When he was investigated by the news magazine "Prime Time" in 1991, they exposed a number of dubious practices and asked questions that his organization would not address in a forthright and honest manner. His ministry shut down shortly after the broadcast exposed him for the fraud he was.

Jesus was quite clear, and Paul agreed, that you must not desire wealth for the sake of wealth.

Matt. 6:24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches)".
1 Tim 6:9: "But those who crave to be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
10: and into many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction."

Prosperity theology actually teaches and leads many people to accept and believe in a kind of "give to get" or "seed faith" philosophy that is in direct conflict with the foundational tenets of Christianity. When we embrace seemingly scripturally based teachings or beliefs, such as "God helps those who help themselves" (a statement not found or supported by any scriptures in the Bible), we fall into a dangerous game of living according to our own concept of what constitutes proper Christian living. We just accept that this is "biblical" truth and rarely come to understand these are destructive tenets that have absolutely no support in scripture, even though they sound biblical.

If we take the time to investigate preachers and prophets who teach "seed faith" or "give to get" style Christianity; if we investigate any preacher who engages in a call for money framed in the form of slogans or buzz phrases; if we simply look at the fashion in which they live, it will be evident to all that they have certainly prospered in their lives. But if you look at the people who supported them, you will find too many have not prospered financially from their generosity; the promises they were "sold" never came to pass.

Jesus taught a lot on money, actually. And, to be sure, Jesus did not say wealth was evil. Afterall, His ministry was supported by some very wealthy people who followed him (even if secretly so).

Luke 6:20: And turning His gaze on His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Matt. 5:3)
Luke 9:25: "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself (his soul)?"
Luke 12:33: "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys.
34: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. 6:19--21)
Luke 9:23: And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

"Sell your possessions"? "Deny himself"? This is not language encouraging us to expect or pursue material things. Jesus specifically states to all that it is better to sell everything and follow Him than to toil away and expect and desire possessions. Proof? "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." What we desire is where we will focus our attention.

And the Apostles contribute their understanding of the importance in rejecting the world system:

Heb. 13:5: Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you..."
Col. 3:1: If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2: Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3: For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Here, Paul is saying we should not be envious of what we do not have, but to remember to set our hope in Christ Jesus. That is, after all, the only thing that matters.

Even in David's time, it was a well known fact to any who were truly serving God that material prosperity could become a pitfall to destruction.

Ps. 119:72: The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Ps. 119:127: Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yes, above find gold.
Prov. 16:8: Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice.
Prov. 16:16: How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
Prov. 20:21: An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
Prov. 23:4: Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.
5: When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

As a teacher, Jesus wanted to ensure that His disciples understood what was important. Money was never a priority in His teachings, as we see in the following passages.

Matt. 6:25: "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?
26: Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27: And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?
28: And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29: yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these."
Mark 6:7: And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs; and He was giving them authority over the unclean spirits;
8: and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belt...

Anyone who seeks to rationalize their desire for prosperity or justify their pursuit of wealth as a Christian tenet would be hard pressed to deny what Jesus teaches here. He left no doubt that His disciples must rely upon God for all their needs, not the world. Everything they would need will be provided by God, not the world.

We, too, must understand this lesson has not ceased to apply to us now, two thousand years later. God will provide for all our need. However, if we are rebellious and selfish, we will seek our sustenance and pleasure from the world system and not from God. And in so doing, we shall alienate ourselves from the protection afforded in doing and keeping the will of the Father in our lives on a daily basis.

We become so involved in the day to day affairs of our lives that we lose sight of the true reason (and for whom) we are supposed to be working. Is it not so that all we do, we do for Christ (Col. 3:17,23)? Is it not so that, as Paul says, "...it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." (Gal. 2:20)? And if these be true, why are we so consumed with satisfying our flesh and all it demands (as opposed to requires) of us?

We understand, too, that God will bless who He blesses in the way He chooses. This may mean a material or financial blessing will come upon some of His people. The question then becomes, to what end, for what purpose? If God has blessed someone with wealth or prosperity, does it not also stand to reason that they should then seek to understand why and what they are supposed to do with this windfall?

We know by what Jesus teaches that anyone who receives such a blessing should not go out and buy expensive things for themselves or purchase multi-million dollar homes in exclusive gated neighbourhoods. Neither should they waste their prosperity on frivolous pursuits. If God bestows blessings of this nature upon His people, we can be sure there is a reason. That reason will most probably be that God wants the person to now channel these funds or this prosperity to His work for the sake of His Kingdom. Can anyone justly and rightly refute this assessment? Is it not written, "...seek first His kingdom and His righteousness..."(Matt. 6: 33)? Also, "...freely you received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8b).

Peter offers a warning for any and all who would seek to introduce falsehood into the equation of Christianity. To be sure, it is not a general statement, it is a guarantee.

2Pet. 2:1: But false prophets...false teachers...will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master...bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

We understand we have truncated the verse, but it has not lost one bit of it's meaning or contextual application. You can read it yourself and see we have kept to the spirit of the statement Peter has made without twisting it's intended meaning.

If we allow such teachers and prophets to "secretly introduce" their twisted and perverted beliefs or teachings into the mainstream doctrine of Christianity, without examining them fully and completely against the Word of God, then the swift destruction Peter warns about will not only befall those who introduce such doctrines, but we shall likewise be overtaken when this destruction does arrive.