How deceiver Derek Prince had the audacity to stand in front of born again, blood bought believers in Jesus Christ and tell them that "many" were, in all likelihood, under an ancestral curse is totally beyond me! I am writing this second post about Derek Prince because there are those who are associated with Derek Prince Ministries (DPM) who protest a little too loudly that I do not understand Prince's teaching about curses and blessings. Very sadly, I can say that I do understand all too well. I have re-visited this subject in order to reiterate my warnings about the deviant teachings of this man.
Derek Prince claimed to show three things in his ten part teaching about curses and blessings: 1, what the symptoms are of being under a curse; 2, where curses can come from, and 3, how to be free: How To Pass From Curse to Blessing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsOhODrm67k
Prince claimed that many Christians come under generational curses, going back hundreds or even thousands of years.{1} According to the scriptures however, a familial curse is not effective for longer than 128 years at the most (Numbers 14:18). A generation in human terms typically ranges from 22 to 32 years.{2}
The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation. (Numbers 14:18 cf. Exodus 34:7)
Derek Prince: "In my opinion it’s scarcely worth ministering in Southeast Asia if you can’t deal with the subject of the curse because basically ninety-five percent of all the people there are under a curse." {3}
Derek Prince: "Many here tonight are fighting something that you don't fully understand in your own life. Some kind of frustration, something that every time you are about to succeed intervenes and keeps you from success. Something that holds you back from being a complete person, from being completely free, from being able to serve the Lord the way you would wish to, from leading a life of real victory. I believe in many cases, the problem that you are fighting with, that you have never diagnosed, you have never come fully to grips with, is that there is a curse over your life."
Derek Prince's answer to generational curses: "The prayer of release from a curse". {4}
Prince's statements above are some of the most wicked deceitful words I have ever heard! Sadly he found no difficulty in finding naive believers who identified with his message. There are no shortage of Christians who find themselves struggling in their walk with the Lord and who have become the victim of Prince's false diagnosis of non-existent curses. What Prince failed to mention is the fact that it would be strange if difficulties were not the case. The scriptures are very clear that various problems will beset believers (1 Peter 4:12). Jesus warned his potential followers to count the cost of discipleship (Luke 14:27-29). The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life (Matthew 7:14; cf. Matthew 5:2-12; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Philippians 1:29; 1 Peter 4:14). The Apostle Paul confessed his struggles with the flesh: For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:15-23 cf. Galatians 5:17). Paul's story is hardly one of "success" or "victory" in worldly terms; he was shipwrecked, stoned and beaten with rods three times (2 Corinthians 11:25). At one stage, Paul and his companions were so burdened beyond their strength that they despaired of life itself. (2 Corinthians 1:8). Ultimately all the disciples were martyred except John. Were they under a curse? Nowhere in the New Testament does it state that genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can be under a generational curse, and furthermore the apostles taught no such thing! I have personally known Christians who have received "prayers of release/deliverance ministry" several times, but inevitably their struggles continue, and tragically they remain convinced that they are still under some unidentified curse, or that they have a demon. Hence many Christians go back again and again for this kind of "ministry" and are bound to a vicious circle of doubt and oppression, never believing that they are quite free, convinced that something more from the past needs to be exposed in order to release them. The suggestion that ancestral curses have to be dealt with in an extrabiblical manner by some curse-buster or guru is to suggest that the cross alone is in some way deficient in the area of ancestral curses. This powerful lie from the pit of hell is so serious that it actually mounts a bid to strip the cross of Christ of its power and belies the scriptures. It is a very subtle way of making us doubt the word of God which is exactly what Satan wants!
