lord is going to look at you sadly and say:
"Well son, you know I really wanted to use you to reach some
of those poor folks down there in that poor neighborhood,
but you told them they couldn't have your book unless they
gave you some money first. All you did was tease them with
it by telling them what wonderful things they could learn by
reading it. I had to go and send someone else who had a real
love for the lost and who wasn't just interested in making
money or upholding his public image. I am sure glad to see
those folks made it into the Kingdom despite your failure.
Depart from me ye worker of iniquity!"
In conclusion, if you are a preacher of the Gospel, I hope
that this article will cause you to stop and really check
your own heart. I hope that you are freely sharing God's
Truth out of love, and not for any other reason. I hope that
you are building upon the right foundation so that your
works will last and will follow you into Heaven:
"If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned,
he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so
as by fire." (1 Corinthians 3:14-15)
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
labours; and their works do follow them." (Revelation 14:13)
May the Lord richly bless you as you FREELY share the Gospel
of Salvation with others out of a pure unselfish heart.