Joseph Prince: Shepherd or Wolf?
Volume 5: Jesus’ Teachings Vs Joseph Prince’s Doctrines
Volume 5
Jesus’ Teachings Vs Joseph Prince’s Doctrines
Volume Summary
“Though the names of Joseph Prince and the Prince of Peace may sound similar, they are miles apart in their theology of grace.” (George Ong)
Joseph Prince teaches that God would never judge and punish New Covenant believers.
He will never be angry, as he is always pleased with them because their sins have all been dealt with.
Conversely, Jesus reprimanded the churches in Revelation chapters 2-3 for their sins.
He warned that He would punish and judge them severely if they don’t repent.
On many other doctrines, Jesus’ teachings and Joseph Prince’s doctrine contradict.
How then can Joseph Prince claim to be Christ-centred?
How can a teacher who teaches against a core portion of Christ’s doctrine be Christ-exalting?
Joseph Prince has, indeed, pulled off the greatest fraud by convincing the multitudes that his ministry and teaching is centred on Christ.
Copyright © February 2020 by George Ong
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Contents
Chapter 1: Joseph Prince’s Unholy Dare To Twist The Message Of Jesus In Revelation
Chapter 2: Joseph Prince’s Teachings Are At Odds With That Of Christ In Revelation 2-3
Chapter 3: Jesus Debunks The Once Saved Always Saved Doctrine
Chapter 4: *The Many & The Few (Matt 7:13-14 & Lk 13:23-24)
Chapter 5: *A Passage of Shock & Horror (Matt 7:21-23)
Chapter 6: *Bible Jesus Or Joseph Prince’s Jesus?
* Denotes Priority Reading
Joseph Prince’s Unholy Dare To Twist The Message Of Jesus In Revelation
Preface
Interested readers are advised to read this chapter in more than one sitting.
Don’t miss Item B in this chapter.
“Many believers are dangerously ignorant as they aren’t even aware that almost all the warnings of Jesus about hell were mainly addressed to believers, not unbelievers.” (George Ong)
“The episode of Ananias and Sapphira, who were struck dead has the instant result of sieving away the superficial and drawing only the serious.” (Acts 5:5,11 KJV) (George Ong)
“A church that has been endued with great power from the Lord and experienced great grace in the Lord must also be a church that expresses great fear for the Lord.” (Acts 4:33, 5:5,11 KJV) (George Ong)
“Because the Apostolic Church was one that moved in great power, was endued with great grace, and filled with great fear, was she able to overcome great persecution with great joy.” (Acts 4:33, 5:5,11, 8:1,8 KJV) (George Ong)
“A church that wants to experience all of the great grace of God but none of the great fear of God that Joseph Prince is pastoring, is not the Apostolic church in the Book of Acts.” (George Ong)
“A church that desires to move in great power and be filled with great joy but is dead against enduring great persecution that Joseph Prince is pastoring, is not the Apostolic church in the Book of Acts.” (George Ong)
“Unless the Lordship of Christ is a prerequisite for salvation, the call to martyrdom is absolutely groundless.” (George Ong)
“If it is possible for Jesus to be my Saviour and not Lord, the demand for the ultimate sacrifice of my life for His sake has absolutely no basis.” (George Ong)
“Though we aren’t called to die for our sins, it doesn’t mean we aren’t called to die for our Saviour.” (George Ong)
“Owing to the teachings of Joseph Prince, suffering and persecution which were the norm for the early Church, have now been replaced by prosperity and blessings for the contemporary Church.” (George Ong)
“No heretic has mastered the art of telling a lie by couching it so super-spiritually and masquerading it so super-scripturally as well as Joseph Prince does.” (George Ong)
“As far as the ability in masquerading lies as truths, Joseph Prince is in a league of his own.” (George Ong)
Introduction
In this chapter, Joseph Prince’s attempt to twist the message of Jesus in Revelation is clear for all to see (Items B to E).
He does that by not taking the overall message of Revelation and the specific texts of Revelation in context.
His aim is to make sure that parts of Revelation flow with his grace theology and prevent the falsity of his grace theology from being exposed.
A. Why Was The Book of Revelation Written?
Before I go into debunking Joseph Prince’s false teachings about the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 from Items B to E, there is first of all the need to understand the overall context of the Book of Revelation – why was the Book written.
John, the author, was writing to the saints in the seven churches who were going to suffer and to prepare them for what is coming.
Rev 1:9 KJV
9 “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Rev 1:9 NIV
9 “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
Just as he was in tribulation and suffering, John clearly expects and forewarns believers to expect to be in tribulation and suffering, which is the common lot of those who are ‘in Christ’.
John himself was in prison, suffering for Jesus when he wrote the book.
So this book was written to prepare the church for suffering so that they would not be caught off guard and be ready to endure it and overcome.
This book was also written to prepare us, the contemporary church before suffering hits us, so that we are ready for it and able to endure it when it happens because right in the middle of the Book of Revelation are two key verses:
Rev 13:10 NIV
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”
Rev 14:12 GNT
12 “This calls for endurance on the part of God’s people, those who obey God’s commandments and are faithful to Jesus.”
With these two verses in Revelation 13:10 and Revelation 14:12, we’ve got the key that unlocks the whole Book of Revelation.
John wrote the book to encourage the saints to endure, obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus in the midst of persecution and suffering, and if necessary, to be ready for the glorious act of martyrdom.
“The glory of martyrdom which began at the start of the human race in Abel and at the beginning of the Church in Acts, will climax at the close of history before the coming of Christ.” (George Ong)
However, encouraging believers to endure the tribulations is not the only aim.
The other aim is to overcome.
Endure is to be under something; to overcome is to get on top of it.
The whole Book of Revelation is designed to help believers to be overcomers and help them get on top of those pressures they were coming under.
To the church at Ephesus it is written,
“….To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).
To the church at Smyrna it is written,
“….He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death” (Rev 2:11).
To the church at Pergamum it is written,
“….To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it” (Rev 2:17).
To the church at Thyatira it is written,
“….To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—” (Rev 2:26).
To the church at Sardis it is written,
“He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels” (Rev 3:5).
To the church at Philadelphia it is written,
“Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name” (Rev 3:12).
To the church at Laodicea it is written,
“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev 3:21).
What if believers don’t overcome and deny Christ and take the mark of the beast?
They could be called the spiritually cowardly in Revelation 21:8, who deny Christ to save their own lives, and their destiny is the same as the ungodly – the lake of fire.
Rev 21:7-8 (NASB)
7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation was written not just to the seven historical churches to be overcomers, but especially to the churches in the last days, that they must go through the Great Tribulation as overcomers because the stakes are high.
Right at the beginning of Revelation, Jesus made it clear that He was writing to the churches.
Rev 1:1-3
1 “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
Seven times, for every of the seven churches, Jesus exhorts us to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” and then follows by “to him who overcomes…. (or vice versa).”
Even in the final chapter and closing words of the book, Jesus again states the audience that the Book of Revelation was written to, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches” (Rev 22:16 NASB).
In the middle of Revelation, Revelation chapters 6-18, John goes on to describe what it is we are to overcome…Satan, the Antichrist, and the forces of darkness in the Great Tribulation.
Of those who are truly triumphant, John wrote,
“They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev 12:11).
Hence, all the events written in this book are not just for the seven churches but for every church to prepare them to face the forces of darkness in the Great Tribulation and be overcomers, and if necessary, to be ready to die as martyrs for the sake of Christ.
Joseph Prince’s teaching that the Church and Christians will no longer undergo any suffering because of the finished work of Christ is false.
He teaches that since Christ has taken every of our suffering on the cross, believers will no longer have to suffer.
One must remember that John wrote Revelation to believers after the finished work of Christ; after Christ had died on the cross.
Did John say to the seven churches as Joseph Prince would,
“Don’t panic, relax and take it easy because all of you won’t have to suffer anymore because of the finished work of the cross, and because Christ has taken every of your suffering on the cross?”
No – not at all!
In fact, John said the reverse.
His unmistakable message to them was – suffering is going to come on the church, but you must endure, keep or obey His commands and remain faithful to Jesus (Rev 14:12).
Rev 14:12 NIV
12 “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.”
John further said to them that some of them might be captured, and others may even be killed, but that’s where they need to endure and stay faithful to Jesus (Rev 13:10).