In order to promote his deviant teaching about ancestral curses, Derek Prince used examples of his own spiritual experiences and various "words from the Lord" which he then tied into Old Testament curses. In this specific teaching on YouTube, he spends some time on the twelve curses listed in Deuteronomy 27. These curses were pronounced by the Levitical priests and were to be set up on Mount Ebal once the Israelites had entered the promised land. The curses would be the inevitable result turning away from God and breaking the law of Moses. Prince suggests that these particular curses may be affecting people in his audience, but this is ridiculous. Firstly, we are going back thousands of years, not three or four generations; secondly, we are speaking specifically about curses upon the Israelites, and thirdly, the new birth is required (John 3:18), all who rely on works of the law are under a curse (Galatians 3:10). At Sinai, Moses sprinkled the blood of animals on the altar and upon the people who entered into covenant with God (Exodus 24: 3-8). Once the Israelites entered into the covenant at Sinai, what God required was obedience. God gave no special "prayer of release from an ancestral curse" to Moses and the Israelites in relation to their 400 years spent in Egypt and similarly none is required for Christians. Since we are to make parallels with the Israelites as believers, then we must see that once the Israelites came out of Egypt, generational curses were not an issue. The New Testament identifies the problem: their hearts turned back to Egypt (Acts 7:9; cf. Deuteronomy 30:17). Similarly if we disobey the commandments in the New Testament (John 13:34), then inevitably, there will be consequences (1 Corinthians 10:11). Notice that the key is obedience, forgetting those things that lie behind and straining forward to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13). When we do fail for any reason, then we need to repent. If any ancestral sins did exist before we were converted, the moment we were born again we became a new creation in Christ, the old has passed away; behold, the new has come (1 Corinthians 5:17). We passed from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). The teachings of Derek Prince would destroy our peace in Christ and cause us go backwards, denying what the Lord has achieved on the cross into bondage, curses, death and darkness! Ironically, in preaching a gospel contrary to the scriptures, Prince would have been under a self inflicted curse himself (Galatians 1:8-9).
An important example is Jesus' letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 which identify various critical problems within certain congregations. The remedy was/is repentance (Revelation 2:5, 16, 21, 22). The consequences of remaining unrepentant are dire indeed, but note that nothing more than repentance is needed to restore a right relationship to God. To pray a "prayer of release from a curse" is extrabiblical. Do we really want to be guilty of going beyond what is written and adding to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 1:19; Revelation 22:18; Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6)?
THE TRUTH is that anyone coming to faith in Jesus Christ is transformed into a new creation upon conversion: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4 cf. Isaiah 43:18; Ezekiel 36:26). Believers have no remit to go digging around in the past looking for curses, to do such a thing is sinful! Jesus Christ has blessed true believers with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3 cf. Philippians 3:13). Can someone be blessed and cursed at the same time? We can blame the oppression of Satan, the flesh or the world for our difficulties, but never an ancestral curse (Luke 4:18; John 8:32-36; Romans 8:2). The Apostle Paul taught that our way of thinking needs to be renewed in order to come into agreement with the Word of God (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 4:23 cf. Romans 6:4; Colossians 3:10 cf. 1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 9:14).
Derek Prince: "Men representing God are authorised to curse things."
Prince: "... Cursing is part of the ministry of a man of God... men of God not only bless, they also curse....." {5}
Whom did Derek Prince expect Christians to curse? Their enemies? (Matthew 5:44; Mark 11:26; Luke 6:28), or another believer whom we hold something against? (Matthew 18:21). Jesus Christ was quite specific about the consequences of unforgiveness! Paul also instructed: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. (Romans 12:14, 2; 1 Corinthians 4:11-12; cf. 1 Peter 3:9; James 3:9). It is clear that followers of Jesus Christ are never permitted to appeal to the precedent of David, Elijah or anyone else in the Old Testament to justify treating enemies in ways that contradict His example and teachings.
