Joseph Prince Twisted Jesus’ Words in Matthew 13:44 & Revelation 2:4 – By Rev George Ong (Dated 14 Oct 2021)
Introduction
(Two articles, see below, were also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, NCCS office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
I’m beginning a series of articles to show how Joseph Prince twisted and added to the words and teachings of Jesus. Joseph Prince claims that he is preaching Jesus. Yet, he twisted and added to Jesus’s words and teachings many times. Why? So as to make those teachings of Jesus which contradict his, to conform to his own teachings.
Imagine, even the teachings of Jesus, who is God Himself, has to conform to his teachings! This means he is not preaching the Jesus of the Bible but his own (counterfeit) version of Jesus.
Someone who dares to twist the words and teachings of Jesus is tantamount to believing and preaching another Jesus that is not of the Bible. Someone who preaches another Jesus is undeniably a heretic (2 Cor 11:4)!
Here is the first in a series.
Joseph Prince Twisted Jesus’ Words in Matthew 13:44 – By Rev George Ong
Please click to view the 45-second video of what Joseph Prince said:
“A merchant, a businessman sees a field, alright, and he found that there is a treasure in that field. You know what he does. He buys the entire field because of the treasure in the field. Now, what’s the parable about? Many, because of religious mentality, they have preached this like this – that parable of Jesus: well, Jesus is the treasure in the field, and we are the merchantmen. We must give up everything to get Jesus. All of a sudden, you are the hero. Since when you are the hero. No, the merchantman, you got nothing to buy with – you are a spiritual bankrupt. It is Jesus who saw you in this earth – the field. And He gave his life, He gave everything He had to purchase you. You, special treasure, you.”
It is so plain and clear what the treasure and pearl in Matthew 13:44-45 refer to. Both treasure and pearl refer to the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 13:44-45 NIV
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field… 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls…”
In another sense, they could also refer to Christ. This is because Christ came and preached the Kingdom of heaven. And as the king of His kingdom, Christ, who encompasses His kingdom, is indeed the only way to salvation.
Despite the fact that the treasure refers to the Kingdom of heaven or Christ, Joseph Prince has the audacity to twist the scriptures and the very words of Jesus and say that the treasure refers to us.
Let’s contrast what Joseph Prince said with what Jesus said in Matthew 13:44.
Joseph Prince said,
“…It is Jesus who saw you in this earth, the field.
And He gave his life; He gave everything He had to purchase you. You, special treasure.”
Jesus said,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field…”
Joseph Prince said, “You, special treasure.”
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure…”
It is as clear as daylight what Joseph Prince said is entirely different from what Jesus said.
In Matthew 13:44, Jesus clearly and unmistakably said that the treasure is the Kingdom of heaven. But Joseph Prince blatantly contradicted Jesus and the word of God and said that the treasure refers to us. The blatant contradiction of Joseph Prince is so obvious that even a 12-year-old kid could spot it.
Joseph Prince further said,
“We must give up everything to get Jesus. All of a sudden, you are the hero. Since when you are the hero.”
Joseph Prince is mocking those who had given up their everything for Jesus. He is mocking the Apostles and the Lord Jesus, who explicitly taught in the scriptures that we must give up everything to gain Christ.
In Philippians 3:8, had Paul not given up his everything to gain Christ?
Philippians 3:8 ESV
8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things in order that I may gain Christ.”
In Matthew 19:27, had Peter not given up his everything to follow Christ?
Matthew 19:27 NLT
27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you…”
Peter said, “We’ve given up everything to follow you…”
In Luke 5:11, had the disciples not given up their everything to follow Christ?
Luke 5:11 NIV
11 “So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”
The disciples left everything and followed Christ.
In Luke 14:26 and 33, had the Lord Jesus not taught that even the closest of relationships, every of our earthly possessions, and even our very lives must be given up before He can accept us to be His disciples?
Luke 14:26,33 NIV
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple.”
33 “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
But by what Joseph Prince said in the video that we should not give up everything to gain Christ, he is making a mockery of costly discipleship in the teachings of the Apostles and the Lord Jesus.
By saying, “We must give up everything to get Jesus. All of a sudden, you are the hero,” Joseph Prince is mocking the throng of martyrs throughout the history of the Christian Church who had given up everything, including their lives, to gain the treasure and pearl in Christ.
According to, ‘Foxes Book of Martyrs’, especially in the first 300 years of Christianity, what the early Christians had to go through was brutal.
You will read in this book about how Christians were sewn inside the skins of wild animals and torn apart by hungry dogs.
You will read about how believers were thrown into the lion’s den. And as they were eaten alive by these starving lions, they gave glory to God.
You will read about how God’s people were tied to poles and set on fire to burn just to illuminate the Imperial Garden, the place where Emperor Nero threw his Garden party for his guests.
Only in recent years, many believers had been martyred by having their heads chopped off during the ISIS reign in Syria and Iraq.
Multitudes of believers throughout the history of the Christian Church had given up their everything, including their lives for the sake of Christ.
So, who is the hero of these men and women of God who were willing to give up their everything, including their lives?
Are they themselves the heroes that Joseph Prince tries to insinuate? Who is their real hero and treasure?
Their real hero is none other than Jesus.
These godly martyrs of the faith were willing to give up even their lives for the sake of their hero, Jesus.
Yet, these are the very godly men and women that Joseph Prince mocks. Joseph Prince mocks them by insinuating that these godly men and women had given up their everything for Christ, only because they themselves wanted to be heroes.
Oh, what a devious lie!