Rev 13:10 NIV
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”
“Joseph Prince, by his teaching that every New Covenant Christian is protected from suffering, persecution and martyrdom, is heaping a stinging insult on every martyr of the Christian Faith throughout the history of the Church that they have shed their blood for nothing.” (George Ong)
“Owing to the teachings of Joseph Prince, suffering and persecution, which were the norm for the early Church, have now been replaced by prosperity and blessings for the contemporary Church.” (George Ong)
“Joseph Prince’s theology of a bless-me, prosper-me, no-suffering, no-persecution, no-martyrdom, physical-health-and-material-wealth, and God-is-guaranteed-to-protect-me-from-danger-in-every-circumstance, is clearly more than a lopsided emphasis on the priorities of this world which is passing away, at the costly expense of our inheritance of the other world which is eternal.” (George Ong)
“Christ’s call to martyrdom, which many saints have courageously submitted to throughout the history of the Church, is an unshakable proof about the Lordship of Christ over every believer’s life.” (George Ong)
“Joseph Prince, in coming against martyrdom, is nothing but blatantly rejecting the Lordship of Christ over every believer’s life.” (George Ong)
“Joseph Prince, in rejecting the Lordship of Christ, is rejecting a key cornerstone of Orthodox Christian Faith.” (George Ong)
“If Joseph Prince has rejected a key foundation of the Christian Faith, there ought to be no more hesitancy on the part of the Church in declaring him as a heretic.” (George Ong)
“If believers are serious that death is indeed a blessing to those in Christ (Phil 1:21-23), then the question shouldn’t be why John was delivered from martyrdom and Stephen wasn’t, but why was Stephen allowed to go to heaven so soon to enjoy its glories while John had to be kept in this difficult world to suffer?” (George Ong)
Phil 1:21-23 NIV
21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.”
Many so-called ‘believers’ who operate in the flesh (who are probably goats deluding themselves they are sheep) will say to Joseph Prince:
“Pastor Joseph, I love what you are preaching.
First, you told me that in Christianity, God wants to bless me and prosper me.
Now you are telling me I don’t have to suffer at all because Christ has taken all my sufferings on the cross for me.
Hey, this is too good to be true.
Ever since I started attending church, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of such a fantastic and user-friendly theology.
This is so different from other churches that I had attended, where I am quite tired of them constantly hounding and warning me to prepare for suffering.
So, since I’ve discovered something I’ve always wanted to have – that I can have a suffering-free Christianity, I’ve made up my mind to start attending your church from next Sunday onwards.
Ya, and there’s one more thing I must not forget to tell my friends.
Joseph Prince has also promised believers – that God loves us so much, and we are so precious in His eyes that He will never allow us to be persecuted and martyred.
He said that what we’ve been taught that Christians may have to be persecuted and even martyred for Christ, especially in the last days, is false.
Hey, this is the most wonderful piece of news that I’ve ever received because I’m so afraid to be persecuted, and I sure don’t want to die that early before enjoying the bless-me, prosper-me, physical-health-and-material-wealth super-abundant and never-ending blessings that Pastor Joseph Prince has wonderfully unveiled for us.”
Who wants to suffer?
Nobody wants to!
But is a suffering-free Christianity the truth?
Now, you know why thousands are drawn to attending Joseph Prince’s New Creation Church? – Because of the feel-good theology of a bless-me, prosper-me, no-suffering, no-persecution and no-martyrdom Christianity that Joseph Prince constantly dishes out to please the flesh.
Joseph Prince – by deceiving believers that they won’t have to suffer, be persecuted and even martyred, you are literally sending them to hell.
One day, believers who are being deceived by your feel-good teachings were to come face to face with suffering and persecution in the Great Tribulation, they would be too shocked and totally unprepared.
And in their unpreparedness, they may deny Christ and go to hell.
Their blood will be on your hands!
“The episode of Ananias and Sapphira, who were struck dead has the instant result of sieving away the superficial and drawing only the serious.” (Acts 5:5,11 KJV) (George Ong)
“A church that has been endued with great power from the Lord and experienced great grace in the Lord must also be a church that expresses great fear for the Lord.” (Acts 4:33, 5:5,11 KJV) (George Ong)
“Because the Apostolic Church was one that moved in great power, was endued with great grace, and filled with great fear, was she able to overcome great persecution with great joy.” (Acts 4:33, 5:5,11, 8:1,8 KJV) (George Ong)
Acts 4:33 KJV
33 “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
Acts 5:5,11 KJV
5 “And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.”
11 “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”
Acts 8:1,8 KJV
1 “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
8 “And there was great joy in that city.”
“A church that wants to experience all of the great grace of God but none of the great fear of God that Joseph Prince is pastoring, is not the Apostolic church in the Book of Acts.” (George Ong)
“A church that desires to move in great power and be filled with great joy but is dead against enduring great persecution that Joseph Prince is pastoring, is not the Apostolic church in the Book of Acts.” (George Ong)
“If Joseph Prince’s theology of a no-suffering, no-persecution, no-martyrdom and no-fear-of-God is so far off from Apostolic Christianity – that he ought to be declared a heretic should be the unanimous decision of every church.” (George Ong)
Coming back to why Revelation was written…
During the period of the seven churches, Domitian became the Roman emperor.
It was he who started to persecute believers and caused untold suffering to them right through the empire.
Domitian insisted that everyone must address him as Lord and God.
Once a year, everybody must worship him.
They must stand in front of his statue and an altar with a fire on it, and they must take a pinch of incense, and they must burn it on the altar, raised their hands, and say three words, “Caesar is Lord!”
Those who refused to do so would be killed.
But Christians will never give the title of ‘Lord’ to anyone except to Jesus.
Father God was the one who highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name Lord, which is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and believers should call Him Lord.
And so many were going to refuse to call Caesar Lord, but many were also going to give in.
This would be the most trying test of their loyalty to Jesus that they ever had.
And John in his prison could see that this was going to be the greatest test that the people in those seven churches that he had pastured and taught.
Would they give in to Caesar’s demands?
Would they go under by compromising their faith?
And so John wrote the book with the purpose of calling the saints to endure the impending suffering.
But not just to endure but also to overcome.
Endure is to be under something; to overcome is to get on top of it.
Jesus said, “Cheer up. In the world you will have tribulation but cheer up. I have overcome the world. I am on top of it.”
Those who overcome will be rewarded (Rev 21:7).
Rev 21:7-8 NASB
7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
But those who don’t overcome, like the cowardly who disown Christ, their destiny will be in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8).
John’s teachings tie in with Paul’s and Jesus’ teachings elsewhere.
Paul taught:
2 Tim 2:11-12 NIV
11 “…If we died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us.”
And that is almost quoted directly from Jesus Himself who said: “But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven” (Matt 10:33).
This means whoever deny Christ, will no longer be treated as one who belonged to Christ.
Joseph Prince’s ‘once saved always saved’ teaching, was never a doctrine that is taught anywhere in scripture.
One has to remember that Revelation is a book written for believers, not unbelievers.
It was written to seven churches, to Christians.
“Many believers are dangerously ignorant as they aren’t even aware that almost all the warnings of Jesus about hell were mainly addressed to believers, not unbelievers.” (George Ong)
Of all the warnings about hell that Jesus gave, about two or three were given to unbelievers, the rest were addressed to believers.
Jesus didn’t talk about hell to sinners.
He talked a lot about hell to his disciples, who already left all to follow him.
And Revelation was written to keep Christians’ names in the book of life so that they do finish up in the heavenly city and the new heaven and the new earth.
But if they disowned Christ, they would end up in the lake of fire.
It is not just the faith that we start with (justification), but the faith that we finish with (sanctification) that ensures our place in heaven.
So you have got to keep in mind the overall context of the Book of Revelation and why it was written
so that when we come to talk about Joseph Prince’s teachings in the ensuing discussions from Items B to E,
you would begin to realise that he doesn’t even take this into account
– hence his teachings about Revelation chapters 2-3 have gone terribly haywire.
B. Revelation Chapters 2-3 Were Written To The Seven Churches, Not Just To Pastors.
Joseph Prince contradicted the Lord Jesus on many teachings in His message to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3:
First, Joseph Prince teaches that all our sins are forgiven, and there is no need for confession and repentance of sins.
But Jesus unambiguously warns five of the seven churches to repent of their sins, failing which, there would be repercussions.
Second, Joseph Prince teaches that God will never get angry with New Covenant believers and that God will never judge and condemn them.
But Jesus warns one of the seven churches that He could even strike the believers dead if they fail to heed His warning to repent.
This only indicates that God is more than angry with them, and He has already judged them.
Third, Joseph Prince teaches that God is always pleased with believers.
But the stern tone and language that Jesus uses to warn five of the seven churches indicate Jesus is utterly displeased with them.
Fourth, Joseph Prince teaches that we must only give and receive positive teachings, and negative teachings must be rejected.
But Jesus not only commended them, He also reprimanded them, and severely, in some cases.
