In 2005, Pastor Pamela Shepard dreamt of televangelist Creflo Dollar. He had keloids all over his head and was wearing raggedy, old clothes so filthy that he looked like he had been sleeping in them. He ran into an elevator of a project ghetto that was drenched in urine, exited onto another floor and began knocking on doors. Creflo was trying to gather a choir of singers from the neighborhood for his next church project.
There was Creflo Dollar: multimillionaire pastor who had once fundraised for a private jet, stuck in a puddle of urine with worn out clothes, begging for help in a run-down building.
17 years later on July 3rd, 2022, Creflo Dollar made headlines for stating that his past teachings on tithing – his pride and joy of a doctrine for decades beforehand – were incorrect.
“I want to start off by saying to you that I’m still growing and that the teachings I’ve shared in the times past on the subject of tithing were not correct. And today, I stand in humility to correct some things I have taught for years and believed for years, but could never understand it clearly because I had not been confronted with the Gospel of grace, which has made the difference.”
“I won’t apologize ‘cause if it wasn’t for me going down that route, I would have never ended up where I am right now. But I will say that I have no shame at all saying to you, throw away every book, every tape and every video I did on the subject of tithing unless it lines up with this.”
The implications of both this confession and the dream need to be seriously evaluated because they raise the following question: if Creflo Dollar was in error about his teachings on tithing in relation to the prosperity gospel, what other false doctrines was his audience practicing?
How could one who is born again be portrayed as having keloids on their head and around the mind when they should be wearing the helmet of salvation? A keloid is a scar that has not healed correctly, and Creflo Dollar being in an elevator filled with urine and wearing raggedy clothes is symbolic of uncleanness and unrighteousness. The dream suggests that Creflo Dollar is not actually rich, but poor in a spiritual sense and that he is not born again.
What the Lord is saying with this dream is that when Creflo Dollar apologizes, do not accept it as it is a scam. He is not born again and is deceived, teaching in error and persisting in doing so despite the apology.
The Deception of Tongues
Creflo Dollar’s doctrines of the prosperity gospel and tongues were inspired by Kenneth Copeland, a prominent televangelist in the Charismatic movement. In the video above, we see Copeland with Dollar at his side as he speaks of an experience where a spirit came over him. Copeland soon found himself speaking in tongues to Creflo Dollar and even saying they interpreted their words to each other.
Tongues as defined in the Scriptures meant the speaking of different languages by the spirit. The “tongues” we hear in the church today (and even other religious buildings) is not a human language, but one that is uttered by evil spirits. They are two different things, with the current iteration of tongues being a tool by the devil.
Satan’s goal with tongues is to use the speaker to make a mockery of God by speaking forth evil upon ourselves, our families, loved ones, friends and nations all whilst being unaware of what we are saying. One could be speaking curses onto their own families and not even know it because they don’t understand what they’re saying. The words one speak have consequences in the spirit realm. How much more will those words do when the person is channeling evil spirits to speak through them?
We do not know if tongues has totally ceased. It is possible that in some part of the world that it is used legitimately. That said, it is much easier to interpret and translate other languages due to modern technology and the ability to learn languages being much more accessible than it was when the church spoke in tongues in the New Testament. Seek through the records of the church up to the 1900s and you will find there is no evidence of tongues being used.
We are in the 11th hour. This false practice of tongues is a latter-day assailment by the devil through the twisting of scripture to get people to curse themselves. The enemy has used prominent televangelists and church leaders to normalize the practice. This leads to the average person trying to achieve these things for themselves and opening the floodgates to spiritual torment and deception. We know because multiple clients have reported coming here because they experienced torment after speaking in tongues!
Evaluate Yourselves
This ties us to a vital point for any Christian: we must humble ourselves or we will be unfruitful in God.
Creflo Dollar failed to fully show humility here, making a point to say that he was not going to apologize because his mistakes got him to where he is today. When he said this, I was aghast at how he made the entire ordeal about himself. I wonder how many millions of people wrongly tithed and how many hurt their own livelihoods because of Creflo. I wonder how many went too far with it and lost their savings out of misplaced faith because of his teachings. And yet, he asserts that he does not even owe them an apology because those errors in teaching led him to where he is now.
There is no humility in this. I am of the opinion that one led by the Spirit would feel remorse for teaching false doctrines to whom they believed were the elect of God. I see no regard for the damage he has done to the people whose lives were hurt by excessive tithing.
Due to Creflo Dollar’s teachings on tithing and the prosperity gospel, the poor have gotten poorer. People went broke over this. The concept of tithing and giving was distorted into a lottery game, with people who had little income giving all they had. Tithing was taught as a necessity for holiness, meaning people were scared to not tithe and thought they would be cursed if they didn’t. This is more fear-based teaching in the church.
I state that Creflo Dollar and his followers would benefit from seriously reevaluating everything he has taught. The prosperity gospel and tongues are both prevalent in the church yet are false teachings that were warned about in Paul’s epistles.
When one persists in false doctrines and lies, they find themselves entangled in a tight web that permits them from growing spiritually, often without even realizing it.
The Godly reaction to learning that one is wrong in their teaching is to cease it altogether and diligently reexamine everything they know. Creflo Dollar has influenced millions of people into deception and falsehood yet is planning on continuing his teachings. He needs to examine himself and realize that he is not in the faith and give up teaching.
In Creflo Dollar’s case, it could take years to undo all the deception he has learned. It is because of cases like this that we must remain vigilant and examine ourselves, both for our own souls and the good of the brethren. Identifying these teachings and discarding them so one can follow a path of truth is the proper response to falsehoods like these.
Have you found yourself harmed by teachings you learned in church? Do you find yourself questioning some of its teachings or if God is even there? If you seek truth and want to guard your soul and spirit in Christ against the pitfalls and deceptions of the enemy, give EIC a call at 888-818-1117 or email rescueonfb@icloud.com.