Michael Brown’s Pro-Martyrdom & Joseph Prince’s Anti-Martyrdom & Longevity-Is-For-Every-Believer Teaching – By Rev George Ong (Dated 4 Mar 2022)
Don’t miss Michael Brown’s excellent article, titled, “The Gospel of Martyrdom Vs the Gospel of Success.” (see below)
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, NCCS office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In a weekly Sunday sermon on 27 February 2022, 5 days ago, Joseph Prince said, please click here to view excerpts in the one-minute video:
“The promise for every believer who are in Christ; the Bible says, you are under the shadow, under the protection of the Almighty and the Almighty here is Shaddai. And then this promise, this entire Psalm ends with ‘With long life, God satisfies you’ (Psa 91:16a).”
“So we see that God wants to satisfy us with long life. Now by the way, if it says with long life will I satisfy him; notice there’s no age mention there. The only criteria is your satisfaction. With long life will I satisfy him. So if you’re not satisfied at 90, you want to go further, go on. God is saying the criteria will be long life, according to your satisfaction. If you are satisfied with life, at a hundred and you say, ‘It’s time to go,’ then you can talk to the Lord about it. Amen. But the criteria in the New Covenant, God says, ‘With long life will I satisfy you’. Amen. Be satisfied with your life, and then, you can decide to go if Jesus tarries.”
In the sermon on 27 February 2022, last Sunday, Joseph Prince spoke about the blessing of long life as an unqualified promise that every New Covenant believer is entitled to.
Believers who are blessed with long life are something glorious to celebrate and praise God for. But Joseph Prince, who teaches that every New Covenant believer is entitled to live long life – for as long as he wants, and as long as he is satisfied, is a different matter altogether. This teaching is gravely erroneous and flippantly presumptuous.
What is disturbing is that Joseph Prince literally teaches that how long you wish to live is your choice. If you choose to live to beyond 90, God will grant that to you. If you wish to reach the age of 100, God will fulfil your request as long as you are satisfied. You alone determine the length of your days on earth and God will have to go along with your wish as long as you are satisfied. In other words, it is you (according to your satisfaction) who determine how long you will live on earth and when you are ready to die; and God will have to fulfil it.
By doing that, Joseph Prince is making us to be ‘God’ who can decide how long we want to live and God becoming our servant to merely carry out our wishes. This is both preposterous and abominable! This sober issue of life and death lies in the hands of God, and it is not a trivial matter that man can decide.
Next, one must be aware that there isn’t any New Testament text that supports Joseph Prince’s view that every New Covenant believer is automatically entitled to enjoy the blessing of long life.
And why is Joseph Prince using an Old Testament text to prove his view? If there is such a clear promise for every New Covenant believer, then there must be at least a few New Testament texts that categorically say in an unqualified way that this promise of long life is entitled to every New Covenant believer. However, there is not even one.
To beef up his argument, Joseph Prince mentioned Ephesians 6:2-3 in the same sermon. Please click here to view excerpts in the 30-second video:
“But God wants you to live long. That’s why the Bible says things like, ‘Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.’ (Eph 6:2-3) And this is the first commandment with promise that things will go well with you and that you may live long on the earth. So if living long on the earth is not a blessing from God, why did God tell us that if you were fulfil this promise of honouring your parents, things will go well with you and you will live long? Amen. Obviously, it is a promise. Live long, where? On this earth.”
Who is quarrelling over whether living a long life is a blessing or isn’t? Nobody is! Joseph Prince, as usual, has craftily slipped in a straw man argument so as to distract us from the real issue. The real issue is – is the blessing of long life an unqualified promise for all.
As far as I know, not only is Ephesians 6:1-3 the only passage in the entire New Testament that talks about the promise of long life (correct me if I’m wrong), but, more importantly, it is also a promise that comes with a condition – obey and honour your parents.
Hence, the promise of long life isn’t an unqualified promise for every believer in the New Covenant as Joseph Prince tries to deceive the people with.