This goes to show Jesus was not only dealing with them, positively, by His compliments.
If Jesus has to be ‘negative’ in rebuking and disciplining them, He was prepared to.
Fifth, Joseph Prince teaches that we are once saved always saved.
But Jesus says to one of the seven churches that only the worthy and victorious who have not soiled their clothes will never have their names blotted out from the book of life (Rev 5:5).
The unmistakable implication by Jesus is that those who refuse to repent will have their names blotted out and their salvation lost.
Because of the massive contradictions to Joseph Prince’s grace doctrine posed by Jesus in Revelation chapters 2-3, he has to find a way to explain away these passages.
In his defence, Joseph Prince argues that Jesus was only addressing the pastors (angel or messenger or leader), and not to members of those churches, and that’s why His speech was unusually harsh.
What a flimsy and silly argument!
In ‘Grace Revolution’, Page 332, Joseph Prince wrote,
“So what is the Lord saying?
First you need to understand that these two verses (Rev 2:5, Rev 2:14) were written to pastors, so they are applicable only to pastors.
If you are not pastoring a flock, these verses are not for you.”
Please view the 30-second video,
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RBFxErqO3vYByeFQfq-tUi1pXt09R5Zr
(Source: Joseph Prince 2017 Online – Powerful Truths from the Book of Revelation)
Joseph Prince said in the video,
“I submit to you that all the seven stars of the seven churches are the leaders that God has appointed over that church.
The pastors, so to speak.”
“Now, seven churches.
He is addressing the angel (pastor) of the church; he is not addressing the people.”
“But he is not addressing everyone; he is addressing the pastor of the church.
For example, he says, ‘You allow that woman to teach – Jezebel – to teach – so he placed the responsibility on the pastor, not on the people.”
George’s comments:
In the above quote and the above video, as well as in other videos and books, Joseph Prince postured the view that Revelation chapters 2-3 were not written to members of the church but only to pastors of these churches.
Joseph Prince is clearly telling a lie.
This guy is such a daredevil that he dares to tell a lie even though it can be so easily exposed.
And you may wonder why is there such utter recklessness in him?
Well, I’ve read his books enough, I’ve viewed/heard his videos/audios enough, and I’ve studied him enough, and I know what is in his mind even if he doesn’t speak it out.
He will say it straight to your face
– I have the biggest following in Singapore, and the world is behind me
– so what do you want?
– If what you are teaching is the truth, why has your church remained the same size and why has it not grown like mine?
– Worse is that you can’t even keep your sheep in your fold, and they have come over to my pasture to be fed by me.
(Mind you – the above is what he has actually said, though not with exactly the same words, and he is crafty enough to put it in a cryptic way so as not to appear proud and ungracious.)
The truth is the message in Revelation chapters 2-3 was addressed not just to pastors alone but to the entire Church.
For example, Revelation 2:13-16 clearly shows that while one or more members of the Pergamum church did not deny the name of Christ and was martyred (Rev 2:13), other members were involved with false doctrines, and they were commanded to repent (Rev 2:14-16).
Rev 2:13-16 NIV
13 “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.
15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
If Revelation 2:13-16 was referring to the pastor of the church, it doesn’t make any sense at all.
How can a pastor personify more than one person?
How can the pastor be one who was faithful to Christ unto death and yet, represents a group of people who were involved with false teachings and false teachers?
If the pastor is the one who had died for his faith, it makes no sense as the pastor has to be alive to receive the letter from Christ.
At the same time, the pastor being one person cannot logically represent a group of people who were involved in heresies.
This is getting ridiculous.
We are not yet into exegesis, and we are still hovering around the issue of logic.
If Joseph Prince can’t even get his logic sorted out, how can he ever get his exegesis right?
He should seriously consider signing up for a course on logic, before delving into the more complex issue of exegesis.
Even if Joseph Prince argues that this letter was written to the pastor informing him about what was really happening to his church members, it still doesn’t make sense as the way the letter was written; it was directly addressing these two groups of people.
If the letter were written to the pastor alone, then Jesus through John, would have written in such a way, for example:
“Pastor so and so, you have two groups of people in your church. As for the first group, I am exceptionally pleased with because they didn’t deny my name, while the other, I am terribly upset as they are involved with false teachings. If they don’t repent, I will fight against them…”
But that’s not how John wrote them.
Though John addressed the letter to the angel (pastor),
at the same time, he wrote to these two groups of people directly,
clearly suggesting that this letter and all seven letters in Revelation chapters 2-3, were written both to the pastors and to the members in the seven churches
– and not to the pastor of each church alone as was postured by Joseph Prince.
You must be wondering the game that Joseph Prince is playing by pushing the view that Revelation chapters 2-3 were written to pastors and not to members of the church was?
Why did Joseph Prince say Jesus places the responsibility of His reprimand on the pastor and not on the people?
It is purely and only done to protect the falsity of his grace theology from being exposed.
Nothing more, nothing less!
This is because he teaches the doctrine that God will always be happy with and pleased with New Covenant believers, and He will never get angry with them.
Further, he also teaches that God would never judge and punish New Covenant believers.
As he has always been teaching – that when God sees us, He sees us in Christ, and just as He is forever pleased with Christ, He will be eternally pleased with us too.
However, when we come to the episode of the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3, Joseph Prince’s grace theology is being threatened into disarray.
Not only did Jesus reprimand the church for their sins, He threatened to severely punish and judge them if they don’t repent.
So Joseph Prince has to come up with an explanation to account for such contradictions in his theology.
His way out of the mire was to explain that the message of Jesus was directly addressed to the pastor of each of the seven congregations, and not to the people.
He said that pastors are expected to be held to a higher level and standard of accountability, and so Christ had to be firm and tough with them.
Because Christ wasn’t addressing the church but the pastors, He could not have said to be tough or unhappy or angry with church members but only with the pastors.
Joseph Prince thought he had done a clean job of hiding the inconsistencies and contradictions that his grace theology has created, and preventing it from being exposed.
His cover-up job would never be a clean because all he has done is to use the second lie to cover up for the first lie.
Using the second lie to cover up for the first lie, would result in the need to create the third lie to cover up for the second lie, and the never-ending process of lying continues.
First, using pastors as the whipping boy to cover up for his doctrinal contradictions has revealed further loopholes.
Think with me – according to his grace theology, aren’t pastors also part of the New Covenant people?
Of course, they are!
It makes no difference even though they are pastors.
One can be the president of a company or a road sweeper; nonetheless, they both are part of the New Covenant people, and are equally entitled to all New Covenant privileges that Joseph Prince has laid out.
Being pastors or leaders of churches doesn’t mean they are any lesser than the rest of the New Covenant members, and they shouldn’t be discriminated against.
They have every right like every New Covenant member to inherit all the covenant promises that Joseph Prince has laid out
– such as God will always be happy with them, and will never get angry with them; God will always be pleased with them, and He will never judge and punish them.
But what Joseph Prince has done is to discriminate against them.
He is forced to discriminate against them in order to protect his theology from being exposed.
But in so doing, he has created a loophole.
By his view that Revelation chapters 2-3 were written to pastors, and the fact that Joseph Prince said God had to be tough with them, Joseph Prince is effectively saying these pastors are not entitled to the full privileges of New Covenant believers.
Going by Joseph Prince’s argument that Jesus was addressing pastors in Revelation chapters 2-3, it is clear that
God, the Son, was not pleased with them;
God, the Son, was not happy with them;
God, the Son, was angry with them;
God, the Son, would even be so mad with them that He would judge and punish them by removing the church (removing the candlestick or lampstand in Rev 2:5) from them, and kill their pastoral ministry and their livelihood.
If one were to peruse some portions of what were written in Revelation 2-3 (see below for the five passages),
Jesus was more than displeased with these pastors
(according to Joseph Prince’s view, the letters of Revelation 2-3 were addressed only to pastors),
he was severely reprimanding them, and threatening them with very serious punishments if they don’t repent:
Rev 2:4-5 NIV (Ephesus)
4 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
Rev 2:14-16 NIV (Pergamum)
14 “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.
15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Rev 2:20-23 NIV (Thyatira)
20 “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.
22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.
23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
Rev 3:1b-3 NIV (Sardis)
1b “…I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”
Rev 3:15-18 NIV (Laodicea)
15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”
What you have just perused about Jesus’ severe words of reprimand and His threats of drastic punishments to these New Covenant pastors (Joseph Prince’s view)
is so vastly different from what Joseph Prince has taught
– that God will forever be happy and pleased with them,
God will never get angry with them,
God will never judge and punish them.