Prince gives various examples from the Old Testament in order to justify cursing:
Joshua's curse on the man to rebuild the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:26). Joshua's curse was fulfilled approximately 500 years later during the reign of Ahab, when Hiel, a Bethelite, rebuilt Jericho at the cost of his firstborn and youngest sons (1 Kings 16:34). Prince wanders off into his own eisegetical interpretation, surmising that Hiel's sons wasted away, the cause being undiagnosed by doctors! In fact, Hiel and all Israel would undoubtedly have been aware of Joshua's curse. Actually the manner of the fulfilment of the curse is disputed since there is some question about whether Hiel rebuilt Jericho in defiance of the curse, or whether his sons were intentionally sacrificed. {6}
The curse of an Old Testament prophet was an inspired prediction of punitive disaster, it did not come from the flesh. Elisha pronounced inspired judgement upon the sin of Gehazi who had lied in vain to the Holy Spirit. The apostles were also so gifted (Acts 5:1-10). We should not confuse this with modern day false "prophets" like Benny Hinn who pronounced a curse upon his detractors. {7}
The Fig Tree
When the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:20-22)
Derek Prince: "Jesus said to them (his disciples) 'you will not only do what was done to the fig tree'... he said 'you can also speak to a mountain'..... notice He authorised them to curse things. I tell you, the power that we have, if we could but realise it, is frightening. We are really rather like Moses - You see a lot of us are like that, we are holding a staff in our hands, we don't realise that if we hold a staff in our hand it can turn into a snake."
Prince's teaching of Jesus' curse on the fig tree is immensely deceptive. There are two accounts of this event in the New Testament: Matthew 21:18-22 and Mark 11:12-14. Critically, Prince completely fails to explain that the fig tree symbolically represents Israel (Hosea 9:10; Matthew 24:32-35). Jesus' curse upon the fig tree symbolises the judgement and rejection of God and His judgement on Israel for failing to bear the fruit he required from the temple. It foreshadows the cleansing of the temple (Mark 11:15-19) and ultimately the prophecy of its destruction. Jesus frequently used the allegory of trees and fruit (Matthew 3:10; 7:19; Luke 3:9; 13:6-9; John 15:2-6). No argument can be made that the example of the fig tree gives Christians authority to pronounce curses on individuals or things at will, especially in view of Jesus' unequivocal teaching about how we should treat our enemies. Such actions belong to the realm of witchcraft and Satanism! God alone is the One who will decide what kind of corrective action will need to be taken with the enemies in our lives, we have no such remit!
Self Imposed Curses
Four godly men in the Old Testament are known to have had a death wish: Elijah (1 Kings 19:4), Job (Job 3:1-2), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14) and Jonah (Jonah 4:8). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul and his companions were so utterly burdened beyond their strength that they despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:8). None of these men were under a curse, they undoubtedly fell temporarily into fear, exhaustion and depression at particular times. In other words, they had weaknesses like every one of us. For the Christian, the answer to depression is always to turn directly to God for the answers and for strength. Once again, we do not need to turn to some self appointed guru to obtain release from "the spirit of death" as taught by Derek Prince. Jesus Christ himself was in intense anguish in the garden of Gethsemane and was very sorrowful, even to death (Matthew 26:38). Was Jesus Christ under a curse? Genuine Christians are blessed even in times of depression and weakness. We were darkness, but now we are sons of light and are light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8; Luke 16:8; John 12:36). Paul's mission to the Gentiles was to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus. (Acts 26:17-18). We see then that Christians are not under the power of curses in any respect once they have truly repented and are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.
Demonization
The definition the Greek word daimonizomai (δαιμονίζομαι) Strong's 1139 = possessed, or to be under the power of an evil spirit or demon - to be oppressed and possessed by a demon.{8}
Derek Prince made a very poor argument that "demon possessed" is a mistranslation of the word daimonizomai.{9} In fact, in context, those whom Jesus delivered from demons in the gospels were manifesting actual possession e.g. Legion: Jesus commanded the unclean spirit/s to come out of the man and the demons pleaded: “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.”(Mark 5:1-13). Similarly, the boy with an evil spirit that made him mute was possessed. Jesus commanded: “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again. (Mark 9:14-29). My own view is that if a demon has entered a person, if it actually dwells inside a person (Matthew 12:45) and is controlling them, then "possession" is an appropriate word. In Prince's language, there is no distinction between a Christian who is "demonised" and Legion or the boy with an evil spirit whom Jesus delivered. In Prince's thinking their condition is identical. In fact ancient Jewish writers confirm the scriptural view of demon possession as expressed by Flavius Josephus and many others.{10} Derek Prince's ideas on the subject were neither scriptural nor historical (Romans 12:3).