Joseph Prince quoted Ephesians 6:2-3, which is actually based on (Deuteronomy 5:16) and Exodus 20:12,
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Ex 20:12)
Exodus 20:12 contains the 5th of the 10 Commandments under the Old Covenant.
To be consistent with his doctrine, Prince is ‘strictly forbidden’ to quote Ephesians 6:2-3 (which is based on the 5th Commandment under the Old Covenant in Exodus 20:12) as support for his ‘long-life’ doctrine without contradicting himself, as the core of his grace doctrine is that the moral law in the 10 Commandments has become obsolete.
But when it serves his purpose, Prince conveniently but also foolishly belts out Ephesians 6:2-3. By doing that, Prince is actually acknowledging that the 5th of the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:12 (an Old Testament text) that is also reflected in Ephesians 6:2-3 (a New Testament text) is still applicable to New Covenant believers today.
In other words, Prince has not only contradicted himself, he has also sabotaged his own grace doctrine that the moral law in the 10 Commandments is no longer applicable to New Covenant believers.
Since the 5th Commandment in Exodus 20:12 is also mentioned under the New Covenant in Ephesians 6:2-3, this proves that it has not been abrogated. The rest of the 10 Commandments in the Old Testament are also listed in the New Testament, proving that they too, have not been made obsolete (save one on the Sabbath which Jesus reinterpreted).
What is rather laughable is that Joseph Prince by his own admission, is disproving his own core doctrine that the 10 Commandments have been made obsolete, something which he isn’t even aware of.
Furthermore, Joseph Prince, being the unrepentant deceiver, has once again used the half-truth strategy to mislead people.
He flashes out Psalm 91:16 but he hides Psalm 91:14-15 from you. He only shows you Psalm 91:16 but he keeps you from noticing other relevant verses such as Deuteronomy 30:19-20; 5:32-33; 6:2; Proverbs 10:27; 3:1-2; 9:10-11; 1 Kgs 3:14 and Exodus 20:12 (see below).
If you read Psalm 91:14-16, you would realise that the promise of long life isn’t an unqualified promise for every believer that Joseph Prince has made it out to be. Long life isn’t an unconditional promise for every believer even under the Old Covenant. There is a condition that must be fulfilled before one can claim the promise.
The promise of long life in Psalm 91:16a is only given to one who has fulfilled the condition in Psalm 91:14a – one who “has his heart set on me,” (CSB), or “trusts me,” (ERV) or “lovingly devoted to Me,” (HCSB) or “loves me,” (NCV):
Psalm 91:14-16 CSB
Because he has his heart set on me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name. 15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor. 16 I will satisfy him with a long life and show him my salvation.
Psalm 91:14-16 ERV
14 The Lord says, “If someone trusts me, I will save them. I will protect my followers who call to me for help. 15 When my followers call to me, I will answer them. I will be with them when they are in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. 16 I will give my followers a long life and show them my power to save.”
Psalm 91:14-16 HCSB
14 Because he is lovingly devoted to Me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows My name. 15 When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor. 16 I will satisfy him with a long life and show him My salvation.
Psalm 91:14-16 NCV
14 The Lord says, “Whoever loves me, I will save. I will protect those who know me. 15 They will call to me, and I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue them and honor them. 16 I will give them a long, full life, and they will see how I can save.”
Even in the larger context of the entire Old Testament, several other relevant passages prove that the promise of long life isn’t an unconditional promise at all.
It is only promised to those who love the Lord, listen to His voice, cling to Him (Deut 30:19-20), obey God, follow Him, live the way God has commanded (Deut 5:32-33), fear and obey God (Deut 6:2), keep God’s laws (1 Kgs 3:14), obey the Lord (Prov 10:27), remember His teaching (Prov 3:1-2), honour one’s parents (Ex 20:12) and fear Him (Prov 9:10-11):
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 EHV
19 I call the heavens and the earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, a blessing and a curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live 20 by loving the Lord your God, by listening to his voice, and by clinging to him, because that means life for you, and you will live a long life on your land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 5:32-33 ERV
32 “So you people must be careful to do everything the Lord commanded you. Do not stop following God! 33 You must live the way the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will continue to live, and everything will be fine with you. You will live a long life in the land that will belong to you.