That clearly shows that his teaching about New Covenant believers
– that God will forever be happy and pleased with them,
God will never get angry with them,
God will never judge and punish them,
did not apply in the case of these pastors, who are also New Covenant believers.
Joseph Prince, if you wish to maintain the credibility of your theology, then you ought to make a qualification to your teaching in the following manner:
“The New Covenant blessings that
God will always be happy with us,
God will always be pleased with us,
God will never get angry with us,
He will never judge and punish us
– apply to every member of the New Covenant community
– except for the pastors.”
You have to make this clear publicly – about the exception clause about the pastors.
If you refuse to, then you are a blatant liar,
saying one thing at one time
(that everyone qualifies for such New Covenant blessings),
and another at another time
(that God can get angry, be terribly displeased and even severely judge these pastors, even though they are New Covenant believers).
“Joseph Prince by asserting the view that the God, who could get angry with the Old Covenant people and judge them, could now no longer get angry with New Covenant people and judge us, is accusing God to be schizophrenic, and one who has changed His character.” (George Ong)
“By Joseph Prince’s own theology that the God who could get angry and judge Old Covenant people, could now no longer do the same with New Covenant people, is irreverently playing ‘God’ by setting limits as to what God can do and what He cannot.” (George Ong)
Second, by posturing that the seven letters were only directly written to the pastors of these seven churches and not to the members in these churches is a direct contradiction to the text.
Joseph Prince is a fantastic twister of God’s word.
Here again, Joseph Prince is engaging in half-truth.
Joseph Prince gives you the half-truth that Jesus was speaking to the angels (or pastors or leaders) of those churches.
But the other half of the truth he hides from you is that Jesus was speaking to these pastors on behalf of the people in each congregation.
Jesus says seven times in Revelation chapters 2 and 3,
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” – not just to the leaders or pastors of these churches.
Jesus did not say,
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the pastors of these churches.”
So, Revelation chapters 2-3 were written to every believer, including the leaders or the pastors of these churches.
The leaders or pastors were to deliver the messages to the people, whom Jesus was ultimately addressing.
Can I ask Joseph Prince, did he honestly miss out reading the above after reading Revelation many times in his life?
Perhaps, if it appears once, he could have missed it.
But how can Joseph Prince miss it when the same message – that Revelation chapters 2-3 were written to the churches, was repeated seven times (Rev 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22)?
So, I will have to conclude that Joseph Prince is fully aware of it, but he is deliberately hiding it from you just to protect his doctrine from being debunked?
If you read Revelation chapters 2-3 carefully, you would notice that on many occasions, Jesus was speaking directly to the people and not just each pastor.
For example, Jesus rebuked the whole church for their sin before singling out some members of the church who were walking in holiness, as in the church in Sardis.
What Joseph Prince has done is to reinterpret, ignore, and remove Jesus’s crucial words to His churches in Revelation – for the sake of saving his grace theology.
It is clear that the message was written to each of the seven churches in Revelation, including the pastors.
And yet, Joseph Prince has the unholy dare to twist Jesus’ own words and said the message is only for pastors as Jesus was not addressing the people.
The letter was indeed addressed to each of the seven angels (Rev 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14).
Many would interpret angels to mean pastors or leaders of these congregations or churches.
Though it was written to pastors of these churches, it was also written to every one of these seven churches.
As I have already mentioned under Item A, I will mention it here again.
Seven times, for every of the seven churches, Jesus exhorts us to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” was repeated seven times (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
Even in the final chapter and closing words of the book, Jesus again states the audience that the Book of Revelation was written to,
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches” (Rev 22:16 NASB).
In fact, all the events written in this book were not just for the seven churches, but every church, especially the last days church, to prepare them to face the forces of darkness in the Great Tribulation.
If necessary, she must be ready to be overcomers and martyrs for the sake of Christ.
So it is undeniably clear that the message was meant not just for the pastors alone but for every single member of these seven churches.
Jesus was addressing the church through the pastors, pure and simple.
Some passages of Revelation 2 and 3 indicate that they were written to the church, not just to pastors alone.
Rev 2:20-25 NASB (Thyatira)
20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.
22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.
25 Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.”
John was obviously directly addressing to two different groups of people in the church.
The first group were those who were indicted by John for tolerating the false teaching of Jezebel (Rev 2:20-23).
But there is a second group who were not guilty of such sins, and the encouragement of John to them was to “hold fast until I come” (Rev 2:24-25).
If these letters were indeed written to pastors, how could the pastor of the church of Thyatira personify two entirely different groups of people with two entirely different responses to the false teaching of Jezebel?
Joseph Prince, you had better take my advice to go for an IQ check.
Your sense of logic has really gone berserk!
Furthermore, every one of the seven letters finishes with the words: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches… (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 CSB).
The word, ‘anyone’, simply means that the message to these letters was meant for every Christian of every church in every generation, and not just to pastors of churches alone, a view that is falsely held by Joseph Prince.
If Joseph Prince was right in his view, John would have said, “Let any pastors…”
No, he didn’t.
He said, “Let anyone …” (CSB) or “whoever has ears”…(NIV).
Though the message was written to the seven churches over 2,000 years ago, it was not confined to them, but that through them, the Spirit is speaking to every individual of every church in every generation.
Joseph Prince said in the video,
“For example, he says, ‘You allow that woman to teach – Jezebel – to teach (Rev 3:20) – so he placed the responsibility on the pastor, not on the people.”
What a feel-good theology that Joseph Prince is offering the people – “only my pastor is responsible, but I am not.”
Joseph Prince twisted the truth
from
‘everyone is responsible, though the pastor is more responsible’
to
‘only my pastor is fully responsible, but I am totally not responsible’.
No wonder so many carnal people who love his feel-good teaching are drawn to his church!
Joseph Prince’s grace doctrine is even more important than God’s word as he will go to any lengths to twist God’s word just so his grace theology can be protected from any attack.
Now you can understand why there are so many goats thinking they are sheep that are attracted to Joseph Prince’s ‘I’m-not-responsible-but-my pastor-is-responsible’ teaching, which feeds on and pleases the flesh.
And those who love their flesh to be fed and pleased are not sheep but goats.
Last, before I move on to the next major item, Item C, let’s consider Revelation 1:1-3.
Rev 1:1-3
1 “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
Revelation 1:3 says it so clearly that those
(referring to everyone in the church)
who hear the book of Revelation, read and take to heart what is written
(this of course includes Revelation chapters 2-3)
will be blessed.
Joseph Prince, by propounding the view that Revelation chapters 2-3 is not addressing the church, is doing her a terrible disfavour by depriving her of being blessed.
What is worse is that Joseph Prince has committed a great sin by saying that Revelation chapters 2-3 were not written for the church,
and hence, what were written there weren’t applicable to them,
he is, in actuality, keeping the church from obeying what were written in Revelation chapters 2-3 (Rev 1:3):
Rev 1:3 CJB
3 “Blessed are the reader and hearers of the words of this prophecy, provided they obey the things written in it! For the time is near!”
Rev 1:3 CEV
3 “God will bless everyone who reads this prophecy to others, and he will bless everyone who hears and obeys it. The time is almost here.”
Rev 1:3 GNT
3 “Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey what is written in this book! For the time is near when all these things will happen.”
Rev 1:3 ISV
3 “How blessed is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and obey what is written in it, for the time is near!”
Rev 1:3 NET
3 “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy aloud, and blessed are those who hear and obey the things written in it, because the time is near!”
Rev 1:3 NLV
3 “The man who reads this Book and listens to it being read and obeys what it says will be happy. For all these things will happen soon.”
Rev 1:3 NLT
3 “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.”
Rev 1:3 WE
3 “God will bless the person who reads the words of this book. God will bless those who hear the words of this book and obey the things written in it.”
Joseph Prince, by teaching that Revelation chapters 2-3 were not written for the church, is, in actuality, keeping the church from obeying what were written in Revelation chapters 2-3.
The seriousness of this is that in several portions of Revelation chapters 2-3,
depending on whether believers obey or disobey,
can result in the determination of their final destiny
of whether they will land in heaven or hell.
Has it dawned upon you that Joseph Prince’s teaching can lead you to hell?
If Joseph Prince teaches against Jesus’ intention of who the audience of Revelation chapters 2-3 were written for, how can he be a Christ-centred preacher?
If Joseph Prince dares to twist the words of Jesus, who is God Himself, in such a blatant manner, how can he be a true teacher of God’s word?
That he is a wolf – is the only sound conclusion I can make!
C. Joseph Prince Hides The Second Half Of Revelation 12:11 To Deceive.
In ‘The Power of Right Believing’, Pages 97-99, Joseph Prince wrote,
“Now, how do you become a “he who overcomes”?
