Hagin Or Kenyon

Hagin Or Kenyon?

In his book, "A Different Gospel", D.R. McConnell shows that the real father of the WOF movement is E.W. Kenyon, who died in 1948. McConnell shows that Kenyon was heavily influenced by the Mind Science cults.

McConnell records this statement from John Kennington, once a follower of E.W. Kenyon,

"At one time, I was a blind follower of Kenyon... Now with the passing of a little time and with a little more understanding, I have come to realize that E.W. Kenyon has simply 'baptized' many concepts from Christian Science. In so doing, he became a source for a form of 'Pentecostal Christian Science,' even though Kenyon himself was not a Pentecostal" (McConnell, "A Different Gospel," p.15).

McConnell documents that Kenneth Hagin, who is viewed today as being the father and founder of the Word-Faith/Positive Confession Movement, actually plagiarized Kenyon, getting most of his teaching from Kenyon's published works.(Ibid., p.6).

Look at the samples below to see how Hagin copied the writings of Kenyon. The original works are the rights of Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society.

Essek William Kenyon	Kenneth E. Hagin, Sr.
The twenty-second Psalm gives a graphic picture of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is more vivid than that of John, Matthew or Mark who witnessed it. But He says the strangest words, "But thou are holy." What does that mean? He is becoming sin. Can you hear those parched lips cry, "I am a worm and no man."? He is spiritually dead. The worm. Jesus had died of a ruptured heart. When that happened, blood from all parts of the body poured in through the rent, into the sack that holds the heart. Then as the body cooled, the red corpuscles coagulated and rose to the top. The white serum settled to the bottom. When that Roman soldier's spear pierced the sack, water poured out first. Then the coagulated blood oozed out, rolled down His side onto the ground, and John bore witness of it. (What happened from the Cross to the Throne [Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1969, 44-45])	The 22nd Psalm gives a graphic picture of the crucifixion of Jesus-more vivid than that of John, Matthew or Mark who witnessed it. He utters the strange words "But thou are holy." What does that mean? He is becoming sin. . . . His parched lips cry, "I am a worm and no man." He is spiritually dead-the worm. Jesus died of a ruptured heart. When it happened, blood from all parts of His body poured through the rent into the sack which holds the heart. As the body cooled, the red corpuscles coagulated and rose to the top, the white serum settled to the bottom. When that Roman spear pierced the sack, water poured out first, then the coagulated blood oozed out, rolling down his side onto the ground. John bore witness of it. ("Christ our Substitute", The Word of Faith [March 1975]), pp. 1,4,5,7)
At once you ask, "What does identification mean?" It means our complete union with Him in His Substitutionary Sacrifice. This gives us the key which unlocks the great teaching of identification. Christ became one with us in sin that we might become one with Him in righteousness. He became as we were to the end that we might become as He is now. ...He died to make us live ...He became weak to make us strong. He suffered shame to give us glory. He went to hell to take us to heaven. He was condemned to justify us. He was made sick that healing might be ours. (Identification: A Romance in Redemption [Seattle:Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1968], 6, 7)	What does identification mean? It means our complete union with Christ. This gives us the key which unlocks the great teachings of identification. Christ became one with us in sin that we might become one with Him in righteousness. He became as we were to the end that we might become as He is now. He died to make us live. He became weak to make us strong. He suffered shame to give us glory. He went to hell to take us to heaven. He was condemned to justify us. He was made sick that healing might be ours. ("The Resurrection! What it Gives Us. . ." The Word Of Faith [April 1977], p.5)
The picture here is of Christ. . . in awful combat with the hosts of darkness. It gives us a glimpse of the tremendous battle and victory that Jesus won before He rose from the dead. The margin reads: "Having put off from Himself the principalities and powers." It is evident that the whole demon host, when they saw Jesus in their power simply intended to swamp Him, overwhelm Him, and they held Him in fearful bondage until the cry came forth from the throne of God that Jesus had met the demands of justice; that the sin problem was settled and man's redemption was a fact. When this cry reached the dark regions, Jesus rose and hurled back the host of darkness, and met Satan in awful combat. God has made this investment for the benefit of the Church: He has made this deposit on which the Church has a right to draw for Her every need. Oh, that our eyes were open; that our souls would dare rise into the realm of the Omnipotence where the Name would mean to us all that the Father has invested in it. . . . This is practically an unexplored tableland in Christian experience. (The Wondeful Name Of Jesus [Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1927], 8, 9, 11)	Here is a picture of Christ in awful combat with the hosts of darkness. It gives us a glimpse of the tremendous victory He won before He rose from the dead. The margin of King James reads, "He put off from Himself the principalities and the powers." It is quite obvious and evident that whole demon hosts, when they had Jesus within their power intended to swamp Him, to overwhelm Him, and to hold Him in fearful bondage. But the cry came forth from the throne of God that Jesus had met the demands of Justice, that the sin problem had been settled, that man's redemption was a fact. And when that cry reached the dark regions, Jesus arose and threw back the host of demons and met Satan in awful combat. God has made this investment for the church. He has made this deposit on which the church has a right to draw for her every need. Oh that our eyes would open, that our souls would dare to rise in the realm of the omnipotent where that name would mean to us all that God the Father intended it to mean! In one sense, this is practically unexplored table land in Christian experience. ("The Name Of Jesus: The More Excellent Name," The Word of Faith [April 1976], pp. 4-6)
You must have seen as you have studied this book that healing is spiritual. It is not mental as Christian Science and Unity and other metaphysical teachers claim. Neither is it physical as the medical world teaches. When man heals, he must either do it through the mind. . . or he does it through the physical body. . . When God heals He heals through the spirit. We can understand that the greatest forces in life are spiritual forces. Love and hate, fear and faith, joy and grief, are all of the spirit. (Jesus the Healer [Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1940], p. 90)	God's method of physical healing is spiritual. It is not mental as Christian Science, Unity and other metaphysical teachers claim. Neither is it physical as the medical world teaches. When man heals, he must do it either through the mind or through the physical body. When God heals He heals through the human spirit, for God is a Spirit. Life's greatest forces are spiritual forces. . . . Love and hate, faith and fear, joy and peace, are all of the spirit. ("Spirit, Soul, & Body; Part Three: God Heals through the Spirit of Man," Word of Faith [December 1977], p.5)