Deuteronomy 6:2 NLT
2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life.
1 Kings 3:14 GNT
14 And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
Proverbs 10:27 GNT
27 Obey the Lord, and you will live longer. The wicked die before their time.
Proverbs 3:1-2 ERV
1 My son, don’t forget my teaching. Remember what I tell you to do. 2 What I teach will give you a good, long life, and all will go well for you.
Exodus 20:12 NLT
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Proverbs 9:10-11 ERV
10 Wisdom begins with fear and respect for the Lord. Knowledge of the Holy One leads to understanding. 11 Wisdom will help you live longer; she will add years to your life.”
If the promise of long life isn’t an unqualified promise for every believer even under the Old Covenant, how can Joseph Prince, based on an Old Testament text in Psalm 91:16, teach that the same promise is unconditionally given to every believer under the New Covenant? What is more damaging to Prince’s position is that the New Testament doesn’t even have a single text that supports his ‘long life-is-for-every-believer’ doctrine.
Joseph Prince needs to answer this question – if living a long life is what every believer is entitled to, why are the lives of 59,000 believers cut short by COVID-19 (assuming a conservative estimate that 1% of the 5.9 million people who had died from the disease are believers)?
If long life is a blessing that every believer can claim, why did believers who were caught in World Wars 1 and 2, and the most recent Russia-Ukraine war, have their lives terminated before their time?
Did Jesus Himself live a long life? Absolutely not! He lived a short life of only 33, and yet, He achieved man’s salvation on Calvary’s tree. Did the apostles live long lives? No! Their lives (11 out of 12) were cut short by martyrdom. If living long life is a New Covenant promise for every believer, why didn’t Jesus Himself and the Apostles, being the first batch of New Covenant believers, exemplify it?
You ought to know by now Joseph Prince is against the doctrine of martyrdom which the scripture clearly teaches. Do you know why? It is because of his doctrine that God will always protect you from early and unnatural death and that martyrdom would cut short your life and go against his teaching that every believer is entitled to live long life.
Let me quote what Glenn Fong, an Ex New Creation Church member for 15 years (2001 – 2015) has to say about the anti-martyrdom teachings of Joseph Prince. This is an excerpt taken from his testimony of how he came out of Joseph Prince’s church:
“One Sunday in 2014, Joseph Prince taught about divine protection. He promised that those who are under Grace would never suffer persecution (unbelievable that this teaching came from a so-called well-respected teacher).
He also went on to explain that the Apostles had a special purpose that had been fulfilled (just by one broad statement out of nowhere, he sloppily attempts to qualify why Apostle Paul and the rest of the Apostles must suffer even though they came after the finished work of the cross). Hence, no Christians will need to be persecuted or even be martyred like the Apostles.
He continued to teach that if Stephen had not told God to receive his spirit (Acts 7:59), he wouldn’t have died because the power of life and death lies in the tongue. (Pro 18:21) (Imagine, possessing such unholy guts to say such unspeakable things).
Then I begin to think, how about Christians who were raped and killed in Syria and Iraq during the ISIS reign? So they are under the Law? Do they have insufficient faith? Or perhaps he is suggesting that they are not even Christians? Something is seriously wrong with his teaching; it just doesn’t add up.”
(If you have missed reading Glenn Fong’s full testimony of how he came out of New Creation Church, please click here to read.)
Just imagine – instead of rejoicing and being encouraged by the courage of Stephen to be a willing martyr, Joseph Prince castigated him for saying what he had gloriously uttered, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
If you don’t believe Glenn Fong that Joseph Prince teaches against martyrdom, let’s hear from Andrew Tan, an Ex New Creation Church member for 20 years (June 2000 – Oct 2020). This is an excerpt taken from his testimony of how he came out of New Creation Church:
“In my 20 years in NCC, I have also never heard Joseph Prince preach a single sermon on suffering, persecution, sanctification or holiness. As such, many people attending NCC are not really bothered about how they live their lives, as long as they are justified and receive the righteousness of God, their place in heaven is permanently assured – which is falsely taught by Joseph Prince. They are also oblivious to the suffering and martyrdom of Christians in other parts of the world. This is because Joseph Prince preaches that suffering and martyrdom will never occur to believers, which is plainly false.”