We must never mock these godly men and women who had given up their lives for the sake of Christ. But we must honour them as they have truly understood what costly discipleship really means – the same costly discipleship that Joseph Prince despises and teaches against. His one-liner statement he often delivers that he isn’t against discipleship is now proven to be a lie.
On the other hand, Jesus didn’t despise costly discipleship at all. In fact, He upholds it. He taught in Matthew 13:44-46 that even the costliest of all earthly riches cannot be compared to the countless value of possessing God’s eternal Kingdom.
Matthew 13:44-46 NIV
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The teaching of Jesus is that any true believer would be more than willing to sell all his earthly possessions in order to inherit God’s eternal Kingdom because he does it with joy. It is a glorious exchange offered by Jesus that one can never lose.
Joseph Prince Twisted Jesus’ Words In Revelation 2:4 – By Rev George Ong
I’m going to show you how Joseph Prince blatantly twisted Jesus’ words in Revelation 2:4, from “You have left your first love,” to “You have forgotten that God loves you.”
Revelation 2:4 NKJV
4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
Please click to view the 40-second video of what Joseph Prince said,
“That church, and the church (Rev 2:4) left their first love. By the way, what is first love? ‘You have left your first love,’ Jesus said. First love is not your love for God. You are never the first. First love, in Greek, protos agape. Protos is like a prototype. The word prototype comes from the Greek word, ‘protos’, which means first. Alright, it’s the first of its kind – Protos agape. Who love you first? – God. We love because He first loves us (1 Jn 4:19). When Jesus says you have left your first love (Rev 2:4), what is he saying? He is saying you have forgotten that God loves you. You’re not believing in His love anymore. You’re not practising that love anymore. And that’s the reason why you fell. Fell, remember from where you fell.”
What Revelation 2:4 NKJV says,
4 “… you have left your first love.”
What Joseph Prince twisted the text to,
“…you have forgotten that God loves you.”
What an idiotic twisting of text by Joseph Prince! He has done that forbidden thing again. His twisting of text is not a one-time thing but a habitual affair.
Joseph Prince’s frequent twisting of Bible texts about Jesus’ own words is proof that he doesn’t even possess the basic respect for the word of God and the Lord Jesus. And if Joseph Prince doesn’t even respect the word of God, how can he ever respect the God of the word?
“To have Joseph Prince, a frequent text-twister, infamous for flawed exegesis, notorious for spewing out half-truths and lies, and defiantly contradicting Christ’s teachings, to be considered a World-renowned teacher and a Christ-centred preacher, is the biggest joke that can make one laugh and cry.” (George Ong)
Let’s compare what Jesus said in Revelation 2:4 and what Joseph Prince said in his video.
To say that “You have forsaken the love you had at first,” is the same as “You have forgotten that God loves you,” is not only twisting the text but it would require a big logical jump.
How ‘forsaken’ could be transposed to ‘forgotten’ could only be done by the magician Joseph Prince who could transform a cat into a dog, simply by his magical and perverted way of interpreting and twisting Bible texts.
The plain meaning of Revelation 2:4, which is simply about believers losing their first love they had for Christ and fellow believers, is twisted by Joseph Prince to mean they have forgotten about God’s love for them.
Joseph Prince has to twist Revelation 2:4 in this way so he could prove his grace theology that the New Covenant is not about our love for God, but it’s about God’s love for us.
If it is true, and it is, that Revelation 2:4 is about Christ reprimanding the Ephesian church for losing their first love for Him and fellow believers, then Joseph Prince’s Grace teaching that the New Covenant is not about our love for God is exposed to be false.
That is why he has to twist Jesus’ words in Revelation 2:4 from “You have left your first love,” to “You have forgotten that God loves you,” to prove that the New Covenant is all about God’s love for us.
He has got absolutely no respect for the word of God – twisting it according to his whims and fancies, just to make his Grace Theology look good.
Joseph Prince doesn’t care if he appears illogical in the interpretation of the text. All he cares about is that every text in scripture must be made to flow with his grace doctrine. Even the Holy word of God must be subjugated and be made to fit his untouchable grace doctrine.
As no true teacher of God’s word would even dare to think of twisting a Bible text, the persistent and irreverent twisting of texts by Joseph Prince that is done in broad daylight can only be attributed to the work of a heretic.
Next, I’ve checked 60 translations on Revelation 2:4, and none of the 60 translated it the twisted way that Joseph Prince has done – that the Ephesian church has forgotten about God’s love for them.
Revelation 2:4 NKJV
4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
All 60 translations translated that the Ephesian church indeed has lost their first love or words to that effect, which plainly and logically would refer to losing their first love for God and their brethren.
Think with me – how could Joseph Prince who has the reputation of interpreting a text out of context, reading into texts, twisting texts, be right while all 60 translations, whose works are backed by hundreds of reputable Bible scholars, be wrong?
Just ask any excellent and proven Bible teacher, nationally and internationally, whether any of them holds the same view as Joseph Prince does, and I can almost guarantee that none of them would. Joseph Prince’s view is absolutely weird and off-tangent.
Yet, the multitudes of unthinking people are sitting every week in his church, hungrily lapping up the saliva of his theological rubbish and heresies that flow from his mouth.
“Thousands are riveted in their seats every Sunday listening to Joseph Prince in rapt attention, and in an almost unthinking and a robot-like manner, saying ‘Amen’ to whatever he utters, including theological rubbish and Satanic heresies from his mouth.” (George Ong)
“The fact that even intellectuals and pastors are singing praises of the utterly false grace theology of Joseph Prince that can be so easily debunked is the insanity of it all.” (George Ong)
This is what has gone so sorely wrong with the modern church today!