The Expositor’s Study Bible or The Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles

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By Mark W. Swarbrick

The Dangers of the Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles or The Expositor’s Study Bible

Learn the Dangers of the Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles. This article discusses the strange doctrines of the Jimmy Swaggart Expositor’s Study Bible also known as the Jimmy Swaggart Bible.

Strange Doctrines of the Jimmy Swaggart Expositors Bible, The Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study BibleGet my book Swaggartism, on sale for only $4.99. Click book image to the left to purchase.  In it I delineate the false teachings contained in Swaggart’s biblical commentary. This article will give you a sample of what is exposed in my book, such as Jimmy Swaggart’s heretical claim that he audibly received a new doctrinal revelation from God that is more light than the Church has ever known, that only the Swaggart denomination has this revelation, that all other churches are corrupt and have lost the true Gospel, that the Apostle Paul was a blatant sinner while he ministered, and that anyone who does not speak in tongues is of “little worth in the Kingdom of God.”

Heretical and strange teachings:

The Jimmy Swaggart Bible, also called the Jimmy Swaggart Expositor’s Study Bible is not your usual type of study Bible.  Typically biblical commentaries are written and compiled by learned scholars and theologians, in some cases even a council of such. In the case of the Jimmy Swaggart Bible, all the commentary is written entirely by Jimmy Swaggart, and since he did not finish high school it is understandable  that the work suffers from a lack of scholarship. This would account, in part, for the plethora of heretical and strange teachings throughout the commentary.

Heaven is a planet?

That’s not to say you need a high school education to be a minister or to understand God’s word. But if you are going to proclaim yourself a scholar and sit in judgment of God’s word (as you will soon see that he does) and correct and repeatedly insist passages should have been translated differently than any other translation has them, then you had best be an expert in the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek so as to support your suppositions. Jimmy Swaggart has no such training and when you read his words that heaven is a planet somewhere to the north, your first thought is, which way is north in outer space and your second thought is that expounding Scripture without an education in simple science may lead to some very strange doctrines.

An Altered King James Version

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The Jimmy Swaggart Bible is purportedly based upon the King James Version, however the actual biblical text of the Expositor’s Study Bible has been altered by Jimmy Swaggart and is not a pure King James Version. The change is in capitalization. Modern Bible versions often use capitalization to signify deity, such as the word “He” will be in capitals if it refers to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. This is an accepted and expected practice today. The original King James Version does not use this signifier. However Swaggart’s King James Version has been altered by Jimmy to include these caps, but not just for deity, but for any word that Swaggart wants to elevate and this he does often, apparently at whim. For example “Cross” is always capitalized, giving the impression that the cross should be deified.

Commentary added in the midst of Holy Scripture

A disturbing characteristic is that Swaggart has not put his notes on the side or bottom of the page as all other commentaries do, but has placed his comments right in the text itself so that it is impossible to read the Expositor’s Study Bible without reading his intrusive commentary with every sentence. Many people feel this is an intentional arrogant elevation of Swaggart’s comments to make them on a par with scripture. Whether that was intended, only God can judge, but it certainly gives that impression and many people feel that it is an offense against common decency and respect of the Holy Scripture.

Swaggart’s words in red

To make matters worse, instead of the words of Jesus being in red, Jimmy Swaggarts words are in red. It gives one the impression that Swaggart considers his words to be on a par with those of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, we don’t know if he intended that, but it certainly does rub people the wrong way. When you consider Swaggart’s constant claims to hear from God, that God told him this or that, and his oft repeated references to his new revelation from God that gave him “more light than the church has previously known,”[1] one wonders if he actually considers himself on the same level, or even above, one of the original apostles. Combine that with his words in red, and it certainly raises some eyebrows.

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Below is a page that shows what the Jimmy Swaggart Bible looks like. Note how difficult it is to read God’s Word without being forced to read Swaggart’s commentary.

Swaggart's words in red

The Apostle Paul was Defeated by Sin

One of the most dangerous teachings found in the Jimmy Swaggart Bible is that, according to Swaggart, the Apostle Paul was continually overcome by sin while he ministered the gospel and wrote scripture, and that Paul did not understand the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross, and in fact, none of the other apostles understood it either. In short, the apostles didn’t know what they were talking or writing about. Jimmy Swaggart claims a special divine revelation of God about the cross. Furthermore, the claim is put forward that God has called and ordained Jimmy Swaggart Ministries exclusively to bring this new revelation to the world.

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It should be obvious to any Christian the heretical nature of this teaching and that, if embraced, would bring one to have a lower regard for the Scripture and instead pay more attention to Jimmy Swaggart; the prophet with a new revelation.

Let us now examine Swaggart’s words. The following excerpts are from the Jimmy Swaggart Bible (Expositor’s Study Bible), Romans Chapter 7. Note how Swaggart alleges that Paul, as a Christian, could not stop sinning because he did not have a basic understanding of the cross:

Swaggart says the Apostle Paul was a sinner

 

The Apostle Paul did not understand the cross

Apostles did not understand the cross

The Apostle Paul Did Not Understand the Cross

This is the most dangerous tenet of Swaggartism: That Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, did not understand one of the most basic elements of Christianity; Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross and how that applies to our lives.

Let us now summarize Swaggart’s teachings in the above passages:

  1. After the Apostle Paul was saved  he found himself unable to resist sin and live for God
  2. The Apostle Paul did not understand the cross and thus did not know what he was talking about when he wrote about the cross.
  3. Paul continually sinned because he did not understand the cross
  4. All of the other apostles had the same problem, they didn’t understand the cross either.
  5. The Apostle Paul had just been saved when he wrote the book of Romans.

Those five allegations are made in the Jimmy Swaggart Bible in the above passages. Look them over carefully and see that such is indeed what Swaggart claims. Now let us consider the implications of Swaggart’s teaching. If the Apostle Paul (or any other apostle) didn’t know what he was talking about in regard to such a basic Christian doctrine, then why should we consider the Bible reliable? Protestant Christians have always maintained that the Bible is our only rule for faith and practice. If one follows Jimmy Swaggart’s ideas to their natural conclusion, one would conclude that one must have Jimmy Swaggart’s revelation to go along with the Bible in order for it to be understood. And that theorem takes one into the realm of cultic delusion.

It should be noted also that it is a fact of history that the Epistle to the Romans was written by Paul at least ten years after his conversion. I quote from the Encyclopedia Wikipedia, For ten years before writing the letter (approx. 47–57), Paul had traveled around the territories bordering the Aegean Sea evangelizing.”[2] Thus Swaggart’s statement that Paul had just been saved when he wrote this is completely erroneous.

How Did He Know?

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It begs the question: How does Jimmy Swaggart know that all of the apostles did not understand the cross of Christ? This is what he alleges. How is it possible for a man living in the 21st century to know what people thought or believed in the 1st century? There are only two ways: One, he perceived it from reading the writings of these men in the Bible, or two, it was revealed to him by God.

Let us examine the first one; that he perceived it in their writings in the Bible. In that case, he would be saying that he found the instruction of the Bible incomplete and insufficient and is considering his enlightenment above the Holy Scripture. That is clearly a heretical statement.

Now let us examine the second; that he had a divine revelation from God. Consider what that revelation would consist of – a revelation that God’s Word is inaccurate or insufficient in some way. Again, that is heresy. Such a position is an impossible conundrum, for how can God declare that his own Word was deficient?

God Has a Body —

Expositor’s Study Bible, Exodus 33:23 —

The Holy Spirit has a body

Expositor’s Study Bible, Deuteronomy 4:16 —

God has a spirit body, Mormon doctrine

Expositor’s Study Bible, Exodus 33:23 —

spirit body

We find in the commentary the odd teaching that God the Father has a body, and that the Holy Spirit also has a body. In another place Jimmy Swaggart (in Jimmy Swaggart Bible) has expounded further saying, “I do not believe His body is omnipresent. I believe His body is in one place at one time, wherever that may be.”[3]

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This is clearly unbiblical. Jesus taught that “God is spirit” (John 4:24) and that “a spirit does not have flesh and bones.” (Luke 24:39). Furthermore, that God is omnipresent (everywhere at once) has always been maintained by the church. The principle is seen clearly in Psalms 139:7-10, 17-18, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.” In Hebrews 4:13 we read that all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

It should be noted that Swaggart’s concocted term “spirit body” is an oxymoron. The words, “spirit” and “body” are mutually exclusive and opposite terms. It is a phrase and a concept nowhere found in scripture. It should also be noted that the phrase “spirit body” is the exact phrase used by Mormonism, which also maintains that God has a body.

Planet Heaven

Swaggart’s commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:2 –

heaven is a planet, mormonism, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries

The idea that heaven is a planet in our universe is not a Biblical teaching. Historic orthodox Christianity has maintained that God exists in eternity outside of time and space. The universe as God’s creation exists within the constraints of the space-time continuum. God is above and beyond those constraints.

The Bible speaks of a first heaven which is the atmosphere surrounding the earth. The second heaven is the universe of stars. The third heaven is the heaven of another realm where God is and where Christians go when they die. Jimmy Swaggart’s theology is convoluted in that it takes the third heaven and tries to place it within the second heaven.