(If you have missed reading Andrew Tan’s full testimony of how he came out of New Creation Church, please click here to read.)
If you are still unconvinced that Joseph Prince is against martyrdom, let’s hear from Yvonne Tan, an Ex New Creation Church member for 19 years (end 1999 – Jan 2021). This is an excerpt taken from her testimony of how she came out of New Creation Church:
“Don’t we all know how Paul, a New Covenant believer, died as a martyr and how all of Jesus’ disciples were also martyred except for John. Yet, Joseph Prince can bring himself to teach that we, as New Covenant believers, will never be martyred for the sake of Christ. What a stark contradiction!”
(If you have missed reading Yvonne Tan’s full testimony of how she came out of New Creation Church, please click here to read.)
Like Glenn Fong, Andrew Tan and Yvonne Tan, I have heard Joseph Prince preach against martyrdom in his videos/audios, either directly or indirectly or even implied.
Prince may defend himself that he isn’t against martyrdom. Don’t be deceived! Just ask him if he really isn’t against martyrdom when was the last time he preached on the topic?
Prince has claimed in his other sermons that he isn’t against discipleship. If that is true, ask him the same question – when was the last time he preached on discipleship of the Jesus kind: on self-denial and carrying the cross.
The fact that discipleship is contained in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 – ask him how many times has he preached on the Great Commission in his 20 over years of ministry?
I can CONFIDENTLY and CATEGORICALLY tell you that the answer is ZERO!
Why?
Because he simply does not believe in the Great Commission that Christ gave the Church and he is against it! Huh! Talk about Prince being Christ-centred!
(If you have missed reading the article, “Joseph Prince’s Grace Revolution ‘Gospel’ Is Diametrically Opposed to the Great Commission Gospel of Jesus – By Rev George Ong (Dated 27 Jan 2022)” please click here to read.)
Furthermore, Prince, by his teaching that every New Covenant Christian is protected by God from suffering and martyrdom, is heaping a stinging insult on every martyr throughout the history of the Church that they have shed their blood for nothing.
From the internet, I had gathered some information about martyrdom:
“More than 70 million Christians have been martyred in the course of history. More than half were martyred in the 20th century under communist and fascist government (Gordon-Conwell Resources). In the 21st century, roughly 100,000 to 160,000 Christians were killed each year (Gordon-Conwell Resources and World Christian Database, respectively). Roughly 1,093,000 Christians were martyred, worldwide, between 2000 and 2010 (World Christian Database). Modern, Global Church Persecution Statistics.”
What would Joseph Prince say to these more than 70 million Christians who have been martyred throughout the course of history, having their lives cut short and not being able to enjoy the long life that Joseph Prince promised every New Covenant believer?
Is he going to reprimand them for not having enough faith to believe that God will protect them or is he going to rebuke them for uttering the same ‘forbidden’ words that Stephen had uttered in Acts 7:59?
Michael Brown in his excellent article, titled, “The Gospel of Martyrdom Vs the Gospel of Success” also talked about martyrdom. In fact, as opposed to Joseph Prince, he spoke splendidly about the Martyrdom of Stephen at the beginning of his article.
Although Michael Brown was writing against the Prosperity Gospel Teachings in the American churches, the Health and Wealth Gospel of Joseph Prince is not any different from those in America.
What Michael Brown has written captures the difference between the Gospel of Martyrdom and Joseph Prince’s False Gospel of Health, Wealth, Success and Long Life.
Excerpts of what Michael Brown had written in the said article are reproduced as follows (see below in italics):
(Kindly note that I have added my interjection in parts of Michael Brown’s article and they are purple in colour.)
