Diehard followers, who are persistently devoted to Joseph Prince & Joel Osteen, prove that the Bible is true (2 Tim 4:3-5), and Joseph Prince & Joel Osteen are God’s judgement on them – By Rev George Ong (Dated 8 Sep 2023)
Announcement:
Don’t miss one video each on Paul Washer & Voddie Baucham,
& 2 videos on Derek Prince.
Excerpt No 1 taken from the Article:
As I studied the text several years ago,
I realised that in the context of 2 Timothy 4:3-4,
it is not the false prophets who led the people astray per se,
instead, it is the people who have allowed themselves
to be led astray.
The booming business of the cheap grace doctrine
is not just because of the smooth-talking ability of Joseph Prince at deceiving people,
but it is also because there is an ungodly demand and a ready market for it (2 Tim 4:3-4).
‘Sheep’ with itching ears
who are willing buyers of false doctrines
are as culpable and damnable
as ‘wolves’ who peddle them (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Note that according to 2 Timothy 4:3-4,
it is the people themselves
who initiated the whole process
of being deceived by false teachers,
and have allowed themselves to be deceived.
‘Sheep’ with itching ears
are as damnable as deceptive ‘wolves’
– they are not being deceived;
they choose to be deceived. (2 Tim 4:3-4)
Many have wrongly thought that
those who sit under the teachings of Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen
are innocent victims.
But according to 2 Timothy 4:3-4,
this isn’t the case.
They aren’t helpless casualties
who have come under the spell of false teachers.
They are willing accomplices of heretics.
The passage in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 is rather clear that
it is the people
who take the initiative to be led astray.
It is the people
who will not put up with sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people
who will gather around false teachers
with messages that will suit their own carnal desires (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people
who will tell these false teachers to say
what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people
who will turn their ears away from the truth to heresies (2 Tim 4:4).
They are deceived
because they choose to be deceived.
The onus of blame is on the people
as they deliberately search out for teachers
such as Joseph Prince
to tickle their ears.
The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS)
had better not use this as one of their excuses, again and again
for not acting against Joseph Prince
– that though Joseph Prince may be a heretic,
those attending New Creation Church,
who may be the innocent victims,
aren’t.
These people who choose to go with the heretic, Joseph Prince,
and remain stubbornly unrepentant,
are the same people
who were described by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Hence, in a sense, they are as culpable as Joseph Prince.
For such people,
they aren’t portrayed as naïve victims
of false teachers such as Joseph Prince.
Because it is these heresies
that such people are craving for,
Joseph Prince isn’t making victims of them;
he is God’s judgement upon them.
Since this is what they ask for,
Joseph Prince is what they got.
Excerpt No 2 taken from the Article:
Listen to the sober words of warning of Derek Prince:
“And this is one of the most frightening facts of the spiritual life,
that if we persistently and obstinately
reject the truth of God has brought to us,
God will withdraw from us
the ability to understand the truth.
And God will open up to us some kind of spirit that will take in
– that’s the spirit of error and deception.
I think that’s one of the most terrible judgments
that can come upon those
who deliberately reject God’s revealed truth…
I believe that is already happening.
I believe God is permitting a deluding spirit
to come upon various sections of the church
which have deliberately rejected the revealed truth of God.
Especially upon ministers and leaders
who are responsible for these errors.
And when that deluding spirit comes upon any person,
that person can no longer see the truth,
they lose the ability.”
I hope you can now better understand
why many of your family members, relatives and friends,
stubbornly chose to be devoted to Joseph Prince,
despite the fact that Prince is preaching stark and blatant heresies.
The reason is many of them
who have persistently rejected God’s truth,
may have already been judged by God
with a deluding spirit
that they can no longer see the truth.
I strongly believe that Joseph Prince
has already fallen under this category.
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
1. Be prepared to suffer for the gospel against the backdrop of false teachers preaching the false gospel.
In a sermon, Voddie Baucham said;
Please click here to view the 3-and-a-half-minute video:
“Often times, we look at false teachers and false churches
and we look at their popularity, and we say,
‘These things are happening
because we are failing in our discipleship.’
It’s not necessarily the case.
And I’m asked that question,
frequently asked that question,
Why is it, why is it that
God allows these false teachers to prosper;
these false churches to grow?
Why is it, if I was God,
I would; I would just like ‘Bom’.