God’s abode in heaven (the third heaven) is a place of eternal perfection without decay. However this universe, the second heaven, is a place of imperfection that is subject to corruption and decay as evidenced in the second law of thermodynamics, wherein everything in the universe is running down. Scripture declares that the present heavens and earth are temporary and that “the heavens will be destroyed by burning” (2 Pe 3:12) and “by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire,” (2 Pe 3:7) and “earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.”(Rev 20:11)

Jimmy Swaggart’s theology would place God’s heaven within the corrupted and temporary universe that He created. The truth is God’s heavenly paradise is outside this corrupt and dying universe. It is beyond this realm, beyond this space and time, it exists in God’s perfect eternity.

Heaven is North

Another interesting aberration are the numerous heterodox conclusions which Jimmy Swaggart expounds. For example – his teaching that heaven is “north.” In Psalms 75:6 of the Jimmy Swaggart Bible we read:

Heaven is north

Swaggart seems oblivious to the context of the passage, which is not the location of heaven, but rather that Israel should not be prideful nor look to another nation to exalt them, but to look to God for deliverance and help. The phrase “east, nor from the west, nor from the south,” is just a poetic way of saying no other people can render assistance. The omission of north, if it means anything at all, may be that Israel’s enemies were from the north, and thus they would not normally look that way for help. In any event, there is simply nothing in the context to indicate that the omission of north means that God’s throne or heaven is in the north.


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The four directions pertain to the earth only and are nonsensical in space or even outside of creation. So how does Jimmy Swaggart think that heaven is in the north? Indeed this is a bizarre pronouncement. Biblically heaven is referred to by the Apostle Paul as the “third heaven,” the first heaven being where the birds fly, the second heaven being the sun, moon and stars, and the third heaven beyond all the creation of the “heavens and earth.” Ephesians 4:10 speaks of the Lord having “ascended higher than all the heavens.” Historic orthodox Christian theology has always maintained that the earth, indeed the entire stellar universe, are part of creation, and that God, his throne, and heaven are outside of this creation, thus rendering an earthly geographical “direction of heaven” nonsensical.

One wonders exactly what Jimmy Swaggart means by north. He believes that heaven is a planet and that it lies somewhere to the north. North from where? Does he mean a line in space drawn from South Pole to North Pole? Or is it north from Israel? That would be a line at an entirely different angle into space. And whichever line you choose, it would still point to vastly different areas of space depending upon when you draw that line, for nothing involved is stationary. The earth wobbles on its axis, constantly changing the direction of the line. The solar system is also moving at a speed of 828,000 Km/Hour as it orbits around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. And the Milky Way Galaxy itself, is part of a “cluster” of galaxies that rotate around their core, as do all galaxies, while simultaneously all galaxies are moving away from each other due to the expansion of the universe.

As can be seen, trying to make a direction of north outside of planet earth leaves you with a ridiculously bizarre hodge-podge of inane impossibilities; the kind of nonsense you might find in a commentary written by a high-school drop-out.

A god who has a body and lives on a planet that lies to the north is a god that is more akin to the god of Greek mythology or of Mormonism, than to the God of Christianity.

Believers of Little Worth

According to the Expositor’s Study Bible (The Jimmy Swaggart Bible), if you have not received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, then you are of little worth to the Kingdom of God. Swaggart’s commentary on Luke 24:49 says:

believe is of little worth if don't speak in tongues

So think of all the pastors and men of God you know or have ever known. If they have not spoken in tongues they are of little worth to the Kingdom of God, or so says Jimmy Swaggart. Consider the implications: Billy Graham is of little worth, so also: C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther, John Knox, Dwight Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Sunday and John Wesley. None of these spoke in tongues. So all these, according to Jimmy Swaggart, are “of little worth to the Kingdom of God.” And this list could go on and on of people that did great things for God, yet Swaggart claims they are of little worth. That is not the teaching of Pentecostal churches and clearly the Jimmy Swaggart Bible speaks fables.

Denigrating God’s Word

Consider these facts: In the Jimmy Swaggart Bible, Swaggart’s words are mixed in the context of scripture, Swaggart’s words are in red, and Swaggart claims that the apostles lacked a basic understanding of the gospel, for he said that “no one else at that time understood the cross.” Swaggart is saying that approximately a dozen years after the Lord’s resurrection, no apostle had an understanding of the gospel that is equal to Swaggart’s.

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All of these things tend to make one think that Jimmy Swaggart considers his knowledge to be above the Bible. Add to that the fact that Jimmy Swaggart constantly says that God has spoken to him and given him a revelation that is new to the church.[4] The case is strong that Swaggart wants people to hold his own writings above the Bible. Would he admit to that? Probably not. Does he consciously or unconsciously want his followers to put their faith in him? Do his followers unwittingly follow his teaching instead of the Bible? Most certainly.

Further evidence of Swaggart’s denigration of the Bible is found throughout the commentary. For example, there are many occurrences of the phrase “should read.” Swaggart is constantly correcting the Word of God, saying a certain passage should read other than what it does when there is no grammatical or linguistic reason. To wit:

Swaggart should read

Jimmy Swaggart high school drop out

Swaggartism

One can do a search for “should read” in the electronic version of his bible and see page after page of “should read.” It seems that when the Bible says something he doesn’t like he just inserts his “should read” wherever he fancies.

Not only does he find fault with the words of scripture he also argues with the King James Translation itself. Jimmy Swaggart has gone on record that he believes the King James Version is the most accurate translation, (such a premise is easily dismissed) yet even so, Swaggart finds fault with the King James Translation. Over one hundred times he states, “should have been translated,” or “would have been better translated.”

should have been translated

In some cases the suggested translation by Swaggart makes no sense in that there is nothing in the original Greek or Hebrew as a basis for the change. In fact in many instances Swaggart’s suggested translation is at variance to all other English translations. One wonders at the audacity of one who considers himself above the combined scholarship behind the translation of the KJV, NASB, and NIV. Since Swaggart is not a Greek or Hebrew scholar, it begs the question; on what basis does he make such bold claims?

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In other cases Swaggart’s suggested translation is in harmony with the NASB and the NIV. In fact there are so many cases like this that one wonders why he considers the KJV superior to them. If the KJV is supposed to be so much better, why does he then so often favor the modern translation’s rendition?

The Gap Theory

Dake Publishing sued Jimmy Swaggart Ministries for copyright infringement and plagiarism. The suit alleges that Swaggart had “wrongfully taken and used plaintiff’s proprietary works for their own benefit and profit.” One of the teachings borrowed from the Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible is what is known as the Gap Theory. The gap theory purports that there is a great age gap of millions of years between verse one and verse two of Genesis. This theory has been often used in an attempt to harmonize the Bible with the millions of years postulated by evolutionists. The theory usually incorporates the idea of mankind populating the earth before Adam, referred to as a pre-adamite race.

Genesis 1: 26 Expositor’s Bible. —

pre-adamite race

This error is resultant from using the KJV, which is not always accurate in its rendition to current English. The Hebrew word translated as “replenish” in the KJV is male (pronounced Maw-lay) in the original Hebrew and it means simply “fill” and thus it is so translated in every modern version. For an in-depth analysis see the website given in the footnote.[5]

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The strange idea of a mysterious race of men before Adam, as Swaggart teaches, is contrary to scripture. 1 Corinthians 15:45 declares that Adam was “the first man.” That clinches it, but there is more: The Bible declares unequivocally (Romans 5:12; 8:20-22) that death entered the world by the sin of Adam. Thus it is impossible for a race of men to die before Adam since death came by Adam, unless of course you want to believe that the Bible contradicts itself. And if that weren’t enough, Jesus confirms that Abel’s lifespan was at the “beginning of the world,” when he said “…since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, (Luke 11:50-51). All of these things make the idea of humans on earth before Adam a totally unbiblical proposition.

Animosity Toward the Church

Jimmy Swaggart has always been one not to hesitate to attack others, but after his denomination defrocked him in 1989 he has viciously spewed forth his vitriol against the church, especially the Assemblies of God.  The Assemblies of God defrocked Swaggart in 1989 for refusing to accept counseling and discipline by the church after it came to light that he had been visiting prostitutes for many years. Swaggart referred to his former denomination as a cult and alleged that some of its leadership were “in league with pornographers.”[6]

The Expositor’s Bible is filled with statements denigrating the church, for example:

Expositor’s Study Bible, Leviticus 5:17 —

Swaggart denigrates the Church

One merely needs to do a search of the electronic Kindle version of the Expositor’s Study Bible for the phrase, “modern church” and you will find numerous entries that malign the church. Below is a chart showing what Swaggart alleges against the church along with the electronic location number where that commentary can be found.

