(Originally Published May 2006)
Recently someone called to ask for information about John Hagee. I wasn’t able to find much information in the materials I had on hand, so I began to look elsewhere for information. I was able to come up with quite a bit of information that, I believe, needs to be shared. John Hagee began his ministry in 1958 as an evangelist. In 1966 he went to San Antonio, Texas to found the Trinity Church. After resigning from the pastorate of the Trinity Church in May of 1975, Hagee took the pastorate of the 25-member Church of Castle Hill, also in San Antonio. That church was renamed Cornerstone Church in October of 1987 and today boasts an active membership of over 13,000. Hagee has received an honorary doctorate from Oral Roberts University. John Hagee has a reputation as an impressive preacher of God’s Word. He can be seen and heard on his television programs (Cornerstone and John Hagee Today), as well as in his frequent appearances on Paul Crouch’s TBN. He has written several books, most of which have become instant bestsellers. Personally Disqualified Certainly, there will be those who disagree with me, but I believe that Mr. Hagee is not qualified to stand in a pulpit and proclaim God’s Word. In May of 1994, the Liberty Flame reported that when Hagee was serving the charismatic congregation at Trinity Church in San Antonio, he divorced his wife, resigned and married a young woman in the congregation, Diana Castro. In a letter to the church, Hagee admitted immorality, which later became a part of the court records in the custody battle over his two children. Custody was awarded to his ex-wife, Martha. Under the Old Testament law, the high priest was not allowed to marry a divorced woman or a widow (Leviticus 21:13-15). God wanted His representatives to be holy and sanctified in all areas of life. The Lord reinforced and expanded this teaching when He said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery (Matthew 5:32).” No longer does this restriction apply only to the high priest, but to every man. In stating the qualifications of a bishop (pastor), the Apostle Paul lists “the husband of one wife” as the second of these important qualifications in both of the lists he wrote (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6). Some have tried to worm their way out of this by explaining Paul’s statements to mean “one wife at a time.” This is foolish, and a gross misinterpretation of Scripture. Even if all else were in order, John Hagee is still disqualified based on his divorce and remarriage. Typical Charismatic John Hagee is just like any other charismatic in many areas of his doctrine and practice. Ecumenical Those who are a part of the charismatic movement constantly speak of “tearing down walls” and “building bridges.” The whole charismatic movement has been used to bring about dialogue and cooperation between many different religious groups. John Hagee is no exception to this. The following are two examples of the many that could be pointed out. • In 2000, John Hagee worked in cooperation with Jack Van Impe to produce the movie, Revelation. • In 2002, John Hagee endorsed Bill Bright’s Global Pastors Network. Prosperity Gospel John Hagee believes that it is God’s will for God’s people to be healthy and prosperous, as long as they obey God’s ordinances. On April 16, 1993, John Hagee appeared on the Praise-A-Thon broadcast of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. During this appearance, he said that “poverty is caused by sin and disobeying the Word of God.” In another Praise-A-Thon broadcast on November 4, 1992, he said, “poverty is a curse.” According to Hagee, Christians achieve prosperity through giving. In the same November 4, 1992 broadcast he said, “When you give to God, He controls your income. There is no such thing as a fixed income in the kingdom of God. Your income is controlled by your giving.” Jesus, however, did not teach any such doctrine. He taught a future, heavenly reward, rather than a present, earthly, temporary prosperity. He taught that the poor would always exist on this earth. King Solomon and the Apostle Paul warned of the folly of seeking riches and prosperity. • And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Luke 6:20-21 • For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. Mark 14:7 • Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Proverbs 23:5 • A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. Proverbs 28:20 • He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. Proverbs 28:22 • But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 • Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.1 Timothy 6:17 The Apostle Paul also tells us of the sacrifices of the poor, needy churches of Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1 5). Despite their “deep poverty”, they gave “liberally.” Yet they are still in deep poverty after all the sacrificial giving. They were given the grace to sacrifice, rather than being rewarded financially for their giving. Positive Confession This is what I have always called the doctrine of “Name it — claim it.” Recently I heard someone else call it the doctrine of “Blab it — grab it.” This is the doctrine that any believer can bring anything into existence, as long as the believer exercises enough faith to accompany the verbal confession. In the same November 4, 1992, Praise-A-Thon broadcast, John Hagee said, “There is a relationship between your soul and physical and financial prosperity. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth.’ That’s the spoken Word of God. ‘And then shalt thou prosper and have good success.’ When? After you speak and act upon the Word of God. And you’ve been hearing that tonight out of the mouth of John Avanzini (well-known Faith teacher).” While this doctrine appeals to the flesh, it does not stand on a solid biblical foundation. Truly, God does instruct us to bring our requests by faith before His throne of grace (Matthew 21:22; Hebrews 4:16). However, it is the will of God which dictates whether a request will be granted, not the will of the believer (Matthew 6:10; 1 John 5:14). Dual Covenant Although John Hagee denies believing the Dual Covenant or Two Covenant doctrine, his words seem to prove otherwise. The Dual Covenant doctrine states that the Jews, in whole or in part, are saved, not by the completed work of Christ, but by the fact that they are Jews. For this to be true, there must be at least two separate methods of salvation. Of course, this is impossible, as we will see from God’s Word. His Words. Let us look and see exactly what John Hagee has said regarding the Jews and salvation. The following is a quote taken from an article entitled “San Antonio Fundamentalist Battles Anti-Semitism” on April 30, 1988, Houston Chronicle. Trying to convert Jews is a “waste of time,” he [Hagee] said... Everyone else, whether Buddhist or Baha’i, needs to believe in Jesus, he says. But not Jews. Jews already have a covenant with God that has never been replaced with Christianity, he says. “The Jewish people have a relationship to God through the law of God as given through Moses,” Hagee said. “I believe that every Gentile person can only come to God through the cross of Christ. I believe that every Jewish person who lives in the light of the Torah, which is the word of God, has a relationship with God and will come to redemption.” “The Law of Moses is sufficient enough to bring a person into the knowledge of God until God gives him a greater revelation. And God has not,” said Hagee... It is not possible to reject the Messiah and still have a relationship with God through the Torah. God has given further revelation to all the world, Jew and Gentile, through the person of Jesus Christ, and the writing of the New Testament. Paul made all of this crystal clear when he wrote “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24-25) .” The fact that John the Baptist, the apostles, and most of the New Testament writers were Jews seems to disprove Hagee’s contentions. Also, Paul’s concern over the lost state of Israel, as a nation, seems to belie the statements of John Hagee. If the Jews held some sort of relationship with God through the Old Testament, Paul would not have said these words: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10:1-4). ” In speaking to His Jewish disciples, Jesus claimed that no man can come to the Father except by Him (John 14:6), meaning that Jew and Gentile alike must come to God by Him. But John Hagee seems to think that the Jews have an excuse for their unbelief. According to Hagee, the Jews cannot be blamed for not coming to Christ, since it is Christ who declined their request to be their Messiah. “The [Jewish] people wanted Him to be their Messiah, but He absolutely refused. The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah, it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews! (Hagee, Should Christians Support Israel? p. 67–68)” Of course, this is contrary to Scripture, since John said, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not (John 1:11).” Nothing New under the Sun The false teaching that John Hagee teaches is not anything new, but it is interesting to note some of the others who espoused the same beliefs. The man most responsible for popularizing the Dual Covenant doctrine in the 1920s and 1930s was a Jewish thinker and author named Franz Rosenzweig. He sought to create a rationale for not evangelizing Jews while leaving intact the viability and acceptability of both Judaism and Christianity. He taught that Jewish blood inherently gave all Jews shelter under the Old Covenant while the New Covenant was for Gentiles alone. John chapter 1 teaches that salvation cannot be attained through lineage or blood (John 1:12-13). Another champion of this theology was none other than Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses). Russell may well have gotten his ideas from the anti-Trinitarian founder of the Christadelphian cult, John Thomas, as well as the Adventists and Mormons. Russell addressed Jewish gatherings in the United States and abroad to tell of the prophecies of the Jewish return to Palestine and the future Jewish government and State. His strong anti-missionary stance opened the doors to Jewish audiences in other countries as well. Russell’s doctrine of automatic Jewish redemption without evangelism or conversion was abandoned by his successor, Joseph Rutherford, in 1932. God Is Not A Respecter of Persons. The fact of the matter is that there is only one way of salvation. That is through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. God tells us that He is not a respecter of persons, which means that this single salvation plan is for everyone. The Apostle Paul makes these things abundantly clear in the book of Romans. • For there is no respect of persons with God. Romans 2:11 • What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Romans 3:9-11 • Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Romans 3:28-30 Jew and Gentile alike must come to God by faith in Christ, and so receive God’s eternal salvation. There is no secondary plan of salvation for the Jews. If that were the case, Jesus would be nothing more than a liar. God forbid that any of us fall for this false doctrine. The Apostle Paul said, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them (Romans 16:17). ” We need to apply this verse to John Hagee and avoid him, his books, tapes, and television programs. He is not a preacher of truth, but an apostle of error. Be warned and beware!
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About Jerry JacksonJerry has been writing for many years now. He has written tracts for several churches, as well as his ministries in Papua New Guinea and in Canada. He has had the opportunity to have many of his articles published in several Independent Baptist periodicals over the years. His main goals are to teach truth and lift up the Saviour. Archives
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