Mushroom cloud, man.
Just right there in the middle of TV,
somebody opens their mouth and tells a lie
and then “Pusssh”. Ashes! Why?
Why do these false teachers prosper?
Why do these false churches grow?
The answer is because the Bible is true.
Listen to it again:
2 Timothy 4:3-5 ESV
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
False teachers will prosper
and false churches will grow,
and it will happen
because the Bible is true (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Now, how do we respond?
By continuing to preserve and proclaim the gospel,
and by continuing to endure the suffering
that will come inevitably,
as a result (2 Tim 4:5).
2 Timothy 4:5 ESV
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
And one of the ways
that this leads to that kind of suffering is this.
There is a world out there that hates the gospel
because they love their sin.
And we’ll seeing this this right now, today.
They hate the gospel because they love their sin.
And the gospel is proclaimed,
but then there are false teachers,
who are scratching itching ears.
And for example, same-sex marriage.
There are people out there
who are now moving away from preserving the truth.
And basically, are saying,
‘You know what, I’m a Christian
and Christianity is wrong.
I am embracing this lifestyle.’
And the world says,
‘Yes, the enlightened ones.’
And the end result is those
who are holding fast to the truth
are now further marginalised,
as people say,
‘This is real Christianity
because they are open, affirming and tolerant,
and you are absolutely not like Jesus
because you are a hateful bigot.’
Anybody heard that?
This is a prime example of what we’re talking about.
A real, right here, right now example
of what we’re talking about.
What are you going to do?
And so, what’s desperately needed
in our age, as in the apostolic age
is those who will preserve and proclaim the gospel
and in turn, endure the suffering (2 Tim 4:5)
that will come inevitably,
as a result of doing so.”
George Ong’s comments:
There is indeed a link
between 2 Timothy 4:3-4 and 2 Timothy 4:5:
2 Timothy 4:3-5 ESV
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
The link is that preaching the cheap grace and false gospel
that Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen have done
is immensely popular and crowd-pulling
because it panders to people’s itching ears.
But preaching the true gospel
that confronts people about their sins
and urging them to repent
is unpopular and unpleasant to the human ears,
and would invoke the people’s annoyance and displeasure.
While the ear-tickling, popular but false gospel
preached by Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen
would increase the peoples’ favour on them,
the tough but true gospel preached by the true church
would provoke the people’s disapproval and anger,
and hence, it would bring about suffering on them.
This is especially so
when the people of the world begin to compare
the feel-good but false gospel
that Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen offer,
which would appeal to them,
and the tough but true gospel
that the true church preaches,
which would put them off.
2. Joseph Prince & Joel Osteen are God’s judgement on their flock.
In a sermon, Paul Washer said;
Please click here to view the 1-minute video:
“False teachers are God’s judgement on people
who don’t want God
but in the name of religion
plan on getting everything their carnal heart desires.
That’s why a Joel Osteen is raised up.
Those people who sit under him
are not victims of him.
He (Osteen) is the judgement of God upon them
because they want exactly what he (Osteen) wants
and it’s not God.
And you can line them all up along with him.
That’s where it is.
Fool ourselves;
teachers in accordance to their own desires.
So, you get a Benny Hinn in there
who only wants to do is to tell you,
‘You gonna to have a Mercedez Benz.’
Those people aren’t victims.
He (Benny) is God’s judgement upon them.
They want what he (Benny) wants.
And so, they accumulate him to themselves,
along with those other teachers
because they teach exactly what they want.
You see that.”
George Ong’s comments:
Joel Osteen is not the only false teacher
that God has raised to judge the people,
Joseph Prince, who is Joel Osteen’s buddy,
is the other.
Despite the fact that Joseph Prince is a false teacher,
people would choose to go to his meetings
and believe his theology.
You know why?
– Because the sad moment has arrived
when people would not put up with sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3-4).
The time has come
when people are hooked more to error than truth
– fulfilling what the Apostle Paul had written to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV
3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
This is why Joseph Prince’s heresy has continued to flourish.
Have you ever thought how on earth
can thousands of people,
who are currently attending New Creation Church,
ever be deceived by Joseph Prince,
who is teaching
a different God of the Bible,
a different Jesus,
a different Holy Spirit
a different gospel,
and is clearly a false teacher?