The Modern Church According To Swaggart

  1. Has no fear of God – Location 30047
  2. Has a false insincere heart – Location 28850
  3. Ignores the will of God – Location 30014
  4. Is not hearing and obeying – Location 30528
  5. Is in a dilemma– Location 30568
  6. Does not listen to today’s “true prophets of God.” – Location 30571
  7. Ignores and repudiates the cross. – Location 30912
  8. Compromises with evil – Location 32100
  9. Abounds with false prophets – Location 32158
  10. Is an apostate church – Location 32178
  11. Cannot tolerate the truth – Location 32178
  12. Teaches people to seek humanistic psychologists– Location 32292
  13. Denies the cross – Location 32767
  14. Is full of uncleanness – Location 32947
  15. Laughs, scorns and mocks the message of the cross – Location 22044
  16. No longer cries to God ; instead, seek psychology – Location 33210
  17. Forgets the cross of Christ – Location 33897
  18. Does not understand justification by faith – Location 36244
  19. Is self-righteous – Location 39120
  20. Claims that the Bible is irrelevant to today’s problems – Location 39367
  21. Does not look to God – Location 40137
  22. Does not fear God – Location 40499
  23. Has a lack of faith in Christ – Location 41401
  24. Worships strange gods – Location 41615
  25. Does not seek the counsel of God – Location 42937
  26. Is materialistic – Location 42940
  27. Put its hope in man, not God – Location 43518
  28. Is a pleasure seeking church – Location 48758
  29. Has little regard for the word of God – Location 48771
  30. Holds services that are an abomination to God – Location 54018
  31. Has forsaken the word of God – Location 54303
  32. Is committing spiritual adultery – Location 54455
  33. Has left Christ – Location 61433
  34. Serves another Jesus – Location 61433
  35. Teaches the commandments of men – Location 73832
  36. Is spiritually asleep – Location 77390
  37. Is rotten and full of corruption and wickedness – Location 80125
  38. Has forsaken Christ and made peace with Satan – Location 80305
  39. Operates with the power of Satan – Location 85996
  40. Does not have the power of God – Location 85494
  41. Does not pray –  Location 86595
  42. Follows the Old Testament law for salvation by works – Location 89126
  43. Does not understand the cross – Location 89128
  44. Has denied the cross
  45. All true believers should leave the church – Location 95717
  46. Has abandoned the cross – Location 98471
  47. Is spiritually blind – Location 99487
  48. Is in rebellion against God’s divine order – Location 99493
  49. Follows cunningly devised fables – Location 99493

In Matthew 16:18 we see that Jesus stated that “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” According to Swaggart, Jesus must have been wrong, for a church that is rotten, full of corruption and wickedness and is guilty of all the other things that Swaggart alleges, would certainly be a church that has succumbed to the gates of hell.

Conclusion

The Expositor’s Study Bible is based on an altered King James Version with intrusive commentary inserted within the actual biblical text, rather than the accepted practice of placing it in the margin. The commentary is in red instead of the words of Jesus.

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This study bible teaches that the Apostle Paul, after he was converted to Christ, found himself continually overcome by sin and unable to live for God. The commentary claims that Paul did not understand the cross, nor did any of the other apostles. It further postulates that non-Pentecostals, or anyone who has not spoken in tongues is “of little worth in the Kingdom of God.” It proposes a pre-adamite race; that Planet Heaven is found in the earthly direction of north, that the Holy Spirit has a body, that God the Father has a body that is not omnipresent, and other strange unbiblical teachings.

Any writing that alleges that the apostles did not have a proper or complete understanding of the doctrines of Christianity is an attack upon Holy Scripture, for the apostles are the authority of the writings of the New Testament. Such an attack, is an attack against Christendom itself, and should be refuted with all diligence.

The commentary suffers from a lack of scholarship, as it was not written by a team of scholars but by one man, a defrocked minister who has not finished high school. There is a noticeable tension between the commentator and the Word of God, wherein the commentary frequently attacks the text of scripture with the admonition, “should have read,” and the translation is likewise derided with “should have been translated.” It leaves the reader with the impression, in certain passages, that the commentator would be happier if the Bible didn’t say what it says.

It is a Bible which appears to be written by one who has great animosity for the church, claiming that today’s church is Satanic, corrupt and apostate and that all Christians should abandon her. The Expositor’s Study Bible teaches, along with other cults, that hell has indeed prevailed against the Church, despite what Jesus said to the contrary.

The teaching that Paul was a sinner who did not have a proper understanding of the gospel is particularly egregious. Paul did not fail “again and again” in living for God and find himself powerless against sin, as Swaggart alleges. It would seem that the trauma and shame that Jimmy Swaggart has suffered as a result of his own well-known failings with prostitutes has brought upon himself a psychosis of counter-transference, wherein he projects his own unresolved conflicts and failings upon the people of scripture. If he can prove they failed, then he can feel better about his own failures. Misery loves company.

The fact is, the Apostle Paul did not suffer serious moral failure as Jimmy Swaggart has. Paul said, “I am conscious of nothing against myself…” (1 Co 4:4) and “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…” (2 Timothy 4:7). These are not the words of a man defeated by sin.

Jimmy Swaggart can find solace through repentance and acceptance of Christ’s forgiveness solely on the merits of Christ’s shed blood at Calvary. He should not try to assuage his tortured conscience by attempting to drag the apostles down into the mire with him. It would seem, ironically, that it is Jimmy Swaggart who needs to come to the cross.

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The Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study BibleThe Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study BibleThe Expositors Study Bible, Jimmy Swaggart Study Bibles, The Expositor's Study Bible

Footnotes:

  1. [1] http://www.francesandfriends.com/message-cross/
  2. [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_romans#Dating
  3. [3] Jimmy Swaggart, Questions and Answers (Baton Rouge: Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, 1985), 199.
  4. [4] In Swaggart’s book, “Brother Swaggart Here is my Question About the Cross,” Swaggart says, “Considering that this message is new to the church…”
  5. [5] http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1146
  6. [6] L.A. Times, March 16, 1991, F20.

 

185 Comments

  1. I am trying to believe, watch Swaggart a lot but with horrid fascination. I am sorry that he has risen again with a remarkably effective sales & marketing juggernaut. He did it in the ’80’s as well. He and his equally ( or more so) arrogant son and his “message of the cross” minions he has gathered around him, think they are actually helping. Their ignorance and insufferable arrogance is appalling. Their unrestrained forays into science, politics, world affairs is beyond stupid. The number of people who may be even slightly swayed by his opinions is just scary. Lastly , minor changes to the KJV aside, his truly silly and intrusive “Expositors” Bible ( by the way , JS apparently does not know that there is an “r” in expositors, or for that matter an “n” in the word “important”) offends me on too many levels to get into. He has made The Good Book quite unreadable. The worst part is when he and his goofy followers quote the Bible, they quote his nonsense as well.

    I believe in our Lord but I neither need or want Jimmy’s help to keep me , my Grandchildren or my son ( who died young and according to the aforementioned loon, is now in the Lake of Fire) Bless us all.

    Reply

    1. Good for you Dave. Sounds like you got your head on straight about Swaggart. I Agree with all that you said. Sorry it took me so long to respond to your post, just getting the site up and going…I have posted some more articles about Swaggart since you made your comment. Sorry to hear your son died young. Terrible what Swaggart says about him, but if Swaggart said it its most likely an untruth! I looked at your website. You got some awesome boats for sale! Sold my boat but can’t wait till I can get another. Anyway Dave, thanks for visiting my site. I’m here if I can help in any way. God bless!

      Reply

      1. Mark,
        I am new to your website. I find some of the comments such as the one I am replying to be very mean-spirited.
        I watch and listen to the swaggarts also. He seems to be taking confidence for arrogance. That’s the way I see it. Whatever the case….
        The way I understand it In 1997, THE LORD began to open Swaggart up to the Message of the Cross. To be sure, it was not something new but is actually the oldest message known to mankind.
        I have heard Swaggart say ,”The first thing the Lord showed me(swaggart)was the meaning of the sin nature. Swaggart said he was reading behing Dr. Kenneth Wuest and turned to Romans 6..He said he supposed he had read those passages previously,but somehow the meaning of these passages had not registered. Also, I have heard Swaggart say One can say that Jesus is the new covenant, which means that is far more than Christ merely having the new covenant, but rather JESUS is the new covenant . Of course, the full meaning of all of this was given to the Apostle Paul….I have heard Swaggart say he began to know why he had just a failure in his life.
        I could go on …but I would like to hear your reply to this.

        Reply

        1. Hi Doris – In his book, Brother Swaggart, Here is My Question About the Cross, Swaggart says, “Considering that this message is new to the church…” This statement leaves no question that Swaggart is claiming that he has a NEW revelation from God. He also teaches that you can’t get it anywhere else except from him. For proof of that read Is it a Cult? You will find that here: https://christiananswerman.com/is-it-a-cult/ He also says, “He gave me more light than the Church has previously known…” — All of these are clearly cultic statements. This is covered elsewhere on my site. Please read the article: Message of the Cross. You can find it here: https://christiananswerman.com/message-of-the-cross/ As far as mean-spirited, I would ask you if you think Jesus was mean-spirited when he told the Pharisees, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). Do you think the Apostle Paul was mean-spirited when he said, “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some have put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme ” (1Tim 1:18-20) The Bible tells us to name and point out false teachers: “…mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them ” (Rom. 16:17).

          Reply

          1. Mark,
            Jesus is God he can do anything he wants to or wanted to do. He instructed his followers,however, to Love one another …He said by this will they know ye are my disciples because ye show love one toward another. I do realize in John 7:14 we are to judge righteous judgement according to the Word of God. Let me clarify the word mean-spirited. There seems to be some rejoicing when a person slams Swaggart. No broken or contrite spirit about the comment.
            Remember Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He said , I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks but you would not. Knowing that in 70 A.D. Jerusalem would be destroyed. I have read the message of the cross book Swaggart has written but I will read your link/links. Thank you for your reply Mark.
            What I told you I have heard Swaggart say, I have also read the same thing in articles in the Evangelist magazine in the articles written by Swaggart himself.