That is, there will be enmity between Satan and the woman.This is proved by woman's history. She has been bought and sold as common chattel. Only where Christianity has reached the hearts of a country has woman ever received any treatment that would lift her above the brute creation. . . . and woman's seed is Christ. Christ was hunted from His babyhood by Satan's seed until finally they nailed him to the cross; and from the resurrection of Jesus until this day, the church has been the subject of the bitterest persecution and enmity of the world. "He shall bruise thy head" - that is, the head of Satan. In all Oriental languages the term "bruise the head" means breaking the lordship of a ruler. "The heel" is the Church in its earth walk. The long ages of persecution of the Church by the seed of Satan are a matter of history. (The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption [Seattle:Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1969], p. 58)	The fact that there is enmity between Satan and the woman is seen through woman's history. . . . She has been bought and sold as common chattel. Only where Christianity has reached the heart of the country has woman been elevated above the brute creation. Woman's seed is Christ. Christ was hunted from His babyhood by Satan's seed until finally He was nailed to the cross. From the resurrection of Jesus until this day, the church has been the subject of the bitterest persecution and enmity of the world. "and it ... shall bruise thy head" (the head of Satan). In Oriental languages "bruising the head" means breaking the lordship of a ruler. "The heel" is the Church in its earth walk. . . .The long ages of persecution of the Church by the seed of Satan are today merely a matter of history. ("Incarnation," Word of Faith [December 1978], p. 4)
...in Gen. 18 God refused to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until He had talked it over with His blood covenant friend, Abraham. Abraham's prayer . . . is one of the most illuminating and suggestive prayers of the Old Testament ... Abraham was taking his in the covenant. Abraham had through the Covenant received rights and privileges that we little understand. The Covenant that Abraham had just solemnized with Jehovah gave him a legal standing with God. We hear him speak so plainly, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" All through the Old Covenant we find men who understood and took their place in the Covenant. Joshua could open the Jordan. He could command the sun, moon and stars to stand still in the heavens. Elijah could bring fire out of heaven to consume the offering as well as the altar. David's mighty men were utterly shielded from death in their wars. They became supermen as long as they remembered the covenant. (The Two Kinds of Faith [Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1969], pp. 76-84)	Here is Genesis, God refused to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until He had talked it over with Abraham, His blood covenant friend. Abraham's prayer is one of the most suggestive and illuminating prayers of the Old Testament. Abraham was taking his in the covenant. Abraham had, through the covenant, received rights and privileges which we very little understand. The covenant Abraham had just solemnized with Jehovah gave him a legal standing with God.... we hear him speaking so plainly... "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" All through the Old Testament we find men who understood and took their place in the covenant. Joshua could open the Jordan. He could command the sun, moon and stars to stand still in the heavens. Elijah could bring fire out of heaven to consume the altar as well as the sacrifice. David's mighty men were utterly shielded from death in time of war as long as they remembered the covenant. (Plead Your Case [Tulsa: Faith Library, 1979]), pp. 4-9; cf. pp. 23-32)
Jesus gave us the first intimation of what this Life would do for man. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." There are four Greek words translated "life" ... in the New Testament. The first one is psuche which means natural, human life. The second is bios which means manner of life.... The third is anastrophee which ... means "a confused behavior." It is a strange thing that the Church has majored in "manner of life" or "behavior" rather than Eternal Life which determines in a very large way the "manner of life." Receiving Eternal Life is the most miraculous incident or event in life. It is called conversion, the New Birth and the New Creator. Some have called it "getting religion." It is, in reality, God imparting His very Nature, Substance, and Being to our human spirits. (Two kinds of Life [Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1971], pp. 2-3)	In John 1:4 we get the first intimation of what this life will do for us: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."" There are four different Greek words translated "life" in the New Testament. First, there is zoe. Then there is psuche. That means natural or human life. Bios means manner of life. And anastrophee means confused behavior. It seems strange that the Church has majored in "manner of life" or "behavior" rather than eternal life, which determines in a very large way the manner of life. Receiving eternal life is the most miraculous incident in life. Often we call it conversion or the new birth. Some call it "getting religion," but that's not what it is really. It is, in reality, God imparting His very Nature, substance, and being to our human spirits. (The God Kind of Life [Tulsa: Faith Library, 1981], pp. 1-2, 9)
Man is a spirit being, he has a soul, and he lives . . . in a body. He is in the same class as God. We know that God is a spirit ...and He became a man took on a man's body, and when He did it He was no less God than He was before He took the physical body... Man, at death, leaves his physical body and is no less man than he was when he had his ... body. (The Hidden Man [Seattle: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1970], p.40; Two Kinds of Faith, p. 3)	Man is a spirit who possesses a soul and lives in a body....He is in the same class with God. We know that God is a Spirit. And yet [He] took upon Himself a man's body....when God took upon Himself human form, He was no less God than when He didn't have a body. Man, at physical death, leaves his body. Yet he is no less man than he was when he had his body. (Man of Three Dimensions [Tulsa: Faith Library, 1973], no page)