Don’t let anyone twist this verse to make it all about you.
Many wrong beliefs are birthed out of man-centered teachings that focus on what man has to do, or in this case, what man has to overcome by himself through his own works.
Make sure that what you believe is Christ-centered teachings that focus on what Jesus has done and continues to do in your life.
Let Scripture interpret Scripture when in doubt.
In this case, a few chapters later, Revelation 12:10–11 tells us, “for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
How do you overcome the devil, who comes to accuse and condemn you for your mistakes?
By the blood of the Lamb that washes you from all unrighteousness, and by the word of your testimony that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior!
Heaven and eternal salvation have nothing to do with your self-efforts.
It’s all about your belief in Jesus and everything that He has done for you at the cross.
No one goes to heaven by his own righteousness.
We are ALL qualified only by the blood of the Lamb!”
“It’s not about how you see yourself, how your spouse sees you, or how your relatives, friends, and coworkers see you.
The most important thing is to first learn to see how God sees you.”
George’s comments:
See how crafty Joseph Prince is – in twisting something biblical to become something unbiblical.
He is twisting salvation that requires both justification and sanctification into a justification-only salvation.
By writing the following in the quote:
“Heaven and eternal salvation have nothing to do with your self-efforts.
It’s all about your belief in Jesus and everything that He has done for you at the cross.
No one goes to heaven by his own righteousness.
We are ALL qualified only by the blood of the Lamb!”
…he is constantly, falsely and deliberately accusing us of doing works to earn justification, when we are doing it legitimately under sanctification.
His ‘justification-only-without-sanctification’ salvation doctrine, which he keeps pounding on is false; which is what I have already covered in the other articles.
When I read about Joseph Prince’s quote on Revelation 12:11, “…And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,”
I knew instinctively that something was missing.
So I straightaway looked up the verse and found that my suspicion was right.
By writing the following in the quote:
“In this case, a few chapters later, Revelation 12:10–11 tells us, “for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
How do you overcome the devil, who comes to accuse and condemn you for your mistakes?
By the blood of the Lamb that washes you from all unrighteousness, and by the word of your testimony that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior!”
….he is hiding something crucial from you.
He only quoted the first half of V11 of Revelation chapter 12, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” (Rev 12:11a NKJV).
But he has deceptively hidden the second half of V11 from you, “…and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev 12:11b NKJV).
His half-truth strategy to deceive the Church has struck again.
Let’s take a look at several other translations of Revelation 12:11.
Rev 12:11 NIV
11 “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
Rev 12:11 AMP
11 “And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.”
Rev 12:11 GNT
11 “They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.”
Rev 12:11 TLB
11 “They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony; for they did not love their lives but laid them down for him.”
Rev 12:11 NIRV
11 “They had victory over him by the blood the Lamb spilled for them. They had victory over him by speaking the truth about Jesus to others. They were willing to risk their lives, even if it led to death.”
Rev 12:11 WE
11 “They have won the fight against him by the blood of the Lamb’s death, and by what they said. They did not try to save their lives, but were willing to die.”
By revealing only the first half of V11 and hiding the second half of it,
Joseph Prince gave a false impression that overcoming the devil
has everything to do with just the fact that man is saved (justification-only salvation)
and has nothing to do with any act of obedience on the part of man in his faithfulness to Christ (sanctification).
But what Revelation 12:11 clearly states is that in our battle against the devil, it could even involve the need to give up our own life for the sake of Christ (sanctification).
Rev 12:11 AMP
11 “And they overcame and conquered him (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.”
Rev 12:11 GNT
11 “They won the victory over him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.”
Every believer in the last days in the Great Tribulation must be prepared to die as a martyr for our loyalty to Christ.
Here again, Joseph Prince is caught pushing the half-truth – that all that is required to overcome the devil is just our justifying faith – as the whole truth.
At the same time, he dishonestly hid the other half of the truth that believers, besides having been justified (justification), may be required to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom in their fight against the devil (sanctification).
He has to twist the truth – as he is dead against the teaching that believers may be called to die as martyrs – as according to him, there is no such thing as martyrdom in Christianity.
He teaches there is no such thing that a Christian will have to die for Christ as Christ has already died for him.
Joseph Prince’s teaching is false as the scriptures teaches us that we, believers, are to overcome in the same way as Christ overcame (Rev 3:21).
Rev 3:21 MEV
21 “To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
How did Christ overcome?
Christ overcame the world by defeating the devil through His triumphant death, allowing Himself to be crucified (Heb 2:14), and this is what He expects His Church to do – to overcome, and if necessary, by death or martyrdom.
“Though we aren’t called to die for our sins, it doesn’t mean we aren’t called to die for our Saviour.” (George Ong)
So in the following quote, Joseph Prince is lying,
“Now, how do you become a “he who overcomes”?
Don’t let anyone twist this verse to make it all about you.
Many wrong beliefs are birthed out of man-centered teachings that focus on what man has to do, or in this case, what man has to overcome by himself through his own works.
Make sure that what you believe is Christ-centered teachings that focus on what Jesus has done and continues to do in your life.”
“No heretic has mastered the art of telling a lie by couching it so super-spiritually and masquerading it so super-scripturally as well as Joseph Prince does.” (George Ong)
“As far as the ability in masquerading lies as truths, Joseph Prince is in a league of his own.” (George Ong)
When he said in the above quote
that overcoming has nothing to do with what man must do (sanctification),
but what we need to do is just to focus on what Christ has done (justification),
he is literally lying.
“‘Everything is about God (justification) and nothing is about man (sanctification)’ line of doctrine that is doggedly pushed by Joseph Prince, is not to glorify God, but to absolve man from any responsibility of any rightful actions, and even of his own fleshly actions and sinning.” (George Ong)
What Joseph Prince has done is going against the flow and overall context of why Revelation was written in the first place.
Any interpretation about a verse or a passage in a given book must never go against the overall context of the book,
and the specific context in which the verse or passage is located
But if it does, you don’t need a smart alec to tell you that the particular interpretation is false.
But this is what Joseph Prince has done – his interpretation goes directly against the overall context of Revelation.
Revelation was written to remind man that they must do
– to endure,
to overcome,
to stay faithful and
to be ready to die for Christ, if necessary.
Revelation was written to both encourage and warn believers that it is their part
to endure, overcome,
and by martyrdom if they must;
and if they don’t,
and under the persecution of the devil and the Antichrist, they disown Christ,
the lake of fire will be their destiny.
(Please see Item A for details of the overall context of Revelation and why it was written.)
Joseph Prince, by twisting the scriptures
– that all of man’s works (including martyrdom) are man-centred and not Christ-centred,
he is making the multitudes of believers unprepared for the coming tribulation.
Due to their unpreparedness for persecution,
many will disown Christ, and Christ will disown them,
and hell would be their portion
– all because of the heretical teachings of Joseph Prince.
D. Straw man Deception/Justification & Sanctification/Martyrdom.
Please view the one-minute video,
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bLIH4u5ClhnfLuekF5fbtv6q7P7CI270
(Source: Joseph Prince 2017 Online – Powerful Truths from the Book of Revelation)
Joseph Prince said in the video,
“So to every seven church, listen carefully, He (Jesus) always end up by saying to him who overcomes, to him who overcomes.
There are those who teach, to him who overcomes, means you must be a Christian that overcome everything that is wrong and immoral and sinful and all that.
Now how many know that we want to overcome them all?
But how many know that none of us have arrived in terms of experience?
So if that is the teaching, then there is no overcomer.
Alright, but that’s what they say – to him who overcomes are people who are saved, but they overcome something.
They overcome something, and then Jesus says to him, who overcomes.
Is that true?
If that is true than how do you explain the Church of Smyrna.
Rev 2:11
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’
So if you say you must overcome all sin, or whatever it is, the world and all that, and then you will not be hurt by the second death, that’s bad news.
John 10 (John 10:28) just went down the window
In other words, a Christian must not just be saved, they must overcome.”
George’s comments:
Joseph Prince accuses people of teaching something that she is innocent of.
He accuses us of:
“There those who teach to him who overcomes means you must be a Christian that overcome everything that is wrong and immoral and sinful and all that.”
“So if you say you must overcome all sin, or whatever it is, the world and all that, and then you will not be hurt by the second death, that’s bad news.”
Joseph Prince is accusing the church of expecting all members to be perfect people of being able to overcome everything wrong and sinful.
Which church teaches what Joseph Prince is accusing us of?
Joseph Prince, can you name them?
He can’t, not because he wants to be sensitive, but there is no church like this because Joseph Prince is using the straw man to attack us.