          2. Doris – You are ignoring the point that we as Christians are told to “Mark then that cause division…” and Jimmy Swaggart is very divisive, condemning all churches but his. How can you not see how cultic that is? And concerning sounding contrite – did Peter sound contrite when he pronounced to Aninias and Saphira that they would die for lying to the Holy Spirit? Did the Apostle Paul sound contrite when he delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander unto Satan? You are merely nit-picking and not being teachable or open minded. Trust me, I can tell you, I was broken-hearted when Swaggart fell into sin in the 80’s. As an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God it hurt to see a brother fall into Satan’s trap. I stood in the pulpit the following Sunday after Jimmy Swaggart did his public repentance show and I told my congregation that if Swaggart has repented then we must forgive him and pray for him. And by the way, I still pray for him that he will repent and come to his senses. I am saddened he has gotten so far off base. But he is a danger and the Church must be warned. To do less is to disobey Scripture.

            What I did not know then (when he fell), which we now know, is that his sin with pornography and prostitutes had gone on for twenty years. What we did not know at that moment, was that he rebelled against the gracious rule of the A/G, that he should receive counseling for one year before continuing in ministry. This was a very merciful ruling, and being a millionaire he could have easily afforded to do so. He rejected that and called the A/G leaders “stupid” and said that he hears from God directly and he doesn’t need them. Scripture says that “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,” (1Samuel 15:23) and “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls..” (Hebrews 13:17) Jesus did not cling to his glory as God, but humbled himself and became a man and subjected himself to his parents authority, and obeyed the Father and went to the cross. We are told to be like Jesus, humble ourselves. Swaggart has done the opposite, and exalted himself. Also what we did not know then, was that he continued in his sin AFTER publically putting on a show of repentance. He was caught again with a prostitute in 91 and again caught by police in 95. There are standards in Scripture in order to be qualified to minister in an official capacity. He must be “above reproach.” and “be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior…” Jimmy Swaggart fails the test, as does also his son Donnie, who plays musical chairs with matrimony, divoricing his wife for another in his church, then divorcing her and going back and re-marrying his first wife – all while actively being a minister in the church. These things ought not to be so and this bad example has led to the well known high divorce rate and number of affairs in the Swaggart church in Baton Rouge.

            Pastor Mark

    2. Excellent comment, I concur wholeheartedly! It’s appalling to hear the claim that the Expositor’s Study Bible (ESB) is “the fastest selling Bible in the world” or claim that the ESB has sold “millions of copies!” I believe they count all the ESB’s that give away, paid for by donations raised at the monthly “Bible-thon!” Completely dishonest!

      While his ministry is much smaller than before the scandal, I find it very disheartening that he’s able to get the support he has! There is a segment of folks in Christianity that will follow any charismatic leader that comes along. They are the ones who keep people like this in business! So sad!

      Reply

      1. Hi T.Heim – Thanks for the great comments. Your are right-on! God bless you.

        …Pastor Mark

        Reply

        1. Pastor Mark,
          Thank you for your excellent work! I’ve been searching the web for an accurate and comprehensive analysis of JSM. Yours is the best, by far!

          I just about choked on my coffee one morning when Frances declared “my husband is a theologian. He doesn’t have a degree, but he’s “read behind” many scholars and theologians.” She proceeded to attempt to prove her case by saying that her husband worked day and night, and even on weekends, to complete the ESB, and it would be “impossible” for one man to write a biblical commentary on the whole bible in a lifetime.

          It seems to me that their programming is getting more bizarre. Especially Frances & Friends and Jimmy’s program “The Message of the Cross.” I don’t believe a day goes by that an un-Biblical statement is made. Just the other day, Jimmy stated that ANY sin that is not confessed (by a born-again believer), is not forgiven by God. And, you will be judged for those sins at the judgment seat of Christ! (I reran the tape several times to be sure I heard it right). He said it doesn’t mean that you’ll lose your soul, unless you have too many un-confessed sins, but you’ll lose your “reward.” My, my, my, I think Swaggart needs a good course in Biblical hermeneutics!

          I’ve also noticed how rarely they ever preach from the gospels, or Psalms and Proverbs! They appear to care more about the words of Paul than the words of Christ!

          I will definitely refer those that I run across with concerns about JSM and SBN to your web page! I also like Mishel’s page called Deception Bytes (I believe you list that page on your site). I’ve chatted with several Swaggart followers on Facebook pages. It’s amazing how many of them don’t know about Donnie’s divorces, or the details surrounding Jimmy’s problems. Donnie’s wife, Debbie is rarely seen or spoken of. When the ministry posted a family picture with Debbie in it, many people commented that they didn’t realize Donnie had a wife! The secrecy, suspicion and paranoia around there is chilling.

          Thanks again!

          Reply

          1. Hi T.Heim – Thanks for the encouraging compliments on my website! That means a lot, knowing its a blessing and help to others. Your information on Swaggart’s teaching about Christians being judged for sins – that is very interesting. Any chance you can make a wav file or mp4 of that sound bite? I’d love to have it in the library and write an article about it.

            Yes, Deception Bytes website is a great one.

            Pastor Mark

        2. pastor Mark, you and your fellow Pastors,talk as if you have lived a holiest life ever. a human being sin in thoughts, actions and speech.
          and remember, no sin is greater than the other, or smaller, all is sin.
          if the expositor’s study bible is the issue, there shouldn’t be a mature reason for bring in the things he did in 90’s

          Reply

          1. Hi Derrick, I am glad you are reading the information on this site. However, your proposition that one sin is the same as another is incorrect. Yes, as far as being saved, any sin condemns us, so we all need Jesus to save us. However nothing in scripture teaches that all sins are the same. Rather the scripture teaches the opposite. Judas’ sin was so great Jesus said of him, “But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (Matthew 26:24) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin. (Mark 3:28-20) 1 John 5:16 speaks of sins which lead to spiritual death and sins which do not lead to death. Scripture teaches that sexual sins are particularly grievous: “Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” Tempting children to sin is also especially bad: “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:2-5) Scripture also teaches that the severity of punishment in Hell will vary, depending on the magnitude of their sin and how much they realized they were doing wrong. (See Luke 12:48) Hebrews 10:26 teaches that willful deliberate continued sin is spiritually deadly: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left…” Clearly, the teaching that all sin is the same is an unbiblical position.

            Now concerning your comments on Swaggart’s sin: It is true that we all sin. But Scripture makes it clear that we must repent and confess our sins and turn from them. The Bible teaches that we can live an overcoming life as we continually become more Christlike. Scripture says that those who minister will be judged with greater strictness and that pastors are to be men who are “above reproach.”

            Jimmy Swaggart spent over 30 years visiting prostitutes while pretending to be a man of God. When he was caught in his sin, he told Rev. Marvin Gorman, “I’ve been doing this for twenty-eight years. I have chased prostitutes in every city where I have conducted revivals or crusades.” After his fall in 1988 he was caught with a prostitute again in 1991. He was caught a third time in 1995 in Indio, California. He stood before his church and arrogantly told them: “The Lord told me that what happened in Indio was flat none of your business.” That is not repentance. These are the facts of history that cannot be denied. 1 Timothy 5:20 says, “But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.” So you see, Swaggart’s continued sin is something to be dealt with publicly. Scripture commands it.

            Who do you love more – Jimmy Swaggart or Jesus Christ? Who will you follow? Who will you obey? Consider what Jesus said,

            “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

            Jesus said you can recognize a false teacher by the bad fruit. How much bad fruit does Jimmy Swaggart need to have before you recognize him as a false prophet? If this is not enough wickedness, how much more debauchery must you see before you will open your eyes? Then there is all the plagiarism and defamation he has been convicted of in court and the crooked land deals and the manufacture of posters for nightclubs his ministry has been involved in. Bad, bad fruit of a false teacher. More recently Swaggart has started teaching that he alone has the gospel and that you must follow him to be saved. No, that is another gospel. We are saved by following Jesus Christ, not Jimmy Swaggart.

            The main problem with Jimmy Swaggart is the unbiblical teachings he promotes and the many cultic attributes of his ministry. These are all outlined with proof references on this website. The bad fruit is just one more indication that he is a false prophet. It is one of the warning signs that our Lord Jesus told us to consider. Refusing to do so is disregard for Jesus’ words.

            Yes, there is forgiveness for the fallen who repent. If they truly repent and forsake their sin, then their sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus, never to be remembered against them again. Ministers who have erred can even be restored to ministry. But this can only be done if they submit to the authority of the Church and not rebel against it. Fallen ministers can be forgiven and restored, but if they become arrogant, castigate the Church, teach false doctrines, set themselves up as a self-appointed prophet of their own cult while proclaiming they have more light than the church has ever known – if they do that, then not so much.