Kenneth Hagin

Kenneth E. Hagin (born 1917) began his ministry in Texas in 1934 at the age of 17. In 1974 the RHEMA Bible Training Center was founded, which was changed to RHEMA Bible Church (a.k.a. Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc.) in 1978. The Training Center is located on a more than 100-acre campus consisting of 20 buildings, including a 96-unit student housing complex and a Prayer and Healing Center (PHC). Since the 1974-75 charter class graduated 58 students, RHEMA has provided training to more than 16,500 graduates. Internationally, RHEMA Bible Training Centre South Africa has graduated over 5,600 students since its inception in 1980. There are also RHEMA Training Centers in Australia and Canada.

Hagin promises health and wealth to Christians, and says: "All you have to do is visualize it, speak it into existence." Hagin claims that Jesus appeared to him in a vision in 1950 and gave him a special anointing to minister to the sick (4/96, The Word of Faith). After a 1952 vision, Hagin says: "[N]ow when I minister and lay hands on people, I can tell if there is an evil spirit present either through the word of knowledge or the discerning of spirits." He relates a time when "there stood Jesus right in front of me" (after a failed healing) and said Jesus pointed His finger at him, almost touching his nose. Jesus supposedly said, "I told you, 'If you feel that fire jumping from hand to hand like heat waves, there is a demon or evil spirit in the body. Call him out in my name and he will leave.'" (Reported in the 7/1/96, Calvary Contender.)