The Gospel of Martyrdom Vs the Gospel of Success – By Michael Brown
Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin. The appointed Jewish leadership confronted this anointed Jewish believer. They glared; he glowed. They were enraged; he was enraptured. Their faces were contorted with anger; his was like the countenance of an angel. “Men and brothers,” he said, “listen to me.”
He rehearsed the history of Israel, from Abraham to Moses to David, the faithfulness of God in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people. But Stephen was not there that day merely to recite the lessons of history. He was there to be a witness, and as a faithful witness he spoke. His words turned to piercing rebuke:
You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him – you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it (Acts 7:51-53).
Soon his body lay battered and bloody, a mangled, motionless mass. He had not backed down. He had not compromised. He had not omitted a word. He was a witness and a prophetic voice.
And that day he became the Church’s first martyr – the first, but not the last. Hundreds of thousands have followed in his path. Being a witness for Jesus could cost you your life.
In the early Church, witnessing and martyrdom quickly became associated: The Greek word for “witness” is martyros. Witnesses testify with their lives and often seal their words with their own blood. Have you done any “witnessing” lately? ….
…. Why didn’t Stephen simply deny the false charges? “Men and brothers, the accusations are not true.” Why didn’t he politely dismiss their questions and calm their anger? Why did he continue to stand up and speak out? The answer challenges us all: He was not seeking to save his life; he was seeking to be a witness.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it (Matt. 16:25).
(George Ong’s interjection: Joseph Prince also touched on this same verse of Matthew 16:25 twice in his 27 February 2022 sermon, 5 days ago. But the way he handled this text only revealed his lack of depth in his understanding of this verse. The truth is, he deliberately failed to address the issue of martyrdom as contained in Matthew 16:25. The reason is simple – he is against martyrdom. If you read the context of Matthew 16:21-26, Matthew 16:25 is indeed talking about martyrdom, or at least, it includes martyrdom, and yet, Prince would deliberately cut it out from his preaching.)
This is the story of the true Church in every nation and in every age:
You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives (Rev 2:13b).
This is the gospel of martyrdom, the gospel of Jesus. It is the gospel that Paul preached and lived:
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24).
That is why he could say:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:20-21) ….
(George Ong’s interjection: but why is Michael Brown’s description of Paul’s gospel so different from Joseph Prince’s ‘gospel’ of grace of blessing, success, health and wealth, even though Prince claims to be preaching the Pauline gospel? The reason is obvious – Prince is lying as he has deliberately misrepresented Paul’s gospel of grace to be such!)
… How different this is from the philosophy that rules in today’s luxury-soaked America. How different this is from the modern gospel of success! ….
…. One “gospel” is interested in the things of this world, the things of men. The other gospel is interested in eternal things, the things of God. One message cultivates preservation of self; the other cultivates denial of self. One says, “Add to your life!” The other says, “Lose your life!” One message encourages self-satisfaction, the other encourages self-denial. One message tells carnally minded people “what their itching ears want to ear” (2 Tim 4:3); the other message tells the truth.”….
(George Ong’s interjection: Indeed, Joseph Prince’s ‘gospel’ is a ‘gospel’ that adds things to your life. It is a ‘gospel’ plus health, wealth, prosperity, success, long life, and youthful and good looks. Prince never preaches the ‘lose your life’ or the self-denial gospel. Even if he does, it is with the aim to gain more health, wealth, prosperity and long life, etc.)
…. We must see how tragically earthly the gospel of success really is. It still stands in the way of the cross. It still rebukes Jesus for promising suffering and death….
(George Ong’s interjection: This is indeed Joseph Prince’s ‘gospel’ of success. His ‘gospel’ is anti-suffering, anti-martyrdom and anti-death because suffering, martyrdom and death for the sake of Christ are not what Prince would consider and accept as success.)
…. It is no overstatement to say that there is no cross in the gospel of success. In its most extreme modern forms, it originates from the pit. (Remember, it was Satan whom Jesus rebuked for trying to keep Him from going to the cross.) The gospel of success criticizes the message of the cross because it leads to “death.”