            My prayers are with you Derrick, that the Holy Spirit will lead you away from error and into truth as you consider these things. God bless,

            …Pastor Mark

    3. The above interpretation of Swaggart’s FALSE bible is spot on! The Swaggarts are NOT from God; but from the Devil. This (3) generational family USES God’s word to build a business and profit for themselves and NOTHING more. They own a printing company which not only prints their bibles, but also does print ads for prostitutes and X-rated
      promotions in their Baton Rouge, LA area. Typical of the
      mentality of Jimmy Swaggart with his hooker past. Donnie is NOT much better with two divorces; and all the
      bi and gay claims of men being approached by him. This man is a hypocrite, just like his father! The apple does not fall far from the tree! DO NOT support these jokers! They are NOT out for God; but just out for your money!

      Reply

  2. Pastor Mark,
    Jim Woolsey just made the claim (on the live, evening service) that the United Bible Society(UBS) has endorsed Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible, calling it “the study Bible of the 21st century!” I’ve checked the UBS website, and I’ve found no mention of this! Do you know anything about this? If not, I’m going to call or write them tomorrow to get clarification on this claim. I can’t believe any credible organization would do this, and if this is not true, they should know that their reputation is being misused!

    Thanks!

    Reply

        1. To Doris Early,

          Where did you check? Please show us the “proof!”

          Yes, the United Bible Society appears to be a collection of Bible Societies in every country! I have written to a London office. I also sent an inquiry to the American Bible Society. The American Bible Society has various Bibles for sale on their website, and the Expositor’s Study Bible is NOT listed there.

          As one of the hallmarks of the Swaggart ministry is hyperbole, I sincerely doubt the veracity of this claim! I have searched the internet for a favorable scholarly review of Swaggart’s ESB, and so far, there isn’t a single one. The only favorable comments I’ve run across are made by individuals who appear to be Swaggart followers. So, it would be highly unlikely to see a scholarly endorsement of this work!

          Reply

          1. I am so glad I came upon your site It was bothering me about what colour Jimmy Swagggart had rewritten the original word of God.? in now you say that J S write his own words in Red what about God’s words in Matthew what colour did JS put it in would like to know may God.? have mercy on my Soul and his.

    1. Hi T.Heim – That is very interesting! Please keep me posted on what you find out. I’ll try to do some research as well. If you can capture any sound bites of these false statements that would be a big help. Thanks again!

      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  3. I’ve sent an email to the United Bible Society. I’m not sure it’s going to get there, as their “contact me” form wasn’t working. I sent it from my email addressed to contact@unitedbiblesociety.com. The address and phone number is in London. I’ll write a letter as well. I’ll keep you posted!

    I DVR’d the programming that contains the the statements I mentioned. I don’t know a whole lot about technology, so I don’t know if it’s possible to get a file off of the DVR. I do have a “smart TV.” I’ll check into this.

    They do archive most of their programming, and make it available on the SBN website. It goes back about 30 days. Is it possible to get a clip off one of the archived programs?
    If so, I can get you the dates when these things were said.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi T.Heim – Thats great that you sent an email to the United Bible Society. I’ll be eager to hear if you get a response. Archived programming – Yes! If it can be seen on a computer screen I can capture any of it and make an MP4 of any part of it. So let me know the dates and statements and I’ll do the magic and get the proof up on my website. I appreciate your help!

      Reply

    1. Hi Thurza – Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Yes, “Doris” “Doris Early” “Mark” and “n/a x” all are coming from the same email address. This is causing confusion. I don’t know why Doris is using different names but I will remedy the situation. I have now edited the names on all messages from email georgem010@gmail.com to report as from Doris Early.

      Reply

  4. It is very sad what is taking place at JSM. They are truly convinced that if you preach under or attend a denominational church that you are not right with God. In fact I don’t think they believe those that attend Independent churches are right with God unless those churches are ties into JSM in some way.

    Reply

    1. Hi Michael – Yes, it is very sad what is taking place at JSM. Their denunciation of all denominations is so cultic. Swaggart has even said that the Assemblies of God is a cult. Pride was Satan’s orginal sin and it sounds like there is lots of pride at JSM. Thanks for your comment. God bless,

      Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. I actually had a JSBC graduate tell me in his time there lewdness was RAMPANT to the point the entire college had to be cleaned out, including spouse swapping & adultery with students, staff or otherwise. In the Baton Rouge queer scene — a queer family friend who lived in Baton Rouge some time with which I don’t speak — it’s well-known JSM is a rendezvous point for what is called down-low, or concealed homosexual activity.

        Reply

        1. Wow – That is incredible. I have heard that even today there is a high divorce rate and that there are numerous affairs in the Swaggart church, due, most likely,to Donny Swaggart’s bad example of an affair with the 5-time divorcee in their church.

          Reply

          1. No judgement. But just curiosity. I know that we can open our eyes when praying. Nothing wrong with that. But most of the time, to be focused on what we’re talking to the Lord, we usually pray with our eyes closed. I know it’s funny to say this, but when pastor Donnie Swaggart prayed, before the camera, his eyes aren’t closed. Just wondering why.

  5. I disagree with you. I do not read anywhere in the word of God that graduating or not graduating from high school is a prerequisite to salvation or to being a pastor. I have a college degree and I would trade it in a heartbeat for the knowledge that this man has. He is a top rate orator. I am continually fascinated by his ability to expound on a scripture in order for me to understand it. I have the highest regard and respect for this family. They are truly missionaries by taking the Word of God to the Nation’s. That’s by far more than I have done. You would have to be under the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish such greatness. I challenge any one man to challenge the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. I read where David did some pretty bad things and God choose him to have Jesus to be born of the house of David. I read where my sins are as far from the east is from the west. He’s forgiven you and me so what makes you think that he can not forgive Brother Swaggart. What if your sins and mine where exposed to the world. If we were exposed would that mean that we should not be forgiven. All of us have done something we are ashamed of and have regretted time and time again. I’m going to be honest with you – we have not been caught. The Word of God does say Judge not least you be judged. We are living in prevails times. We should be praying and seeking the will of God and asking for wisdom and mercy. God said that we should not touch His anointed. I’m assuming that you have read the book and you know the scriptures so I didn’t quote them, but I assure you that if we humble ourselves God will heal our nation. God will convict us if we are wrong and need correction. I am going to ask you a question has it occurred to you that God would close the doors if His will was not being accomplished? Everyday doors are being opened for more and more homes in the whole world to hear the Word of God and be saved. Let’s pray for them that God continue to bless their ministry and let’s pray the anointing of the Holy Spirit continue to prosper this Evangelist.

    Reply

    1. Hi TR and thanks for your comment on my website. I have answered your comment and I hope you will take the time to read it. Since it had lots of quotes and is lengthy and included your text as well, it would be confusing to read it in the comment section so it up as an article. It is more readable that way. You can find it at this link:

      https://christiananswerman.com/debate-with-another-swaggarite/

      Reply

    2. Tr,

      I would gladly take up that challenge. Jimmy is nothing more than an old time snake oil salesman. btw Dedaat already took care of him.

      Reply

  6. In reference to your statement. “I encourage you to read all of the articles on my website concerning the Swaggarts and that you prayerfully consider what they say.” I choose rather to use my time to read the Word of God. I am going to answer for myself according to my actions not according to yours nor Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.
    Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 King James Version
    For the most part my TV is tuned to SonLife Broadcasting. I love Swaggart’s anointed music and messages. I enjoy watching the Frances and Friends program as well as Donnie and Gabriel.

    Reply

    1. I too love the anointed music and messages of the Swaggarts. However, I too am confused about the new vision of sanctification. We, as born again believers have always gone to the cross. We have always believed that we grow in grace and knowledge if we continue to walk in the faith. While I do not believe God is pleased with the denominational church system of today, it is hard to believe that the Swaggart vision is true. And then again The Spirit of God is so strong in their services. You know and I know that the early Church was wrong in signing the Nicene creed. No longer trusting God for truth but putting faith into a creed and eventually the Pope. My creed is the Word of God. I walk by the WORD OF GOD and I try not to lean to my own understanding. There is only one God and one Doctrine and one church for all. Please do not tell me the Church is invisible. I do not know how God is going to bring all of his children together. I hope it is soon.

      Reply

      1. Hi Lena, I believe this article I wrote on denominations will be helpful to you: https://christiananswerman.com/anti-denominationalism/
        Concerning the Nicene Creed: It came about in reaction to cultists who denied the deity of Christ. Every statement of the Nicene Creed is sound biblical doctrine and its main point is to affirm what the Bible says: That Jesus is God. My faith is not in the creed itself, but in the Holy Scripture, which gives us the knowledge to judge whether or not any creed or statement is Biblically correct.

        One final bit of advice concerning Swaggart: Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Don’t mistake good music and eloquent impassioned oratory as a stamp of God’s approval on their doctrines and practices. Jesus made it clear that even those with the power to cast out demons, prophesy and work miracles, would themselves be cast out of the kingdom. (Matthew 7:22) God bless,

        …Pastor Mark

        Reply

  7. One comment-you should call this website The Hammer Swaggart Mini-series website. Someone must have a boring life. Let’s see — what’s that scripture say–He who is without sin cast the first stone. Someone here seems to be sinless.