Well, in a sense, it’s not shocking
as the scripture had already prophesied
in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:
2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV
3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
As I studied the text several years ago,
I realised that in the context of 2 Timothy 4:3-4,
it is not the false prophets who led the people astray per se,
instead, it is the people who have allowed themselves
to be led astray.
In a short text of a mere 2 verses,
the word ‘they’ was repeated twice,
and the word ‘their’ was repeated 3 times.
The booming business of the cheap grace doctrine
is not just because of the smooth-talking ability of Joseph Prince at deceiving people,
but it is also because there is an ungodly demand and a ready market for it (2 Tim 4:3-4).
‘Sheep’ with itching ears
who are willing buyers of false doctrines
are as culpable and damnable
as ‘wolves’ who peddle them (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Note that it is the people themselves
who initiated the whole process
of being deceived by false teachers,
and have allowed themselves to be deceived.
‘Sheep’ with itching ears
are as damnable as deceptive ‘wolves’
– they are not being deceived;
they choose to be deceived. (2 Tim 4:3-4)
No one needs to be deceived,
and everyone can choose not to be deceived,
and those who are deceived
have chosen to be deceived.
Hence, those who dangerously and openly flirt
with the seductive doctrines of the ‘wolves’,
such as Joseph Prince,
would have no one to blame
but themselves for their tragic destiny.
The shocking thing is,
it is the people
who take the initiative to be led astray.
It is the people
who will not put up with sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people
who will gather around false teachers
with messages that will suit their own carnal desires (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people
who will tell these false teachers to say
what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people
who will turn their ears away from the truth to heresies (2 Tim 4:4).
Many have wrongly thought that
those who sit under the teachings of Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen
are innocent victims.
But according to 2 Timothy 4:3-4,
this isn’t the case.
They aren’t helpless casualties
who have come under the spell of false teachers.
They are willing accomplices of heretics.
The passage in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 is rather clear that
it is the people
who deliberately look for such false teachers.
It is the people
who intentionally accumulate for themselves
such teachers to teach what they want to hear.
It is the people
who are to blame for being deceived
as they act with their eyes wide open
and with full knowledge
about what they are doing.
They are deceived
because they choose to be deceived.
The onus of blame is on the people
as they deliberately search out for teachers
such as Joseph Prince
to tickle their ears.
And, of course, false teachers, such as Joseph Prince,
would be too happy
to fulfil such unholy desires of theirs.
For such people,
they aren’t portrayed as naïve victims
of false teachers such as Joseph Prince.
Because it is these heresies
that such people are craving for,
Joseph Prince isn’t making victims of them;
he is God’s judgement upon them.
Since this is what they ask for,
Joseph Prince is what they got.
Jeremiah 14:14-16 clearly states
that God sends His judgements,
not only on false prophets
but also on the people
because they choose to listen to false prophets
even though they are prophesying lies:
Jeremiah 14:14-16 NIV
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name… 15 … Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.
False teachers are God’s judgement on those
who want God on their terms
and a God of their own making.
Let these people be warned to repent
and come out of both Joseph Prince’s and Joel Osteen’s heresies
before it is too late when they come face to face
with the ultimate judgement of God!
Are these people as described by the Apostle Paul
in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 part of the true church?
Of course not!
Are those who attend New Creation Church
part of the true church?
I don’t think they are.
I don’t deny there are true ‘sheep’
in New Creation Church.
But if they refuse to repent and persist in staying in the church,
these ‘sheep’ will, sooner or later, become ‘goats’,
or they have never been ‘sheep’ in the first place
– and, to me, both outcomes are possible.
They themselves are as culpable as Joseph Prince
as they choose to sit under his feet
and they are as lost as their leader, Joseph Prince,
if they refuse to repent.
The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS)
had better not use this as one of their excuses, again and again
for not acting against Joseph Prince
– that though Joseph Prince may be a heretic,
those attending New Creation Church,
who may be the innocent victims,
aren’t.
These people who choose to go with the heretic, Joseph Prince,
and remain stubbornly unrepentant,
are the same people
who were described by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Hence, in a sense, they are as culpable as Joseph Prince.
In a video featured on YouTube, titled,
“Joseph Prince is Exposed by Rev Derek Hong,
a Singapore Veteran Pastor, to be Preaching Heresy,”
someone wrote a comment,
“The so-called spiritual leadership
amongst Christian Community in Singapore
never publicly speak up against false teachers…
They may vociferously censure foreign false teachers
but largely turn a blind eye
to the local wolves masquerading as sheep.”