(George Ong’s interjection: Joseph Prince teaches that God will never take away a believer’s life. ‘Death’ is an unmentionable word in Joseph Prince’s doctrinal vocabulary.)
But the true gospel must lead to death – death to the flesh, death to the will of man, death to this world’s priorities. Only through death can there be resurrection. Only through the cross can there be abundant life. In fact, if you want what some teachers call “the God kind of life” you’re going to have to experience “the Jesus kind of death.” Which path will you take?”….
…. Our country is saturated with a “save your life, improve your life” mentality – from health clubs to exercise videos, from savings plans to retirement funds, from insurance policies to computer programs guaranteed to put you “in control of your life.” Be successful! Live in greater security and ease! Enjoy the American dream! Jesus says, “Follow Me – even to the point of death.”
After His resurrection, He told Peter the kind of death by which he would glorify God (John 21:19). What a concept! Think of a discussion among the first eleven disciples: “Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, by what kind of death are you going to glorify Him?” For these men, this would not have been idle talk: According to tradition, all the first apostles, with the exception of John, died a martyr’s death. (John was reportedly boiled in oil twice – and survived.) For them, the issue was not, “Will we be called to die for the glory of God?” But rather, “By what kind of death will we glorify Him?”
What about us? Is the call any different today? By what kind of death are we called to glorify God? Death to our reputation? Death to human opinion? Death to our careers? Death to our plans and goals? Or maybe the literal death of a martyr?”….
…. The fatal flaw of the modern, carnal prosperity message is that it encourages us to set our eyes on the things of this world. It makes it harder for us to leave all, lose self, and follow Jesus. It eliminates the call to take up our cross. (Remember, Jesus was not the only One called to carry the cross. Read Luke 9:23 several times out loud, and digest each word slowly: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”)
(George Ong’s interjection: The teaching about carrying the cross is totally absent from Joseph Prince’s ‘gospel’ of grace. Though I’ve heard plenty of Prince’s sermons, I’ve never heard him preach about carrying the cross a single time. In fact, Prince is against it and his immediate retort would be – why carry the cross, and wouldn’t it be a foolish idea to do it when Jesus had already done that for you? The truth is, Jesus went to the cross not to give us the excuse to avoid it but the privilege to carry it.)
The gospel of success says, “Jesus died for you so you could prosper and succeed in this world.” (Of course, there is some truth to the prosperity message, but its emphasis is way off.) The biblical message says, “Live so as to lose your life for the Lord” – meaning go anywhere, do anything, make any sacrifice – as long as souls are saved, lives are changed, the kingdom is extended, and Jesus is exalted. As children of God, we now make our decisions based on entirely different priorities. We are already subjects of the heavenly kingdom. We have already died to this world!”….
…. It’s time for the old spirit of martyrdom to enter the church of America. (Much of the Church worldwide has no choice in the matter. Christianity for them is synonymous with suffering. Just ask the families of the Christian men in Sudan or Ethiopia who were crucified for their faith – in the last few months.) It’s time that we do God’s will, and God’s will alone.”….
…. A few years ago, a young evangelist moved into an area in Asia famous for its violent resistance to Jesus. The radical religious opposition immediately came to his apartment, making their intentions clear: “We’ll kill you if you stay here and preach!” The evangelist only smiled. “I came to die,” he replied. Today his church has 200 members. That is the power of the gospel of martyrdom. That is true success.
(George Ong’s interjection: What Michael Brown had presented is totally the reverse of Joseph Prince’s ‘gospel’ of grace – that success is all about living it up on this earth but never about martyrdom. In fact, as I have said, Prince is against martyrdom as he believes that God will always protect a believer from danger and He never takes away a believer’s life, and that God wants every believer to live long life.
In his weekly Sunday sermons, Joseph Prince has the habit of reading the testimonies of people who were healed, got rich, succeeded in their careers and business ventures, etc, not to glorify God but with the main aim of justifying and vindicating his grace doctrine.