    Reply

    1. Hi Dave, It is not a matter of condemning someone for past sins, thinking we ourselves are sinless. It is a matter of judging with right judgment according to the scripture as we are commanded. This site is committed to obeying our Lord Jesus, who commended the Ephesians, saying, “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.” You, on the other hand, are refusing to do as the scripture commands, to put false teachers to the test. Jesus said we would know them by their fruits. The sinful, rich and opulent lifestyle, and the sin that abounds to this day at JSM, is an indicator that he is a false teacher. His many false doctrines that are contrary to scripture point to this as well. It is interesting how Swaggart can come out and condemn all other churches except for his own as false, and claim that if you don’t speak in tongues that you are of “little value in the Kingdom of God” and condemn a host of other godly Christian ministers, but if anyone points out Swaggart’s failings his followers cry foul, and rabidly defend him and denounce anyone who dares to speak against Swaggart, their Most Holy Pope.

      Reply

  8. The Holy Spirit is our revealer, it is through Him that we have revelation. By your very words, it is so obvious that you are not annointed. Seek the Holy Spirit and then you will understand a whole lot more than you do now. The Holy Spirit shows me what is right or wrong and when you have been endued with power from on high, as they were in the upper room. Only then will you be equipped, and your understanding of Scripture will be as Our Saviour intends that it should be.
    In the meantime you are looking at everything from a Theologians perspective and not through eyes that have had revelation through The Holy Spirit. Be very careful about judging anyone, I’m sure that you know the pertinent Scriptures. And just to give a little food for thought,
    Daniel 12 v 10
    “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand”.

    Reply

    1. Pamela, I am concerned that you have been deceived by a teaching that relies on feelings, not facts. Feelings can be deceptive and easily followed as though they were leadings from the Holy Spirit. The Bible must be our guide for truth, not some nebulous feeling that we are being led by the Spirit. God’s Word says, “If they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them.” (Is 8:20). As far as not judging is concered, there again you have been led astray. Christians are commanded to judge with righteous judgment. You say that I am not anointed. I do not concern myself with anointing. I leave that to the Holy Spirit. I would remind you of this fact: There is not one scripture that tells us to be anointed. There are many scriptures that tell us to be obedient. To be obedient to God’s word and reject false teachers and recognize them by their bad fruit and unbiblical teachings is far more important than being a great orator. Unfortunately too many people confuse impressive emotional oratory with true Holy Spirit anointing. Go to this link and scroll down until you see, “A Cultic Tactic: Touch Not God’s Anointed.” Also see this page https://christiananswerman.com/judging-exposing-error-and-naming-names/

      Reply

  9. I read much of the article and skimmed the comments. I don’t defend the swaggart ministries or the expository bible. However I am in disagreement about your analagy of the swaggart bible. I have found error in the commentaries, but I also find a greater misinterpretation by you of the commenteries. I have went to task with the swaggart ministries, emailing Larson, Bob Cornel and Francis. Bob and Lauren didn’t care for my questions about the misinterpretation of Romans 6:2.
    However, I find you have a much greater misunderstanding of scripture than swaggart.
    To say a man requires a theological degree to understand scripture is flat out false. Does faith in the Cross of Christ set one free, or does a degree? Does the understanding of Scripture come from our faulty intelect, or does come from the Holy Spirit?
    Do you have an understanding of what flesh really is?
    Do you know the difference between a noun and a verb. Do you know what a definite article is. Do you know how it is used in English and Greek? All of these things a child could learn easily.
    Swaggart did not say that Paul didn’t understand the cross. Paul’s own flesh deceived him in that instance. What’s crazy is, you and others never think you can be deceived. Otherwise you would understand why it’s in scripture. The only one who fulfilled the law perfectly is Christ. The law is holy and perfect, yet you are doing your best to keep the law and failing miserably. The law entered that the offence might(would) abound. Our offence is no different than Adam and Eve’s. They want to be like God.
    Before you begin correcting others, please be sure you understand at least why Christ died on the cross for you.
    Do you want to become a better person, or do you want to be saved. These two choices are diametrically opposed to each other. Its your choice.

    Reply

    1. Hi Leo and thanks for the comment. You are using a typical “straw man attack,” wherein you setup a weak position that I do not hold and then attack that. I have not said that it is necessary to have a theological degree to understand scripture. Here are my exact quotes in regard to Jimmy Swaggart not finishing high school:

      “The commentary suffers from a lack of scholarship, as it was not written by a team of scholars but by one man, a defrocked minister who has not finished high school…Typically Biblical commentaries are written and compiled by a council of scholars and theologians. In the case of the Swaggart Bible, all the commentary is written by Jimmy Swaggart, who is himself a high school dropout.”

      I also commented on Swaggart’s Mormon teaching that heaven is a planet and on his strange assertion that Planet Heaven is in the direction of “north.” I said that this is the “kind of nonsense you might find in a commentary written by a high-school drop-out.”

      As you can see this is entirely different from what you alleged that I have said. My point is only that education is important. To do a scholarly work such as a Bible commentary you should first be a scholar and have learned about Biblical history, middle east geography and archeology, Church history, Israeli practices and customs, and so on. Especially if you claim to be a theologian, as Swaggart has claimed. As per the Webster dictionary, the term theologian is generally accepted to mean one who has completed a “4-year graduate course of specialized religious theological training in a seminary or Bible college.” The two main writers of Scripture, Moses and the Apostle Paul, were highly educated. Moses was “educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” and Paul “studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law…” Higher education is valuable, especially when it comes to Biblical scholarship. Of course an uneducated Christian who is at least literate and guided by the Holy Spirit can understand the Bible. But the advanced scholarly work of theologians is best left to those who are really theologians, not to wannabes who like to pretend.

      You claim “Swaggart did not say that Paul didn’t understand the cross.” Well, actually yes he did. Here it is: “…finds himself unable to stop, unfortunately; due to the fact of not understanding the cross…” He also says the Apostle Paul was “…not understanding the cross of Christ…no one else at that time understood the cross.” And “that time” which is referred to is when Romans was written, ten years after Paul started planting Christian churches. Swaggart audaciously claims no apostle or Christian understood the cross then! The images of these pages where Swaggart says this is in the article. So Swaggart does in fact claim that Paul did not understand the cross. It is there in black and white…well, red and white, thus it cannot be denied.

      Your other ascertions that I am trying “to keep the law and failing miserably” and that I don’t “understand at least why Christ died on the cross,” and the insinuation that I am not saved are merely ad hominem attacks that are not worthy of a response.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. You claim “Swaggart did not say that Paul didn’t understand the cross.” Well, actually yes he did. Here it is: “…finds himself unable to stop, unfortunately; due to the fact of not understanding the cross…” He also says the Apostle Paul was “…not understanding the cross of Christ…no one else at that time understood the cross.” And “that time” which is referred to is when Romans was written, ten years after Paul started planting Christian churches. Swaggart audaciously claims no apostle or Christian understood the cross then! The images of these pages where Swaggart says this is in the article. So Swaggart does in fact claim that Paul did not understand the cross. It is there in black and white…well, red and white, thus it cannot be denied.

        You have this part wrong, the “That Time” is immediately after Pauls conversion. Which Paul did not have a full understanding of the cross of Christ. Paul was absolutely given this revelation later, and gives it to the church. Paul is looking back in Romans 6, at the time he was writing it, he had full understanding of the cross of Christ. This is exactly what Swaggart is try to say, and does a decent job if you read it correctly.
        Certainly not saying that Swaggart is correct in all he says and does, but if read correctly here, he is spot on.

        Reply

        1. Hi Jonny, Thanks for your comment. I find nothing in the context of Swaggart’s writing that proves he is referring to ten years prior. If there is such a passage that establishes that clearly, then please post it. Even if we do make the assumption that he was referring to when he got saved, consider that at that time all of the apostles are actively preaching and teaching the gospel. Now, with that in mind, look again at Swaggart’s quote. “…not understanding the cross of Christ…no one else at that time understood the cross. Oh really? So not one apostle, not one disciple, not one follower of all the thousands saved, understood the cross!? And just how does Swaggart know this? This is a perfect example of Swaggart’s audacious unfounded assertions. Take care of who you follow my friend. I will be praying for you. Please watch all of The Swaggart Seduction video on this website and learn more about the kind of man he is. God bless,

          …Pastor Mark

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          1. Brother thanks for all of your post. I’ve been going over Jimmy’s expositor’s bible for the last couple days pointing out all of its flaws and have it as I’m writing this, in my lap at Rom.7:9. I’m in total agreement with you brother “but” if I’m not mistaken I do believe that Jimmy is referring to when first was saved that he had no understanding of the cross, which I still think is a blunder on Jimmy’s part. (When Paul was first saved, I’m sorry). For in vs.9 Jimmy incorrectly writes “having just been saved, and not understanding the cross”. Nowhere in scripture do we find Paul having an inadequate view of the cross after being saved though. God bless.

          2. Hi James, Thanks for your comment. You are of course correct in that Jimmy erroneously claims Paul was a failure after first being saved. He even implies that all the apostles were living in sinful failure as well! (see quote in bottom paragraph) Swaggart writes, “there was no one else at that time who knew or understood God’s prescribed order as well…” So think about that. Swaggart says that Paul lived for years in sinful failure because he didn’t have the cross revelation and that without that you cannot live victoriously and that “no one else at that time” had the revelation either. The logical conclusion then is that all the apostles, indeed all Christians at that time, lived for years in sinful defeat.