There is a vast difference between being oppressed from without by Satan, and being possessed or "demonized" as Prince put it. Christians have been bought with a price (I Corinthians 7:23), they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, they cannot be indwelt by demons. Those who follow Jesus have passed from death to life (Romans 12:3; John 8:12).
I have written this post in order to repeat my dire warnings about the teachings of Derek Prince, which in my view are pure poison to true followers of Jesus Christ. My previous post covered Prince's ecumenical activities, his association with the Vatican and his leadership role within the infamous Shepherding Movement.{11} Just how many "mistakes" are we supposed to overlook in the case of this wolf in sheep's clothing? It takes rather more than intelligence and pedigree to be a true teacher and servant of the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:19; James 3:1). Below Prince admits his mistakes whilst leading the Shepherding Movement, including the sins of personal ambition and legalism. Incredibly he stated that his ministry "took off" after his disassociation from the Shepherding Movement which shattered so many lives. It may have "taken off" numerically, but ultimately it is doubtful how much fruit this man's "ministry" actually produced!
DPM always refer to "Derek's teachings", and this is precisely what they are! They are not Jesus' and the apostles teachings, and they do not pass the test of scripture (1 John 4:1; cf. Matthew 7:15, 24:11). The most deadly form of teaching is the mixture, when truth and error are combined (Deuteronomy 22:11; Hebrews 10:22). Prince's "teachings" are aired by Derek Prince Legacy Radio and iTunes. They are also aired on apostate TV channels like God TV, TBN and Revelation TV, and they are also widely available on YouTube. It seems to me that DPM have more than your freedom in view (Ezekiel 22:27)! DPM is no small operation! They operate in over 140 countries with 45 offices around the world, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. They boast of promoting over 50 books, 600 audio and 110 video teachings.{12} Large amounts of money are involved through donations, the sale of videotapes, literature, books, paraphernalia etc. Turnover in the UK alone stands at £811,035 {13} with donations alone totalling £876,40 in 2015.{14} To a large degree I believe that the commercial activities of DPM, rather than any love for the truth, explains the hostility that is being directed against me by various DPM associates.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
.....if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)
If you are associated with DPM or if you earn your living from this ministry, then you need to prayerfully consider the teachings that you promote and their crippling effect upon the Body of Christ. Please do not write to me again with your "experiences" or your opinions. I am always ready to argue from the Word of God, but if you are not prepared to test the spirits then I have nothing to say to you (1 John 4:1; cf. John 10:13).
{1} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpuEn85G9mc.
{2} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_time
{3} http://www.derekprince.org/Articles/1000085373/DPM_USA/Archive_of_UK/Keys/Blessings_and_Curses/Causes_of_Curses.aspx
{4} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsOhODrm67k
{5} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RupeqW1NC2A&list=PL16919B450DF02A6A&index=4
{6} https://www.jstor.org/stable/3140746?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
{7} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wAQ5ftiEqE
{8} http://biblehub.com/greek/1139.htm
{9} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RupeqW1NC2A
{10} http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5942-exorcism
{11} http://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/derek-prince-false-teacher-wolf-in.html
{12} http://www.dpmuk.org/about/
{13} http://directory.uk-b2b-info.com/org/charity/1123283/derek-prince-ministries-uk/
{14} http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends83/0001123283_AC_20150630_E_C.pdf.