If you remember, I told you and illustrated for you in other articles that besides the half-truth strategy, the straw man is another of his key strategies of deception.
There is no church or Christian that has reached perfection.
As I have said time and again, using obedience as an example – God does not expect perfect obedience, but He does expect sincere and honest obedience.
But by saying that God does not expect perfect churches and perfect Christians, it does not mean that no standard is required of churches and Christians that God does expect.
Joseph Prince is implying that just because God does not expect perfect churches or perfect Christians, this means there is no standard that God does expect.
Or just because I give the lame excuse that I am not perfect, God will overlook every single unrepentant sin in my life.
Let me pose this scenario to Joseph Prince to see whether is he able to discern the difference between these two persons:
The first ‘believer’ is not motivated to obey Christ:
Obeying Christ is not the more important list of his priorities.
He may try to obey but only once in a long while.
And when he failed in obeying Christ, it doesn’t really bother him.
This is due to the teaching he receives from his Pastor Joseph Prince, who tells him he must not feel ‘condemned’, and not to be condemned is not to be bothered about his failure to obey Christ because Christ is always pleased with him, and will never get angry with him even though he disobeys Christ.
The second believer tries his honest best to obey Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit sincerely:
And when he fails, which he definitely will, he picks himself up again, learns from his failures and moves on.
Over time, he grows in his obedience to Christ.
There will be many more times he is obedient than he is disobedient.
Would God know the difference between the two believers and judge accordingly?
I believe God can certainly accept the obedience of the second believer.
But I do not believe God can accept the obedience or rather disobedience of the first ‘believer’.
So Joseph Prince, can you see the difference between these two believers?
If you can’t, then please quit the teaching of God’s word and do something else.
But even though you can understand, you would just stubbornly refuse to accept it.
What you have horribly done is to set up a straw man and push it to an extreme of perfection that it becomes humanly impossible, so you can excuse everyone from overcoming or obeying God.
Only a false teacher would concoct such a scheme to confuse and deceive.
Joseph Prince said,
“Is that true?
If that is true than how do you explain the Church of Smyrna.
Rev 2:11
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’
So if you say you must overcome all sin, or whatever it is, the world and all that, and then you will not be hurt by the second death, that’s bad news.
John 10 (John 10:28) just went down the window
In other words, a Christian must not just be saved; they must overcome.”
George’s comments:
Joseph Prince said, “In other words, a Christian must not just be saved; they must overcome.”
Well, that’s because you have all along rejected what the scriptures teach about what being saved means.
Being saved, as I’ve pointed out so many times in my other articles, is beyond just saying the sinner’s prayer.
Being saved requires not just justification alone but sanctification too.
But you have stubbornly preached the false justification-only salvation doctrine.
If you have accepted that salvation requires both justification and sanctification, you would have seen that overcoming is part of sanctification.
Though you are saved by justification when you say the sinner’s prayer, you need to prove it with your sanctification by overcoming.
With such a view, everything fits and harmonizes seamlessly.
But because
your ‘justification-only-without sanctification’ and
your ‘right-belief-only-without-right-behaviour’
salvation doctrine is false,
‘everything’ in your doctrine contradicts,
resulting in the need for you to do damage control to make sense of them.
You said, “John 10 (he is referring to John 10:28) just went down the window.”
John 10:28 went down the window not because it isn’t true, but it is because you have falsely interpreted that the promise that we will not perish in John 10:28 comes with no condition.
But if you have taught it scripturally that our not perishing in John 10:28 has two conditions that are stated in John 10:27, you would have seen the truth in its beauty as everything now fits.
Jn 10:27-28 NIV
27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
The conditions as revealed in John 10:27 are that we must listen to or obey Christ, and we must follow Him.
I have already devoted a big chunk of space dealing with John 10:27-28 in another chapter, and I will not belabour on this topic.
Please refer to Volume 4, Chapter 2: ‘Salvation Is Conditional & Believers Can Fall Away (Jn 10:27-28 & Lk 8:13)’.
But what I must highlight again is what following Christ in John 10:27 means.
To follow means that we must give Christ total allegiance, and we must be prepared to give up everything, even our own lives for His sake.
But if we aren’t prepared to obey Christ and follow Him ‘all the way’ as indicated in John 10:27, the promise that we will not perish, and that we will have eternal life in John 10:28 does not apply.
In fact, such discipleship truths have already been taught by Jesus when He stressed that if anyone is unwilling to give up his life, he disqualifies himself from being a disciple of His.
Instead of accepting the cost of discipleship taught by Jesus, Joseph Prince fiercely fights against it.
But if you were to accept all that I have unfolded about what being saved means, can’t you see now that everything fits?
Overcoming in the context of Revelation has to do with overcoming, if necessary, through martyrdom – that we must be prepared to die as martyrs.
Doesn’t this fit with John 10:27 that we must be willing to follow Christ all the way unto death, as Peter had done when church history informed us that he asked to be crucified upside down (Jn 21:18-19)?
Jn 21:18-19 NIV
18 “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Peter followed Christ the same way that John wrote in John 10:27 – even by his willingness to die as a martyr for the sake of his Master and Lord.
Jn 10:27-28 NIV
27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
John, who wrote the gospel of John (Jn 10:27-28), was the same person, who wrote the Book of Revelation.
Why? – To prepare the people of God for the toughest ever suffering and persecution that will result in the massive martyrdom of believers (Rev 6:9-11; 7:14; 14:11-13; 17:5-6; 18:24; 20:4)?
Rev 6:9-11 NIV
9 “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.”
Rev 7:14 NIV
14 “…And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Rev 14:11-13 NIV
11 “And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.
12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Rev 17:5-6 NIV
5 “The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.”
Rev 18:24 NIV
24 “In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Rev 20:4 NIV
4 “…And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God…”
“Unless the Lordship of Christ is a prerequisite for salvation, the call to martyrdom is absolutely groundless.” (George Ong)
“If Christ could just be received as Saviour and not Lord, martyrdom would have to be thrown out the window.” (George Ong)
“If it is possible for Jesus to be my Saviour and not Lord, the demand for the ultimate sacrifice of my life for His sake has absolutely no basis.” (George Ong)
“The logic for martyrdom is undeniable – what we are dying for on earth is what we will super-abundantly inherit in heaven.” (George Ong)
“The argument for martyrdom is unbeatable – life on earth which is transient is incomparable with life in heaven which is eternal.” (George Ong)
“The reasoning for martyrdom is indisputable – one who is bought with a price loses his right to his own life.” (George Ong)
“The theology for martyrdom is irrefutable – Christ as God deserves to be more than just Saviour, but to be the Lord and master of every believer’s life, is the only rightful place He is to be honoured.” (George Ong)
E. Joseph Prince Twists The Meaning Of Overcome & Faith in Revelation 3:21 & 1 John 5:1-5.
Please view the one-minute video,
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lm1VeF9Zt0_UfJO2zm4h9w6vBVLWozKn
(Source: Joseph Prince 2017 Online – Powerful Truths from the Book of Revelation)
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:21 NKJV).
Joseph Prince said in the video,
“As I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
You know how Jesus overcome – by faith.
And we overcome – by faith.
Now I give you the Bible interpret Bible.
Is this Revelation? (pointing to Rev 3:21.)
Who is the one that wrote Revelation?
He is just a penman, he is the secretary, but we know Jesus gave him the revelation, but he wrote it.
So every author has their own language style.
So did John say anywhere about overcoming?
Same John. Yes!
The same John in 1 John 5:4-5 said:
4 ‘For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’
That’s all of us.
I submit to you, that’s all of us.”
“There are always those in the body of Christ who will dispute this.
And they will say, ‘No no, those who overcome are special group of people that overcome,’ – whatever that means.
To what extent do I overcome before I am an overcomer?
They can’t explain that.
No, God is not so vague.
I say God is not so vague.
And then you are left with what?
That if you don’t overcome, you might be hurt by the second death.
Church, God will never leave His people without the assurance.”
George’s comments:
If Joseph Prince says that the letters to the seven churches were written to pastors and not addressed to the people
– but when he comes to the verse ‘he who overcomes…”
which occur in the letters to every one of these seven churches,
why is he explaining in such a way that the church is involved in overcoming?
Why does he have to explain that overcoming has to do with the church exercising faith to overcome, if the letter wasn’t addressed to them?
To be consistent with his view – that if these letters were written to the pastors, it would have been sufficient for him to say that the issue of overcoming is only applicable to the pastors and not the people as the letters were not written to them (see Item B).
What I have pointed out is another loophole that Joseph Prince has unwittingly created in telling the lie that Revelation 2-3 were written to pastors and not to the church.
