In this post I will take  selected quotes said by Prosperity Pete from Part 1 and break them down to  determine if Scripture actually teaches these things.

First at bat:

Quote:  “The devil is your adversary.  Your enemy is ignorance.  Never forget that.  The devil is not your enemy, he’s your adversary… The word adversary just means ‘one who questions your identity’.  The enemy can only destroy the ignorant.”

Truth:

Devil does mean adversary.  He is indeed our adversary in living a Christian life. Pete appropriately quotes from 1 Pet 5:8,which reads, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Falsehood:

The devil is not our enemy.

In the parable of the weeds Jesus tells of man who sowed wheat in his field, but an enemy comes and sows weeds behind him.  Jesus explains, “and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels”. Mt 13:39

The apostle Paul confronted the false prophet Bar-Jesus in chapter 13 of the Book of Acts “and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (v.10)  If a son of the devil is an enemy to God’s kingdom (and by extension to the subjects of said kingdom)  then how much more so the devil himself?

Various bible translations render ‘adversary’ as ‘opponent’ or ‘enemy’.

The Greek word translated ‘adversary’ is antidikos.  It is defined as ‘opponent’ or ‘adversary’.

The dictionary defines it as ‘a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy; foe’.

Notice the last part of Pete’s quote, ‘the enemy can only destroy the ignorant.’  What enemy?  Ignorance is the enemy, right?  So ignorance can only destroy the ignorant?

The word adversary just means ‘one who questions your identity’

His definition of adversary is fabricated.  The Greek  and English definitions do not support his take.  I cannot find a definition of adversary that even comes close to what he says.

He has an agenda in putting forth this definition.   This all just goes to support the Word-Faith doctrine of ‘knowledge is power.’  The more you know of God’s promises and provisions (which are almost always interpreted in light of the here and now) the more effectively you’ll operate in those promises by the force of faith present in all of us.  After all, we are all little Gods.  Prosperity Pete says somewhere in this message – we are all the word made flesh – like Christ.  We are a word from God wrapped in flesh.  He feeds the devilish tendency in all of us to be our own God, to exalt our stars above the throne of God.

Ignorance is our enemy.

Prosperity Pete refers to Hosea 4:6, “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  Note that this does not speak of ignorance as an enemy.  The remainder of that verse reads, “because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me.  And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”  This reveals that man is his own worst enemy.  He willfully rejects knowledge and intentionally forgets the law of God.  The work of our true enemy, the devil fosters ignorance as he blinds the minds of the unbelieving.

Man has other enemies. Believers are commanded to be kind to their enemies( Matthew 5:43-44).  Man is an enemy of God by nature (Romans 5:10).  Death is the final enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor 15:26)

Quote:  “The stupid you’ll have with you always – the poor you’ll have with you – it’s the same thing! People who won’t change.”

Pete here begins to quote our Lord from Mark 14:7, “For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.”

Truth:

No truth at all here to defend.

Falsehood:

Poor does not indicate lack of intelligence or faith.

Several Hebrew and Greek words are rendered into English as ‘poor’. Ptóchos – means poor, beggarly, a pauper.  This is the word primarily rendered  ‘poor’ in the New Testament.

The usage of the word in both the Old and New Testament does not remotely indicate stupidity in any case.  Of course, this false teacher doesn’t pretend to be accurately exegeting any single passage from the bible.  Instead he is giving his interpretation as to why people experience lack in life.  This is a deep insult to everyone who wants for both material prosperity and good health.

In the next and final post of this brief series I will confront the blasphemous doctrine that mans unbelief trumps the power of God.

To be continued…