Benny Hinn is a well-known televangelist and a presumed prophet of God. Through this article I hope to fully outline who he really is, and whether he should be followed or regarded as a prophet. I come to this article hopefully unbiased, and I do not wish to slander or provoke, but to militantly discern.
I will start by outlining the gospel with a verse from 2 Corinthians.
“For [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
This verse and its context state that Jesus, the perfect and holy Son of God, became sin, or was treated as a sinner on the cross, so that we could be called righteous. We, though wholly unrighteous, are now able to be seen as righteous before God. Our sin, which damned us to hell, was taken out of the way when Jesus took our punishment. We who have repented and trusted in Christ’s sacrifice can live eternally with God.
Shai Linne, Christian rapper, put it well: “God treated Christ as if he were a sinner, as if he had sinned every sin that every believer would ever sin, even though he wasn’t a sinner, in order that He might treat believers, even though we are sinful, as though we lived the perfect life of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is the essence of the gospel. We are saved from sin. The Bible clearly teaches that. Sin is transgression of the law, which God has given us as a mirror to study and examine ourselves with. If this fundamental doctrine is not understood by a given organization, group, or person, then they are preaching or teaching or understanding a false gospel. In 2 Corinthians 11:4 Paul is worried about the Corinthian church when he says, “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!”
Paul was worried that perhaps his church would be led away from the true gospel if they didn’t discern false gospel teachings. So, our first question about Benny Hinn, (or any church or preacher) should be, “What do they say the gospel is?” According to BennyHinn.org, there are five steps to “Salvation”. They are:
STEP #1: Understand that God’s desire for you is life, abundant, and eternal.
STEP #2: Realize that you are separated from God.
STEP #3: Accept the fact that God has provided only one solution to sin and separation from Himself.
STEP #4: Pray to receive Jesus Christ into your life.
STEP #5: Accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Leaves a lot out doesn’t it? No cross, no definition of sin, no repentance, no Christian fruit. But wait. We mustn’t judge the titles of these steps without looking at the content. Benny Hinn Ministries does state: “Jesus Christ, alone, died on the Cross for our sins and rose in triumph over the grave and eternal death. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and mankind.” under step #3. They ask “Are you willing to turn away and repent from your sins?” under step #5. Sounds better, huh? Well, they still left out two important things. There is still no definition of sin, and the motive for coming to Christ is “Understand[ing] that God’s desire for you is life, abundant, and eternal.” Now you may say, “Sure, Jesus wants us to be blessed and have good things. He promises that in the Old Testament all the time. I mean, didn’t Jesus want us to have an abundant life?” My answer would be another quote from Jesus: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Paul also says: “As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ ” I may sound petty on this gospel issue, but it must be addressed. If you don’t have the gospel right, you can’t have anything right. So, Strike One for Benny Hinn!
Next we will move on to Scripture validity and interpretation. Many have accused Hinn of pulling passages out of context and ripping up verses to prove a point. So, as before, we will approach unbiased and observant. In one video on YouTube, Hinn expounds the first 14 to 15 verses of John chapter 1. In this video, I found no unbiblical or strange teaching in regard to the context of his passage. He taught a clear, clean message in my eyes. There were some rather harsh comments on this video from a Calvinist who claimed that he had the Man-to-God role switched up in his theology. I won’t bicker on this “Christian scandal” because, personally, I think it divides. So, Benny Hinn’s teaching in this video is not false or wrong, but actually very sound. Again, I made sure that I watched the video without assuming anything. But, there is another video on YouTube that, well, we can say was not as refreshing. The title is “Benny Hinn-Revelation of the Son of God (MIRACLE SERVICE)”. In the beginning of the video we see Hinn telling the audience that he is seeing Jesus, and that the experience is overwhelming him. As the video progresses, we see Hinn apparently unable to preach because he is “seeing Jesus”. He then describes Jesus to the people, a face he has seen before, long brown wavy hair, a white tunic or cloak with a blue scarf around it. He seems overwhelmed, saying that he is trying to preach but is having trouble doing it because of the revelation. He then says that he wants his audience to experience the same thing he is experiencing. His formula for seeing the vision is closing your eyes and saying “Jesus”. Now, I understand that this is not yet touching on Scripture interpretation, but I’ll get to that in this same video. I want to first address the vision. The people begin to whisper “Jesus” throughout the auditorium, most holding their hands up, some crying. It is a very moving scene.
But hold on just a moment. What are they seeing? It doesn’t take rocket science to figure that out. They are all seeing a picture in their minds of the description Benny Hinn gave! You better believe they are seeing it! It doesn’t take a theology degree to tell you that. It also doesn’t take any divine intervention. To prove this point, let me give a funny example. Suppose that you are in an auditorium full of people. The speaker begins to describe a Big Mac in detail, saying that he is seeing it in his mind. He tells you about the browned buns, the steamy burger meat clothed in melted cheese, the uniform onions and tomatoes poking out above the green lettuce. Do you even need to say “Burger”? Just close your eyes and take it in. What does your mind show you? The Burger, of course! Simple logic tells us that it is easy to describe a well-known object and see it in your mind. Not to compare Jesus to a burger, but who hasn’t seen a classical picture of Jesus? Or a picture of a Big Mac at Mickey D’s? This supposed revelation of Jesus doesn’t need to be miraculous, Mr. Hinn. Everybody saw Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that God helped them do it. Albeit, God may have miraculously intervened on Benny Hinn’s behalf and shown all those watching a picture of Jesus. But don’t you think it strange that the description Hinn gives is just like that of the classical Jesus pictures, which generally depict a beautiful, sorrowful man with white skin and a handsome complexion? These classic pictures of Jesus are not consistent with Isaiah 53, so I hold that neither is Benny Hinn’s description.