He gets himself caught off-guard in this way, and this only goes to show that there is something inherently wrong with his view.
Joseph Prince wrote,
“To what extent do I overcome before I am an overcomer?
They can’t explain that.
No, God is not so vague.
I say God is not so vague.
And then you are left with what?
That if you don’t overcome, you might be hurt by the second death.
Church, God will never leave His people without the assurance.”
Joseph Prince said, “To what extent do I overcome before I am an overcomer? They can’t explain that.”
Let me throw several similar questions back to Joseph Prince and see if he can explain what he says we cannot:
Joseph Prince, answer me:
To what extent do seekers have to believe in and place their faith in Christ, before we can be sure that they have really really really placed their faith in the grace and love of God?
Can you enlighten us on that?
To what extent do believers have to experience the grace of Christ, before they can be said to have truly, really, genuinely experienced it?
To what extent do believers have to experience the love of God, before they can be said to have truly, really, genuinely experienced it?
To what extent do seekers have to say the sinner’s prayer before they can be said to have truly, really, genuinely said it with sincerity?
If you can’t or refuse to answer these questions, don’t expect us to answer yours.
If you want me to give you a quantifiable figure a believer must score before he can be considered an overcomer, then you too must be able to give me a quantifiable figure a believer must attain before he can be considered to have truly, really, genuinely experienced your grace theology?
If you can’t, why are you asking others to do what you can’t?
You want an objective and quantifiable answer which the scripture itself doesn’t even give!
In other words, you are asking for an answer that is impossible for us to give you, and it is also impossible for you to give us.
So don’t ever play this kind of childish games with us, as it has only revealed the shallow state of your perceptivity.
Joseph Prince said,
So did John say anywhere about overcoming?
Same John. Yes!
The same John in 1 John 5:4-5 said:
4 ‘For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’
That’s all of us.
I submit to you, that’s all of us.”
1 Jn 5:4-5 NKJV
4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Joseph Prince has deliberately committed the same error again of not taking into consideration
the overall context of the Book of Revelation
and the specific contexts of each of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3
in his explanation of the word, ‘overcome’
and in his interpretation of Revelation 3:21,
before jumping into another book of 1 John (1 Jn 5:4-5).
In fact, he didn’t even make a single mention about the overall context of Revelation and the specific contexts of each of the seven churches at all.
How could a so-called world-famous Bible teacher interpret a text without the observance of such basic rules of exegesis and Bible interpretation?
This is simply outrageous!
He dared not dwell into the overall context of Revelation and the specific contexts of each of the seven churches as that would definitely expose the falsity of his heresy straightaway.
Joseph Prince falsely assumes that John’s use of ‘overcome’ in 1 John 5:4-5 is the same in context and meaning as in Revelation 2-3?
He is not telling the truth when he deliberately and falsely concluded that just because John used that expression in one place, he must have used it the same way as to its meaning in another place.
The context in which the word, ‘overcome’ is found in Revelation 2-3 is different from the context in 1 John 5:4-5.
The messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 present different contexts (on the specifics) as compared to that of 1 John 5:1-5.
However, the big picture about what faith is in Revelation 2-3 is somewhat similar to 1 John 5:1-5, which I will belabour to show in the ensuing discussion – which actually works to my favour towards discrediting his false teachings.
If you are getting confused, don’t give up and press on reading until I come to the exposition of 1 John 5:1-5, and I’m sure the clouds of confusion will begin to dissipate.
One needs to note that Revelation 2-3 has to be seen in the overall context of the entire book of Revelation.
The overall context, as I have already explained under Item A
is that the churches are commanded to overcome, and if necessary, through martyrdom,
so that they would not give in to disowning or denying Christ
by acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and lose their eternal inheritance.
One also needs to bear in mind that the individual context of each of the seven letters in Revelation 2-3 suggests that
John is there admonishing believers to overcome specific trials and tribulations,
not just by a past-moment of faith (sinner’s prayer) (justification) that Joseph Prince alludes to in 1 John 5:4-5,
but by their present faithful obedience (sanctification) through faith in Christ.
Consider the following examples from each of these messages:
The Church of Ephesus: Revelation 2:7b NASB reads,
7 “To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 2:4-5 which reads,
4 “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first.”
So the lesson is that the church of Ephesus must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, by repenting of their sin of losing their first love by doing their deeds or works of love they did at first unto God.
If they overcome by repenting from their sin of losing their first love by doing their deeds or works of love they did at first unto God,
Christ will grant them “to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).
The simple, common sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and by not repenting from their sin of losing their first love
by not doing their deeds or works of love they did at first unto God,
Christ will not grant them “to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).
The Church of Smyrna: Revelation 2:11b NASB reads,
11 “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 2:10 which reads,
10 “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
So the lesson is that the church of Smyrna must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, their fear of suffering, going into prison, being tested, tribulation and even death.
If they overcome their fear of suffering, going into prison, being tested, tribulation and even death,
Christ will give them the crown of life.
The simple, common-sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord, and their fear of suffering, going into prison, being tested, tribulation and even death, Christ will not give them “the crown of life.”
The Church of Pergamum: Revelation 2:17b NASB reads,
17 “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 2:13-16 which reads,
13 “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.”
So the lesson is that the church of Pergamum must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, by not denying Christ’s name and by repenting from false teachings and sexual immorality.
If they overcome by not denying Christ’s name and by repenting from false teachings and sexual immorality,
Christ will give them the hidden manna, and a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”
The simple, common-sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord, and by denying Christ’s name and by not repenting from false teachings and sexual immorality, Christ will not give them the hidden manna, “and a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”
The Church of Thyatira: Revelation 2:26-27 NASB reads,
26 “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 2:20-25 which reads,
20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.
22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.
25 Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.”
So the lesson is that the church of Thyatira must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, by “holding fast until I come” (those who were not involved with false teachers and false teachings in Revelation 2:20-23).
If they overcome by “holding fast until I come” (those who were not involved with false teachers and false teachings in Revelation 2:20-23),
Christ will give them authority over the nations and rule over them.
The simple, common-sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord, and by not “holding fast until I come” (those who were involved with false teachers and false teachings in Revelation 2:20-23),
Christ will not give them authority over the nations and rule over them.
The Church of Sardis: Revelation 3:5 NASB reads,
5 “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 3:4 which reads,
4 “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”
So the lesson is that the church of Sardis must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, by not soiling their white garments.
If they overcome by not soiling their white garments,
Christ will not erase their name from the Book of life and will confess their names before Father God.
The simple, common-sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and by soiling their white garments,
Christ will erase their name from the Book of life and will not confess their names before Father God.
The Church of Philadelphia: Revelation 3:12 NASB reads,
12 “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 3:11 which reads,
11 “I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
So the lesson is that the church of Philadelphia must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, to “hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
If they overcome by holding fast what they have,
Christ will make them a pillar in the temple.
The simple, common-sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord, and by not holding fast what they have,
Christ will not make them a pillar in the temple.
The Church of Laodicea: Revelation 3:12 NASB reads,
21 “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
But the context for this is the admonition in Revelation 3:15-20 which reads,
15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
So the lesson is that the church of Laodicea must overcome – overcome what?
Overcome their tendency to compromise their faith by not acknowledging Caesar as Lord,
and specifically, by getting out of their lukewarm state and accepting the Saviour’s invitation about dining in intimate and daily fellowship.
If they overcome by getting out of their lukewarm state and accepting the Saviour’s invitation about dining in intimate and daily fellowship,
Christ will grant them the authority to sit down with Him on His throne.
The simple, common-sense logic is that if they don’t overcome by acknowledging Caesar as Lord, and by not getting out of their lukewarm state and not accepting the Saviour’s invitation about dining in intimate and daily fellowship,
Christ will not grant them the authority to sit down with Him on His throne.
To interpret the issue of ‘overcome’ in these seven churches correctly, I’ve shown you that the overall context to the entire Book of Revelation and the individual contexts of each of the seven churches need to be taken into consideration.
But what Joseph Prince has done is that he did not even take the overall context of Revelation and the individual contexts of each of the seven churches into account, and he straightaway bull-dozed his way and jumped into another context in another book in 1 John 5:4-5.
From 1 John, he tries to forcibly impose what he wrongly thinks was meant in 1 John 5:4-5 into Revelation 2-3.
Interestingly, from another angle, the right interpretation of the word, ‘overcome’ and ‘faith’ in 1 John 5:1-5 and 1 John 5:4-5, in particular, actually squares with Revelation 2-3, which I will show you in just a moment.
(By the way, the truth is Joseph Prince certainly knows the context to the entire book of Revelation and the individual contexts of each of these seven churches.
