John Hagee pastors a very large church. He goes on TV a lot. I understand he divorced and remarried a long time ago. Whether that disqualifies him from being bishop or an overseer over God's people - you judge.
1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
I really question whether a man who can even slightly suggest that Jesus did not come as Messiah to the Jews can be considered "apt to teach". Someone apt to teach is someone who has the ability to communicate God's TRUTH unambiguously.
You can see from the youtube promo that he is now selling a book in which he claims that Jesus did not come to be the Messiah of the Jews. I would advise you to save your money and not buy the book.
UPDATE: It seems that John Hagee has published something of a retraction, and is going to rewrite a chapter of his book. That sounds like a good start. See here for example.
Here are some comments from Rick Joyner on the issue and some comments on the comments.
To me serious questions have to be raised about the man's discernment, if he can write and promote books which need to be partially retracted due to their promotion of SERIOUS doctrinal errors.
1Jo 2:22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
I have always understood Christ to be a based on greek word (Christus) for the Hebrew concept of Messiah (Maschiach). Jesus is called the son of David and never denies it. Jesus had the legal right (through Joseph, his adopted f
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Re: John Hagee's statement
Re: John Hagee's statement -- what he really said was the Jesus did not come to be the messiah as expected by the Jews, a political as well as a spiritual king who would break the bondage of the Romans over the Jews and restore Israel and the temple and worship to its former glory.
John Hagee said that Jesus came to be the suffering messiah as indicated in the prophecies particularly in the book of Isaiah. He came to offer eternal life, salvation, forgiveness & mercy to those who really loved God and believed that He, Jesus, was the actual son of the living GOD.
If you really read the Old Testament in depth you will grasp the extent to which Israel had left the LORD and drifted into apostasy and serious idol worship -- the spirit of Jezebel was rife all over the land -- especially among the priests.
John Hagees' clarification
You might give a person some time to speak for themselves. If anyone is familiar with his teaching then you'd know Pastor Hagee was NOT saying Jesus wasn't the Messiah.
A Special Message from Pastor John Hagee Regarding His Book "In Defense of Israel"
Dear Friend:
I am writing to share with you some important news pertaining to my latest book In Defense of Israel. It has come to my attention that my choice of language and some of the interpretation being given that language in Chapter Ten has caused some confusion and actually led some readers to question whether I believe that Jesus is the Messiah. If people are reaching such a conclusion, then I have clearly failed to communicate my views as well as I should have.
I have decided to release a new edition of In Defense of Israel with an expanded Chapter Ten. The new version will make the same point as the prior one, but using language which cannot mislead anyone about my bedrock belief that Jesus was and is Lord, Savior and Messiah.
I was surprised to learn that some people were interpreting my words as a rejection of this most fundamental Christian belief that Jesus came to earth as the Messiah promised in the Hebrew Scriptures. I have been preaching the gospel for half a century. Almost every Sunday for the past 50 years, I have stood in front of Christian audiences to clearly proclaim the glory of our Lord, Savior and Messiah, Jesus Christ. For the past 30 years, these weekly sermons have been beamed to millions around the world on Christian television.
Given my long years of preaching the gospel to so many, it simply never occurred to me that anyone would question my belief in the fundamentals of the faith. I chose to use challenging language that I hoped would confront the body of Christ to consider events from the Jewish and historical perspective and therefore develop greater empathy for our Jewish friends.
Over the centuries, Christians have been quick to condemn the Jews for failing to recognize Jesus as Messiah. This approach led to replacement theology and the viewpoint of some that God has rejected and broken covenant with the Jewish people. These ideas, in turn, opened the door to a vicious Christian anti-Semitism that led to the Crusades, the Inquisition and countless pogroms.
I tried to challenge this view by highlighting a distinction that has been long recognized in Christian theology between the role Jesus played in His first coming, and the role He will play in his second coming. Jesus came the first time as the suffering Messiah, as exemplified by His persecution, rejection and crucifixion. Jesus will come back as the reigning Messiah, who will rule the world from His throne in Jerusalem as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We Christians believe that the suffering Messiah was clearly foreshadowed in the writings of the Hebrew prophets. However, most Jews have never read the prophets in this way. The Jews were expecting the reigning Messiah. I know this, you know this, and our omniscient and omnipotent Savior knows this.
God could have sent His Son to earth as the reigning Messiah the Jews were expecting. Instead He chose to send Him as the suffering Messiah, who submitted to the Cross, and I thank Him every day that He did. But I also regret daily that this divine move has led so many of the fallen humans it saved to denigrate and persecute the Jewish people from whom our Lord sprang.
In the expanded Chapter Ten, I will make the same point with language that does not hide my own perspective on the matter. The primary change will involve how I use the word “Messiah.” In the expanded version, I will clarify the clear distinction between the “Suffering Messiah,” the Lamb of God and the “Reigning Messiah,” the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!
I am deeply grieved for any confusion my writing may have caused the body of Christ. It was never intended. I trust this letter and the expanded edition of In Defense of Israel will clarify what I believe. I also hope that we can return our focus to what I had anticipated to highlight all along, the fact that we Christians must shift from condemning the Jews for what they missed to thanking them for what they gave.
Blessings to you and those you love,
Pastor John Hagee
© John Hagee Ministries 2008
P: (210) 494-3900 | support@jhm.org
P.O. Box 1400 San Antonio Texas 78295-1400
Following Man or Following After God
It amazes me how so many people follow after man and they take what man says and not what the Bible says as how to live their life...Yes, these people are very charismatic but that does not mean to follow after them...Some people will leave their church when a pastor leaves due to the fact they were following after man and they cannot nor do they want to accept the new pastor...Many people are glued to their tvs watching a tv preacher and believing every word that comes out of their mouth but would never go to a church in their own town...The church has many in all denominations that are in the role of being a shepherd due to the fact of all the extras they get from being a pastor...Ezekiel 34 tells about the false sheperds and because of the false shepherds God's people has became prey and food for the beasts of the field (ie Satan) because there was no shepherd nor did My shepherds search for My flock but the shepherds fed themselves and not My flock....These false shepherds will have a severe judgment on them for leading people astray and not seeking what is lost, and bringing back what was driven away, not binding up the broken nor strengthening the sick.....
Faslse prophets and zionism.
I have just been reading about Edward Irving and Henry Drummond. It seems that the doctrine of dispensationalism and the Zionist cause were entwined with the new charasmatic movement.
Henry Drummond, banker to the monarchy and involved in business with many of the leaders of the enlightenment.
We need to ask for the holy spirit gift of discernment to truly separate the wolves from the true flock.
On the other hand however, I believe that if God could use a donkey to speak to Balaam, then He can use apostate televangelists.
God is not mocked.
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