In his The Word of Faith magazine, Hagin teaches the following heresies: Receiving healing, just as receiving salvation, is simply a matter of appropriating what already belongs to us (6/90); healing is included in the gospel (8/92); God does not afflict people with sickness and disease (12/90); he (Hagin) went to Heaven and talked with his sister (6/91); Jesus appeared to him in a vision in 1950 (8/91); he once went to hell in an out-of-body experience (9/91); he does not believe in sickness and disease (7/92); it is always God's will to heal the sick (12/92); believers have a legal and redemptive right to divine healing (1/93). Hagin says: "Your confession of faith in God's Word will bring healing or whatever it is you need from God into the present tense and make it a reality in your life!" (12/92). (Reported in the 2/1/93, Calvary Contender.)

Jesus taught about having faith in God, but hagin teaches about having faith in your faith. In his book, Having Faith in Your Faith, hagin teaches that for a pastor or anyone to drive a Chevrolet instead of a luxury car isn't "being humble, that's being ignorant" of God's "law of prosperity" that works for "whoever you are," saint or sinner. Hagin claims Jesus told him, "If anybody, anywhere, will ... put these [positive confession] principles into operation, he will always have whatever he wants from Me or God the Father" (Charismatic Chaos, p. 281).

In an early-1990s edition of his magazine, The Word of Faith, in an article entitled, "You Can Have What You Say" hagin states:

"Often you create your own negative situations yourself with wrong thinking, wrong believing, and wrong speaking. So start believing according to God's Word. Then begin making positive confessions of faith and victory over your life. ... You will never receive anything from God beyond the words you speak. ... If you don't like what you have in life, then begin to change the way you are thinking, believing, and speaking. Instead of speaking according to natural circumstances out of your head, learn to speak God's Word from your spirit. Begin to confess God's promises of life and health and victory into your situation. Then you can begin to enjoy God's abundant life as you have what you say!"

The above statement is what is at the heart of the Positive Confession Movement, or "name-it-and-claim-it" gospel as it is also known. It is a charismatic form of Christian Science. This can be substantiated by simply comparing the similarities in their common beliefs, Christian Science states that;
To get rid of sin through Science, is to divert sin of any supposed mind or reality, and never to admit that sin can have intelligence or power, pain or pleasure. You conquer error by denying its verity (SH, 339:28-31)

Hagin tells us, "The believer is as much an incarnation of God as Jesus Christ." He also tells us that, "If we ever wake up and realize who we are, we'll start doing the work that we're supposed to do. Because the church hasn't realized yet that they are Christ. That's who they are. They are Christ."

When one starts believing that he is Christ, with the power of Christ to create reality, the stories become ludicrous. Surely Hagin has the most unusual story of all. He says that when he was younger and still single, God led him to break off a relationship with a woman by revealing to him that she was morally unfit. Hagin claims God miraculously transported him out of church one Sunday, right in the middle of the sermon. Worst of all, Hagin was the preacher delivering the sermon! (Charismatic Chaos, p. 49.)

In How to Write Your Own Ticket with God (Tulsa: Faith Library, 1979), Hagin sees a vision of Jesus, and says to Him, "Dear Lord, I have two sermons I preach concerning the woman who touched Your clothes and was healed when You were on earth. I received both of these sermons by inspiration." Later, Hagin quotes what Jesus told him in reply: "You are correct. My Spirit, the Holy Spirit, has endeavored to get another sermon into your spirit, but you have failed to pick it up. While I am here, I will do as you ask. I will give you that sermon outline. Now get your pencil and paper and write it down."

Hagin claims to have received numerous visions, as well as eight personal visitations from Jesus, seven times Jesus was barefoot; the other time Jesus was wearing Roman sandals, and came into Hagin's room, sat down by his bedside, and talked with him for about 30 minutes. During that time, Jesus allegedly taught Hagin how to be led by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. Hagin describes Jesus as 5'11" tall and weighing about 180 pounds. (3/4/96, Christian News, p.12)

Hagin claims that he knows that Paul wrote Hebrews because Jesus appeared to him (Hagin) and told him so, also:

"The Lord Himself taught me about prosperity. I never read about it in a book. I got it directly from heaven" (How God Taught Me About Prosperity, Tulsa: Faith Library, 1985).