            This position that Swaggart takes, if it were true, would tend to discredit the Bible itself. Think about this: The book of Romans was written in AD 56. Eight other New Testament books were written before Romans. The book of James, for example, was written in AD 44. This is 12 years before Romans was written. So, if Swaggart is correct, that “there was no one else at that time who knew or understood God’s prescribed order…” and that this situation went on for “several years,” then many books of the Bible were written by apostles who still did not yet understand the cross and by people who were living in sin! Totally absurd.

            It is a bit ambiguous as to whether he intends to say that Paul was still living sinfully when he wrote Romans. Swaggart in another writing elaborates further and says that he thinks Paul got the victory by the time he wrote Romans. So you are correct in that point. However he also says that the Apostle Paul lived and preached for years while being a sinful failure. Of course we all know this is still an absurd statement.

            And we know why Swaggart makes this point. It is to excuse his own sin. Swaggart, by his own admission, visited prostitutes regularly for 30 years while preaching the gospel. Rather than humbly repent and admit that his sin is his own fault, the result of his own poor choices, he blames it all on the idea that God had not yet revealed to him the great revelation that he calls The Message of the Cross. The point trying to be deceitfully advanced is that if Paul lived sinfully for years while preaching, then that must make it okay for Jimmy to have done the same. That is Swaggart’s thinking and that is the conclusion he wants his followers to make: Jimmy Swaggart caught with prostitutes several times and also caught with pornography – no big deal – The Apostle Paul was a big sinner too. His entire cross revelation is an excuse for his years of fornication.

            Here is the quote I alluded to above:

            The Apostle Paul was saved on the road to Damascus…and then began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and irrespective of all of the great and wonderful things happening to him, he still couldn’t live a victorious, overcoming Christian life…Now if Paul couldn’t do it, how in the world do you think you can? In Paul’s defense, there was no one else at that time who knew or understood God’s prescribed order as well…how long that Paul lived in this state of spiritual failure…we aren’t told. But more than likely it was several years…most definitely when he wrote these words (Romans 7) he full well understood God’s prescribed order, and was living victorious.” – Brother Swaggart, Here is my Question, by Jimmy Swaggart

            Swaggart is big on insisting that no one can live victoriously for God without his special revelation. Unfortunately for Jimmy, two thousand years of countless numbers of Christians living victoriously without his supposed revelation, belies his assertion. If only Jimmy would simply confess that his sin is his own fault and humbly rely only on the mercy, grace and forgiveness that is available in Christ and his shed blood.

            Thanks James for your astute comments. They are appreciated. God bless and have a great day!

            …Pastor Mark

      2. I find it disgraceful that SBN doesn’t support any charities. Could it be St. Jude’s children’s hospital was founded by a Catholic cult member..the infamous Danny Thomas? Or maybe they would fall short of Mother Theresa,another Catholic cult member…I often wonder what percentage of a $15 Francis and friends mug could help a starving child. We must feed stomachs AND souls! Faith without works…is dead. Thank you James!
        Peace in Christ..just another Catholic cult member..according to TheTruth about Catholicism.

        Reply

        1. I’m in agreement with you, 1st verse of your comment. However, what JS wrote in the Truth about Catholicism is true. I agree with him.
          “You shall have no other gods before ME.” (Exod 20)
          God’s Blessings.

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  10. We used to give to this ministry tithes. The last time, (litterally the last time) I gave, I asked the person on the other line who was taking the donation if he would’nt mind praying over my tithe. I was appaulled by what he told me. He said we are not allowed to pray over your tithe, and if you want prayer, you need to call the prayer line.. My mouth droped. I feel that anyone who answers the phone at any ministry should have the right to pray over that person or a tithe. That was just wrong. We no longer support this ministry, nor look at any of the programs

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  11. I think it is a disgraceful blasheming act to print your own Bible with your words in red lettering and capitization. Jimmy Swaggart has gone too far and it is a pity that there still are so many souls who cannot see his ministry for what it truly is – a money making scheme using Jesus Christ to acomplish his own perverted desires. I am appalled that his son was not just allowed to divorce his wife and keep his position within the ministry but that he then divorced his second wife and remarried the same wife which he threw aside like you would toss out a piece of garbage. There was not even an apology much less any indication that Donnie understood what he did not wrong. If I seem a. It harsh it is because I feel that as Pastors who claim to be preaching the word of God and bringing lost souls to salvation they should be held responsible for their actions or lack there of. I am by no means perfect and have never professed to be. I can however can recognize the lies that the Swaggart Ministries continue to pour out to millions everyday. I have listened to Donnie tell how their aim to put Bibles into the hands of those without is THE greatest ministry in the world, far above giving food or clothes to those without. This would be true if it were not the Espositors Bible and with each bible donation (which is really a sale) the Swaggarts benefit financially. However Donnie tries to make it seem like it is such a sacrifice on the ministries behalf and such a great mission. I beg to differ. Perhaps they should Use their million dollar homes and property to house those who sleep on the road each night right in their own country. I will never understand how those who profess Christianity can live such elaborate lives while so many have absolutely nothing. The God I serve is definitely not the same in Jimmy Swaggart and his family serve and the Bible I read is most
    definitely not the same one that Jimmy Swaggart seems to have read and then rewrote to suit his ungodly pursuits. It does give me hope though after reading this site that there are some who have not been fooled by this man.

    Reply

    1. Hi Yvette, Thanks for your insightful comment. Your perception of the Swaggart “ministry” is spot on. Thanks for sharing.

      God Bless,

      …Pastor Mark

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  12. God bless you Pastor Mark I’m grateful for your remarks and instruction. I found your comments to be biblically sound and also seasoned with Grace. As I looked at the opposing comments, they just seem to validate second Timothy 4:3-4 and we are truly living in a time when people will not endure sound doctrine. You are in my prayers continue to be led by God as you inform Gods people of truth.

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    1. Hi Bill, Wow! Thanks for the wonderful encouragement! That is my goal, to be a help to the body of Christ. Thank you for your prayers! God Bless,

      …Pastor Mark

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  13. Hello.

    First off I wanna say, I have this book. My mother is a semi-swaggarite (As in she likes him but doesn’t necessarily agree with his actions so is willing to possibly take his words with a grain of salt at least) and her family are apart of his fan club.

    At risk of alienating myself from her side completely I want to do an academic essay over this book and the minor flaws as well as the major. Looking into little things such as logical fallacies he uses to sort of turn the reader to his way of thinking.

    I’m in a intro to Christian Theology class, and the Prof. who teaches is seems open to the idea but I need to follow up with him on it. My goal with this essay will be for people who wish to take up the challenge of annotating the Bible to consider a more objective approach, to consider those who are just entering the religion and to help expand the mind of those who have been apart of Christianity for a long time.

    I hope to soon contact you with a rough draft of sorts and bounce ideas off of you.

    Thanks.

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    1. Hi KC, (I hope that is the correct appellation for you). I will be happy to be your sounding board for ideas and I look forward to reading your rough draft of essay. God bless,

      Pastor Mark

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  14. I am heartsick at some of the disparaging comments made about some of our Christian brothers and sisters by some of our other Christian brothers and sisters on this webpage.

    It was Our Lord who said in John 8:7 – So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

    Until we are all glorified, we are ALL imperfect and are subject to mistakes, errors and sin. That includes you, me and every single one of us. At one time or another (maybe even now), we have ALL been disobedient to and prideful in our heart before Our Almighty and Loving God. So, instead of gossiping about one another, let us pray for one another that we may all grow in Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus.

    Should we correct one another? Absolutely. However, we must do so as Christ has taught us–with love for one another.

    Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

    “Father God, we pray for all that have come together on this webpage to defend and uphold Your Word. Father, we all have a passion and love for You and Your Word made flesh, Christ Jesus Our Lord and Savior. We ask You Father, through Your Holy Spirit, help us to uphold Your Word all while bringing correction to our brothers and sisters in a manner befitting a disciple and follower of the Lord Christ Jesus. Help us all to do so with love for one another, in understanding and in prayer.

    We ask these things in the mighty name of Christ Jesus. Amen.

    God Bless you all.

    Reply

    1. Hi Annie, Thank you for commenting. I am sorry that you are feeling heartsick at the words here. You must then also feel very heartsick over what the Apostle Paul said in regard to false teachers such as Hymenaeus and Alexander, concerning which Paul said, “of whom I have delivered unto Satan.” (1Tim 1:18-20) or when Paul said, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (II Tim. 4:10).” Was Paul being unloving? No, for it would be unloving towards the whole Church for him not to forcefully combat false teachers. And pastors were told to do the same, “Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13). There are many Christians who fail to understand the proper role of discipline within the Church and do not understand there are times when someone should be rebuked. The failure to understand this principle has led to many church splits, due to Christians thinking a minister is “being mean,” etc. In order to help you understand the proper biblical role of correction within the church I suggest you read this article: on Biblical Judging and Naming Names. May God bless you as you grow in grace and understanding.