Now, on to the Scripture interpretation. As the video progresses, Hinn begins to regain his composure (apparently), and then finally begins to preach after asking permission from God to do so. He begins with talking a bit about Jesus and then immediately transitions into a paraphrased version of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8). Now, there is nothing wrong with a pastor explaining a passage of Scripture with a little more contemporary flare; that’s fine. He must only make sure that he sticks to facts from that passage, and does not stray from the real meaning. In fact, I’ll do a little of that now so that you don’t have to go read the whole chapter. The setting is Jesus retiring from the synagogue to a given place, some of the people asking him to come and heal Peter’s mother-in-law, him complying and healing her with a touch, her fever leaving her, and she serving them all. Whew! This paraphrasing stuff is hard work!
Benny Hinn begins to elaborate on this passage, his point being the earthly gentleness and majesty of Jesus. He says, “I can just see him walking through that door (into Peter’s mother-in-law’s home): Tall, Majestic.” Where did he get this picture? Jesus is nowhere described as tall in his God-Man form; if you know of a time, please let me know! And majestic? Well, God is obviously Majestic and Powerful and Omnipotent, as is Jesus in his present glorified form. But was Jesus, on earth, a majestic person? The definition of majestic in the Webster’s is “having or showing impressive beauty or dignity“. In utter contrast, Isaiah 53 says of Jesus in human form:
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
So on earth, Jesus was not a man of impressive beauty! Why then would Hinn describe him as such? This gave me an automatic distaste for this video, and I have to say I continued watching with a more critical eye.
Hinn goes on to describe the healing rather accurately, (though he claims that Luke, who also recorded the healing, was there… even though Luke was not an apostle). Then on to the Scripture mangling. He goes back to Jesus walking into the room, and says he was a gentle. He says that Isaiah the prophet describes him as one who would not even snuff out a smoldering wick. Uh, hello? Do you think that the Jesus who took a whip, twice, to the sellers and buyers who clogged the temple, the Jesus who spoke out rampantly against the foolish and wicked generation of his time, do you think he wouldn’t snuff out a candle? That’s just ridiculous. Jesus was gentle with those who needed gentility. Like children; like sick people. Like Peter’s mother-in-law. But don’t tell me that Jesus wouldn’t snuff out a smoldering wick. The clear meaning of that verse is that God will not leave behind those who are his, even when they are down and out; even when they think there is no hope left, he won’t leave them alone.
Hinn goes on to say that the Bible describes him as harmless. Where? I’m not saying it doesn’t, but please tell me where! Ok? I would love to vindicate him on this. It’s all good if the Bible does say that, but if it doesn’t, Hinn lied! He further pressed his point by saying that Jesus was described as a lamb. Well, lambs might be gentle, but why would you take the description of the Perfect Lamb who died in the sinner’s place, paying the ransom without a word, and replace it with the gentleness of the human Christ? Which is more compelling: a gentle Man who heals, or the Savior of the world, in human form, taking our sins on his shoulders? Hinn could have mangled this passage a little more, but he definitely could have done less context-ripping. I have to say, Mr. Hinn, Strike Two!
You may be saying at this point, “Hey look, from what you’ve been analyzing, Hinn looks like he isn’t all bad. I mean, come on, you did say he gets some of the gospel right.” Well, that’s true. Benny Hinn doesn’t botch everything. But he doesn’t fully vindicate himself by constant good teaching. His words always contain a mixed message, some good, some bad. So does that make him bad? Let’s look at Deuteronomy 18:20-22:
But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
You must also remember that prophesy also refers to speaking the truth. So according to Hebrew law, any prophet who didn’t consistently speak the truth should be put to death! I’m not saying that we should go kill any false teacher, (I mean, the Lord had the Israelites kill a man for gathering sticks on the Sabbath in Leviticus), but we should not pay any attention to someone who does not consistently speak the truth.
I’m not going to give strike three to Benny Hinn; who knows, maybe he’ll get a base hit on the last pitch. The fact is, if there is one thing wrong with a teacher or his methods or teachings, we should disregard him. You don’t need to find three or four holes in a beachball before it will deflate. Benny Hinn has made many prophesies that did not come true (i.e. the 1994-95 annihilation of homosexuals). He has healed many people (through the “Spirit”) that did not stay healed, one of whom was my own aunt. What then is the verdict for Benny Hinn? With all confidence I can say he is a false teacher. Do not heed him!
So, until next time, read 2 Peter 2!
In His Steps,
Theo:)