But he won’t unveil this truth to you as that would expose his false grace theology.
That’s what is despicable about him – that protecting his false grace theology is far more important than feeding the flock with the truth of God’s word.)
When Joseph Prince starts quoting 1 John 5:4-5 as the proof text for his view that overcoming only has to do with faith
– His idea of faith is the justification-only faith;
that to him, faith is just a past-moment of saying the sinner’s prayer, which is not the biblical idea anyway
– I had an inkling he is interpreting 1 John 5:4-5 out of its context and misusing that text.
So I turned to the larger context of 1 John 5:1-5 to 1 John 5:4-5, and I found that my hunch was right.
1 Jn 5:1-5 NIV
1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
1 Jn 5:1-5 NLT
1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.
2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.
3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
One would have to read slowly and carefully to get the flow and meaning of the text.
Let me unpack this somewhat loaded passage in 1 John 5:1-5 about what I think ought to be the true interpretation of the text.
(Note: believe, pisteuo is the verb and faith, pistis is the noun.)
The passage in 1 John 5:1-5, begins and ends with believe
but compressed between the two ‘believes’ in 1 John 5:1 and 1 John 5:5,
is the concern about our love for God and fellow believers and our obedience to God’s commandments.
These two critical issues of
love and obedience
are integrally related to believe or faith
in our overall understanding of the issue of salvation.
Those who believe in Christ (and have become God’s child)
are those who love God and fellow believers
and are obeying God’s commandments (1 Jn 5:1-3).
Those who overcome the world
are those who believe in Christ or have faith in Christ
(who is God’s child) (1 Jn 5:4-5)
– ‘believe in Christ’,
which has everything to do with loving God and fellow believers and are obeying God’s commandments (1 Jn 5:1-3).
In other words,
true faith or belief in Christ
is one that loves God and fellow believers
and one that is obedient to God’s commandments (1 Jn 5:1-3).
Only such kind of faith or belief
that loves God and fellow believers
and obeys God’s commandments can overcome the world (1 Jn 5:4-5).
This means that
the three ingredients of
believe or faith, love and obedience
are intertwined and cannot be divorced from one another.
Note also the words ‘believes’ in V1 and ‘believe’ in V5 are present participles in Greek.
This means it is not a one-time belief or a past-moment belief but a continuous believing in the present.
So true belief or true faith
is not a justification-only or just a past-moment of faith of saying the sinner’s prayer that Joseph Prince has made it out to be,
but it must be a present continuous belief,
and it must also be concretely evidenced and expressed
in our love for God and fellow believers
and in our obedience to God’s commandments.
After I had written the above out, I then checked with one of the commentaries of the Letters of John by John Stott (Tyndale), and I found what he commented on 1 John 5:1-5 generally flows with what I have listed above.
John Stott is a very well-respected Bible scholar and teacher.
Not that I agree with him for 100% on everything, but on most things about the Bible, he is excellent, and he is usually on target.
1 Jn 5:1-5 NIV
1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
I quote John Stott in “Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, The Letters of John”,
“The words ‘believe’ and ‘faith occur in verses 1, 4 and 5,
love in verses 1, 2 and 3,
and the need to obey or carry out ‘his commands’ in verses 2 and 3.
What John is at pains to show is the essential unity of his threefold thesis.
He has not chosen three tests arbitrarily or at random and stuck them together artificially.
On the contrary, he shows that they are so closely woven together into a single, coherent fabric that it is difficult to unpick and disentangle the threads.”
“We cannot believe (faith) in Jesus Christ
without loving the Father and His children. (1 Jn 5:1-2a);
we cannot love the Father
without obeying His commands and overcoming the world (1 Jn 5:2b-4a)
We cannot overcome the world
without believing (faith) in Jesus Christ (1 Jn 5:4b-5).”
“The true Christian, born from God,
believes (faith) in the Son of God,
loves God and the children of God,
and keeps the commands of God.
Each involves the others.
Belief (faith), love and obedience are marks of the new birth.”
As Joseph Prince has done to many texts, he did not interpret 1 John 5:4-5 in context, specifically, in the larger context of 1 John 5:1-5.
That’s deliberately done to deceive you
that faith that is required to overcome
is just the justification-only faith,
the one-moment faith,
the past-moment faith,
the faith that you exercised when you said the sinner’s prayer.
But if one were to take in the larger context of 1 John 5:1-5 to 1 John 5:4-5 as I have unveiled it to you, one will never be deceived by Joseph Prince.
One would clearly be informed that faith, love and obedience are intertwined and cannot be separated from one another.
In other words,
faith without the love for God and others,
and without being obedient to God’s commandments
is bogus faith.
Joseph Prince’s interpretation of 1 John 5:4-5 only sees faith as a ‘lone ranger’,
without being associated with love for God/others
and especially obedience to God’s commandments, which is absolutely essential.
Even if he is aware that 1 John 5:4-5 has to be interpreted in the larger context of 1 John 5:1-5,
he wouldn’t unveil it to you,
as the concept of obedience to God’s commandments for saving faith is not in his doctrinal vocabulary.
As a matter of fact,
he teaches against obedience as a focus on self
and as legalism in relation to salvation.
He also teaches against the existence of the moral Commandments of God,
denigrating them as under the Old Covenant
and no longer applicable to New Covenant believers.
So by now you can begin to understand that even if Joseph Prince were to be aware of the true interpretation of 1 John 5:1-5, he would never unveil it to you,
as the proper and true interpretation of 1 John 5:1-5 would only expose his false doctrine
which denigrates obedience as legalism and deletes God’s moral commandments into the dustbin of history.
Furthermore, you may have realised by now
that when 1 John 5:4-5 is interpreted in the context of 1 John 5:1-5,
our understanding of faith in 1 John 5:1-5
flows beautifully with that of the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2-3.
The understanding of ‘overcome by faith’ in both 1 John 5:1-5 and Revelation chapters 2-3 dovetails beautifully.
1 Jn 5:1-5 NIV
1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
First, we have learned from 1 John 5:1-5
that for faith to be genuine,
it must be one that loves God,
and loving God is proven by one’s obedience to His commandments.
So a faith that overcomes the world in 1 John 5:4
must be a faith that is obedient to God’s commandments.
Second, we have also learned that the seven churches
are exhorted to overcome.
Their overcoming
is not through
the kind of justification-only faith,
a past-tense faith that one says the sinner’s prayer 20 years ago that Joseph Prince propounds.
It must be a present-tense and a persevering faith
that is willing to obey Christ (sanctification)
and even to the extent of dying as a martyr for His sake (Rev 14:12, 12:11).
Rev 14:12 GNT
12 “This calls for endurance on the part of God’s people, those who obey God’s commandments and are faithful to Jesus.”
Rev 12:11 NASB
11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
In other words, the true concept of overcoming by faith in both 1 John 5:1-5 and Revelation chapters 2-3,
is not just a past-moment of faith or a justification-only faith (that Joseph Prince teaches),
but a present-tense faith
and one which is anchored by love for God/others,
and evidenced and expressed
by the obedience to God’s commandments (sanctification).
Joseph Prince said,
“That If you don’t overcome, you might be hurt by the second death?
Church, God will never leave his people without the assurance.”
George’s comments:
It is not true that God will leave His people without assurance.
But what is wrong with Joseph Prince is that
while God has given us a present-tense
and conditional assurance, which is entirely biblical,
he refused to accept God’s way of assurance
and invented his own method of assurance
– which is a false assurance of salvation.
“A false assurance of salvation is far more damaging than some measure of assurance or even the lack of any assurance.” (George Ong)
I have already gone through in the many articles that have proven
that our salvation can be assured only conditionally,
in that while God will never back out of His dealings with us,
if we back out, we are out of the deal
and the fault is never with God, but with us.
I have also gone through the many verses such as
1 John 5:11-13, 1 John 2:24-25, John 6:47, John 3:16, John 11:25-26
in Volume 4, Chapter 4: ‘A Continuous Believing Faith Is Needed For Salvation Assurance’
– about the fact that our salvation assurance is a present-tense assurance, and why it cannot be an unconditional assurance.
Is that not simple enough for Joseph Prince being a world-renowned teacher to understand?
Concluding Remark
I hope you can clearly see that Joseph Prince has the unholy dare to twist the message of Jesus in Revelation in order to flow along with his Pseudo-grace theology.
As a concrete example – while it is clear as daylight that God, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit, were speaking to the churches in Revelation chapters 2-3, Joseph Prince teaches the false view that the same message was only for pastors.
Can a preacher who dares to twist the message of Jesus so blatantly be a true teacher of God’s word or a wolf in sheepskin?