But I’ve never heard him share any testimony of how believers who preach the gospel had suffered to the extent that they were martyred for Jesus’ sake. Why? – This is because he is against martyrdom. What Michael Brown had written, particularly about martyrdom, is indeed, antithetical to the Prosperity ‘Gospel’ doctrine or the Health and Wealth theology of Joseph Prince.)
End of Michael Brown’s article
The full article of Michael Brown can be found in this link:
https://askdrbrown.org/library/gospel-martyrdom-vs-gospel-success-0
The teaching of martyrdom is even more pressing today given what is happening: pestilences, especially COVID-19 and wars, particularly, between Russia and Ukraine. Jesus had already prophesied that these things will take place before His second coming, and that the Church will be persecuted for their faith during the tribulation.
Why did John write the Book of Revelation? He wrote it to prepare the people of God for the toughest ever persecution that will result in the massive martyrdom of believers:
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 7:14 NIV)
11 “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” (Rev 12:11 NLT)
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.” (Rev 13:10 NIV)
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 14:13 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 17:5-6 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 18:24 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…” (Rev 20:4 NIV)
The Antichrist will be in control of the world in the last three and a half years before the return of Jesus. The world, awed by the power of the Antichrist, will worship him. The Antichrist will persecute, imprison and slaughter many believers. Many of these martyred saints will cry out to God for divine vengeance.
What God will say to them is ‘unpleasantly’ surprising:
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 6:9-11 NIV)
Did God say to these martyred saints,
“Poor thing, I forgot to rapture you, and I am so sorry that you were killed. That reminds me that I had better rapture all those saints who are still on earth so that they won’t suffer the same fate as you did.”
You would have thought that God’s answer to them would be,
“Don’t despair, I will come and avenge you by immediately punishing the perpetrators of your murders.”
When the martyrs were crying out to God to mete out His judgement against their persecutors,
“….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 6:11).
God starkly told them,
“Be patient as more and more believers are going to be martyred just like you were before I take action.”
What a ‘discouraging’ statement!
God will probably say to these saints,
“I am aware that you have suffered much for me, and I am proud that you gave your life for my sake. But I want you to be patient and wait a little longer, as more and more of those who are totally sold out for me will be killed like you were.”
Does anyone still insist that God will never allow you to go through suffering in the Great Tribulation? – Well, Joseph Prince and many others did!
Wake up! Get real!
God will not only allow you to suffer, but He will even allow you to be killed.
Because He hates you?
No!
Because He loves you enough to give you the rare privilege of being martyred for His glory just like Peter was in John 21:19!
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!” (Jn 21:18-19 NIV)
Joseph Prince has the audacity to teach that New Covenant Christians will never be martyred, when the scripture clearly teaches that that is one honourable way to glorify God, like Peter did in John 21:19.
Many believers of the last-day church during the temporary reign of the Antichrist and before Christ’s second coming will be given this rare privilege of dying as martyrs for His glory.
Be prepared for the day of tribulation. Don’t be deceived by the sugar-coated Christianity that Joseph Prince preaches.
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, prosper me and give me success in my career and business. 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 mustn’t 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 martyred. He said that what we’ve been taught that Christians may have to be martyred for Christ, especially in the last days, is false, because these churches want to put fear into you and control you.
Hey, this is the most wonderful piece of news that I’ve ever received because I’m so afraid of death, and I sure don’t want to die that early before enjoying the bless-me, prosper-me, physical-health-and-material-wealth and long-life super-abundant and never-ending blessings that Pastor Joseph Prince has wonderfully unveiled for us.”
Who wants to suffer? Nobody does! 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 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 and be persecuted to the point of being martyred, is literally sending them to hell.
One day, believers who are being deceived by Prince’s feel-good teachings were to come face to face with suffering and persecution with the threat of being martyred 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 Joseph Prince’s hands!
“The Joseph Prince gospel offers a wonderful plan for your life; the Jesus Christ gospel offers a possible end to your life.” (Lk 14:26,27,33; Matt 16:21-26) (George Ong)
“The glory of martyrdom which began at the start of the Church in Acts will climax at the close of history before the coming of Christ in Revelation.” (George Ong)
Rev George Ong