3. The ultimate judgement is when God sends a deluding spirit on the people who persistently reject the truth, that they can no longer see the truth.
Next, have you ever wondered why it is so difficult
to get through to the people in New Creation Church
and those who have been deeply influenced
by Joseph Prince’s heresies?
Nothing seems to work on them,
even though you have tried everything
– every scripture – every doctrinal argument
– put them across as sensitively as possible
to convince them
about the false teachings of Joseph Prince.
Let it be known that the answer
was already given in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.
Let me share with you what Derek Prince
has so aptly and powerfully put forward.
In a sermon, Derek Prince said;
Please click here to view the 1-and-a-half-minute video:
“That’s because they hardened their hearts against God.
They rejected the truth of God.
And this is one of the most frightening facts of the spiritual life,
that if we persistently and obstinately
reject the truth of God has brought to us,
God will withdraw from us
the ability to understand the truth.
And God will open up to us some kind of spirit that will take in
– that’s the spirit of error and deception.
I think that’s one of the most terrible judgments
that can come upon those
who deliberately reject God’s revealed truth…
And it says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 10 and following:
“He will come with all deception and wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”
Isn’t that frightening?
If we don’t receive the love of the truth
then God is going to deal with us.
And we’re going to come under deception.
And then it says:
“And for this reason
God will send upon them a deluding influence
so that they might believe what is false,
in order that they all may be judged
who did not believe the truth,
but took pleasure in wickedness.”
I believe that is already happening.
I believe God is permitting a deluding spirit
to come upon various sections of the church
which have deliberately rejected the revealed truth of God.
Especially upon ministers and leaders
who are responsible for these errors.
And when that deluding spirit comes upon any person,
that person can no longer see the truth,
they lose the ability.”
I hope you can now better understand
why many of your family members, relatives and friends,
stubbornly chose to be devoted to Joseph Prince,
despite the fact that Prince is preaching stark and blatant heresies.
The reason is many of them
who have persistently rejected God’s truth,
may have already been judged by God
with a deluding spirit
that they can no longer see the truth.
I strongly believe that Joseph Prince
has already fallen under this category.
Let me reiterate
the sober words of warning of Derek Prince:
“And this is one of the most frightening facts of the spiritual life,
that if we persistently and obstinately
reject the truth of God has brought to us,
God will withdraw from us
the ability to understand the truth.
And God will open up to us some kind of spirit that will take in
– that’s the spirit of error and deception.
I think that’s one of the most terrible judgments
that can come upon those
who deliberately reject God’s revealed truth…
I believe that is already happening.
I believe God is permitting a deluding spirit
to come upon various sections of the church
which have deliberately rejected the revealed truth of God.
Especially upon ministers and leaders
who are responsible for these errors.
And when that deluding spirit comes upon any person,
that person can no longer see the truth,
they lose the ability.”
My parting shot and loving warning to Joseph Prince’s ardent followers
is that while they are still not permanently deluded by the spirit of deception,
and reach a point of no return,
it is time for them to get out of Joseph Prince’s heresies before it is too late.
Finally, some people thought
I was trying to reach everyone in New Creation Church
to leave Joseph Prince’s heresies behind.
Yes and no.
For those who are still open and are willing to listen,
and they are sincere about changing their views
– Yes!
But for those who have already hardened their hearts
and have treated Joseph Prince as a cult leader
– No!
Let me just say this, unapologetically,
– that I won’t waste a single second
or even an ounce of my energy
talking to such people.
It would be a pure waste of my time.
And after a while dealing with people from New Creation Church,
you will know who these people are.
I am glad that Derek Prince thinks the same way as I do.
We just happen to share the same view.
In a sermon, Derek Prince said;
Please click here to view the 40-second video:
“Paul was talking to Timothy as a minister.
He says if people are not willing to change,
leave them to themselves.
How much time is wasted in contemporary Christianity
by counselling people who will never change?
So, I believe that’s all part of what Paul said to Timothy.
Leave them alone.
Don’t waste time on people who will not change.
If a person is willing to change,
God will go to endless lengths to help them.
But if they want to stay the way they are,
God leaves them to themselves.”
Rev George Ong