The above claim, of course, is a lie (see Hagin or Kenyon above). Here are six of the direct revelations and/or direct "anointings" Kenneth Hagin claims to have received from the Lord. All the quotes are from The Word of Faith magazine:

"'...You have learned faith both through My Word and by experience. Now go teach my people what I've taught you. Go teach My people faith.' These words, spoken years ago by the Head of the Church to Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin, have never lost their sense of divine urgency, Decades have passed, and that heavenly commission still stands" (11/96).
"In March 1945 ... On Sunday afternoon I was lying on the living room floor. The Holy Ghost said, 'When you're in your sixties, the two main thrusts of your ministry will be radio and the printed page'" (11/96).
"Then almost twenty years later in 1963, during an unusual time of prayer at a meeting in Houston, the Lord told me four things to do: Go to neutral places to hold my own 'All Faiths Crusades' and invite everyone to come; put all my teachings from my daytime teachings on tape; and get on the radio and teach don't preach (11/96).
"Waves of God's glory swept through the sanctuary, and people broke out in Holy Ghost laughter or dancing in the Spirit. Then Brother Hagin began laying hands on various people in the audience, telling them to 'Be blessed!' He was operating under such a strong anointing that ENTIRE ROWS OF PEOPLE WOULD FALL UNDER THE POWER OF GOD when Brother Hagin touched the first person in the row or at times just walked by the row! Afterwards, Brother Hagin began to close the service but the Holy Ghost arrested him, striking him dumb or mute by the power of God! For the next hour, Brother Hagin, unable to speak himself, walked throughout the audience, handing various ministers the microphone so the minister could speak as the Lord led him. But the moment Brother Hagin gave the microphone to someone, THAT MINISTER WAS EITHER STRUCK DUMB, FELL UNDER THE POWER OF GOD, OR WAS OVERCOME BY HOLY GHOST LAUGHTER" (Description of a meeting conducted by Kenneth Hagin at the Winter Bible Seminar '96 on the RHEMA campus, 5/96).
"One morning at a recent Holy Ghost Meeting, the Lord asked me a question ... The Lord said to me, 'Do you think I'd ask you to do something that I wouldn't be willing to do?'" (10/96).
Claims the Lord spoke audibly to him and told him when was the proper time to applaud (clap) during a worship service: "The Lord didn't say, 'Don't ever clap.' He was explaining the right and wrong time to clap. ... I'm only telling you what the Lord told me!" (10/96).

Everybody is claiming God speaks to them, and wants everyone else to believe that God is giving information to them. It is no suprise that God is apparently telling the Word-Faith people exactly what they want Him to say.

God according to the Word-Faith Movement is not a sovereign God, He is not Lord of all. (See Psalm 103:19; 1 Tim 6:15), you will not find any reference to the sovereignty of God in any of their writings or sermons. According to Word-Faith teaching, Jesus has no authority on earth: it is all delegated to the Church. In Kenneth Hagin's book entitled, "The Authority of the Believer," he says that 'Jesus has no authority, He delegated it all to the Church; we are in charge of God and we are in charge of Jesus.' The Word-Faith Movement teaches that God can't work unless we release Him to work; He is bound by spiritual laws that govern health and prosperity, He is dependent on human instruments; He is dependent on human faith; if we say the right words, or if we have the right faith, God is forced to act in response to those human words to get His work done. In other words if you have enough faith/ability to create with your words, you can get money; healings; whatever you want.

With so much creative power in your words, there is no need to pray to God for anything, He has given the sovereignty to you, He has yielded up His creative power to you; it's not His word anymore, it was His word the first time, it is your word now. The Word-Faith Movement does not need God, they have the dominion and creative power, they speak it into existence, the Word-Faith movement teaches that when you become a Christian you become part of a race of little gods. It is human pride and idolitary at its ugliest. One of their teachers, Norval Hayes, says it is better to talk to your checkbook, talk to your disease, or talk to whatever predicament you're in than to turn to God in prayer.

This is the sort of doctrine people are exposed to if they dont have a closed Canon, if they believe that Scripture did not end with the Book of Revelation, that God is still giving revelation, they are swayed by every wind of false doctrine.