      Pastor Mark

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  15. Hi Pastor Mark, how r u doing brother? i believe everything that u stated because it comes from the true Word of God, not something someone made up for their own foolish desires for others to follow them and give money to their ministries where they are all millionaires and everyone else in their church doesn’t have a darn thing. Blasphemy. If u get a chance, go to youtube and type Brian Moon, his website is something like Turnawayfromidols.com he does many videos righteously judging false teachers who do not conform to the Word of God, but rather make up stuff for themselves. So, in all truth, if it’s not in the Bible, that means that man made it up, it’s so simple to understand. In one of his videos, it shows these false teachers and audio for each one. Kenneth Copeland actually said out of his mouth, “God is not in me, I’m a god and I am just as God Incarnate as Jesus is. I guess he doesn’t understand the Jesus is the only begotten Son, these people misinterpret the scriptures in the Old Testament where God said the the religious jews, didn’t I call you little gods, these people twist this scripture to say they’re little gods. God Himself was trying to provoke them to see truth that they were not little gods, so they have wisdom. I have an old friend who goes to a church where I used to attend, and I posted all that was here on Facebook. When i called her up, she answered the phone and did not bring up my Kenneth Copeland post, so I brought it up, and explained everything that Kenneth Copeland teaches, that we’re all little god, then she said to me, Well, you just don’t have a spiritual eye. I told her my spiritual eye is the Word. Then I quoted a scripture where God said, “There are no other gods beformed before me or after me. In reality, If God does not live in your heart like Kenneth Copeland teaches, then it is impossible for him and anyone else to claim that they’re a Chrisitan. The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin say, “The lack of money is the root of all evil. There’s so much more I can say, but I’ll end here.

    Reply

    1. Hi Robert, Thanks for your input! I agree with all you say. Yes, Kenneth Copeland is a false teacher. I should put something on this site about him. That whole word of faith movement is filled with very dangerous false teaching, as you have pointed out. God bless!

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  16. You are stoning this poor man… Rather focus on yourself! He is correct that Paul kept on sinning because we all do!! It is physically impossible for humans to stop sinning! Just like every other human being on earth, Paul sinned. Because He was not Jesus! Keep in mind that for every word and thought we will have to account before God one day…

    Reply

    1. Hi Chanel, Thanks for your comment but it is not biblically based. The Word of God says, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” (1 John 3:9) Of course, no one is perfect, but this passage is talking about willful continued sin, as in seeing prostitutes over and over as Swaggart did. His rebellion against his own church authority was an additional sin. The Bible says that pastors must be “above reproach.” For him to continue in ministry in the midst of this scandal was another sin, for which he has never made public repentance. Read the book of Acts and see how firm the apostles were about dealing with sin and false teachers. Do you think Peter was “stoning” people when they exercised discipline with Ananias and Saphira or was Paul too harsh when he commanded the man to be thrown out of the church and committed into the hands of Satan?

      …Pastor Mark

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  17. Thx so much for your response Pastor Mark, the second to last church I attended was involved in the Charasmatic Movement. At one time, I was involved in it too, and participated in these ridiculous things, like Name it and Claim it, believe what u say and you will have it, that is a scripture in Mark 11:23-24, so at this church, I remember my pastor, after the service gave a bottle of anointing oil to most of us, then we were told, if we wanted a new car, to go to a dealership, take a drop of the anointing oil and place it on the car, with your hand on it and say, “This car is mine”, Well that was a long time ago, when I foolishly did that, and I still don’t have it, most people when they purchase a vehicle, finance it, or if they have the cash, pay for it. I am not working and am on a fixed income, if I was working, I then could probably finance a car, but what i did was sure stupidity. The Charasmatic movement has been around since 1900, and every thing that was believed then till now is still believed, but they are in deep error. Every time I went to my pastor about something, and stood on the word, it was never accepted, and she would always say, well, we can agree to disagree. They teach that when u get saved, and somewhere down the road u do this and that, that u can lose your salvation and go to Hell. This is one of most heretical teachings ever. So here’s the deal, either Jesus Christ our Lord gave us eternal life or He’s a liar. She was preaching on something once and i talked to her after the service, and told her that I disagreed. She said, that if you have sinned and you know about it, confess it right away to God and that He will make u righteous again, I told her that I can go to the Throne of Grace any time I wanted 24/7 and that I am not popping up and down like a ping-pong ball. As His child, my standing before God is right standing before Him because the Word says, that we are the righteous of God in Christ Jesus, so they focus a lot of attention from what man does, instead of focusing on what Jesus Christ finished on the Cross. She always brought up that scripture that says: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. I told her that first of all the words fear and trembling does not mean the scary type of fear, but that fear and trembling means reverence to God, and to work out your own salvation means that we must all allow Jesus to do the work in us and through us, because without him we can do nothing. John 15 . there’s a great man of God, used to have his own radio program, he’s retired now but his taped shows are on kltt.org, 11AM, mountain time, so here in Michigan it would be 1PM, it’s either kltt or kllt now sure but one of those, his name is Bob George, one of the very few brothers that understands the 100% grace of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. I went to see him many years ago at a conference. I learned quite a bit. This was pretty funny but very valuable because it is the Truth, The Innerant Word of God. He was standing at the Podium, and said, “You have probably heard a lot of people say that u can walk away from God. Then he said, I am going to show u how ridiculous that is. He walked about ten feet, and then he said, Where is God? He’s still here(As a believer you know that God is always with you) that’s my insert in parentheses, then he said, how can u walk away from God if He’s always there, you can’t. This is how simple God’s teaching is but u have to believe the truth instead of twisting scriptures around to your benefit, and making things up, of man, not what the Bible teaches. One time my pastor was talking about the Rapture, which in my opinion could occur any second, because Pastor Mark, if u haven’t heard, one of the last signs before the Rapture of the Church was the completion of the Third Temple in Jerusalem, well my brother, it has been completed, last year. Anyways, she said that if our heart wasn’t right with God when the Rapture happens, that we will miss the rapture and will be left on earth to go thru the 7-year tribulation. How ludicrous is that? God made us righteous thru Jesus Christ His Son, as I mentioned earlier, so if u are truly born-again and adopted into His family as His child, u r going up in the rapture, there’s so many things here, that’s why I don’t go there anymore. One time they were talking about what God the Father looked like, that he had 4 heads, one looked like a lion, and the others i don’t remember, well my Bible says that God is a Spirit, how can a spirit have a body, would u like to explain this to them, Good Luck? She was preaching about the White Throne Judgment, i again talked to her after the service, and it went in one ear and out the other, she said that all of us and the lost would be standing there, because the scripture talks about the wheat and the tares. I told her that first of all, The true believers all have to stand at the Judgment seat of Christ, she agreed with that, and said, that it only had to do with our rewards, but what she meant was judgment again at the White Throne Judgment, I told her no, I told her the people that would be standing there would be the lost and also the people who became believers that had to go thru the Tribulation and those who became believers through the Milleniul Reign. I’ll tell u brother, it’s like banging my head in the wall, no reaction from the wall, but your head really hurts. One time her husband, who is a Pastor too, said, if u pray for healing for yourself, let’s say a physical ailment, then u should ask God to do it again, because if u do, that that is doubt, and cancels your prayer and faith. I talked to him after the service, and I asked him, What about the scripture that says”Pray without ceasing”, he then said, well, it has nothing to do with this. My understanding of pray without ceasing is you can pray every day for healing or anything, and you have the faith to believe, and what most people don’t understand is that our God is a Soveriegn God, and He does things in His time and His way. Many people either don’t understand, agree, or believe this Character of God. I was reading this book a long time ago, that some supposed Christian wrote about physical healing. After a service, this woman went up to the front to receive prayer from a prayer minister. After he prayed for her, he said, well, the reason the Lord didn’t miraculously heal you right now is because you didn’t have enough faith. Who does this person think he is? Unbelievable. Well, Pastor Mark, I’m on a roll here, so i guess i’ll continue, Kenneth Copeland said, the lack of money is the root of all evil, boy that’s really something, my bible says, the love of money is the root of all evil, but him and all these fanatics all practice spiritual manipulation by getting either in their churches or on Cable, giving them their money. Did u ever notice brother, that all these Televangelists have millions and millions of dollars and everyone else in their churches for the ones watching on Cable don’t have anything? ever notice that brother? sounds like greed to me. Copeland also said, that when you’re sick, don’t confess out of your mouth, by saying, I’m sick, instead, say I’m healed, yeh, real smart statement, that’s why God gave us doctors, you know, a person can say i’m healed and drop over dead in 2 minutes. If u read Proverbs Chapter 3, it talks most about the Wisdom of God, there is a scripture there that says, Nothing is to be compared with wisdom and discretion. Discretion there means common sense. I guess that’s why God gave us a brain. Even, when Jesus healed someone, He said to them, Go show yourself to the high priests and let them examine you, the same as today, when we should see our doctors and specialists who diagnosed the condition(s). Let the professionals tell u that after they have performed all these tests, say, well i don’t know what happened, here, they usually call it a medical miracle, so they say, the cancer is no longer in your body, u don’t have to take your insulin anymore. But tests had to be done, these doctors aren’t idiots. I’ll tell you a funny story, a true story, do u think i can call u Mark, here? instead of Pastor Mark for a little bit? It’s a story about the Charasmatic Christian Woman went to her doctor because she wasn’t feeling well. When the doctor walked into the exam room, he said to her, “Why are u here today? And she said, I am healed by the blood of Jesus. He asked her again, tell me how u r feeling? She said again, I’m healed by the Blood of the Lamb, I can imagine myself in that doctor’s mind about then, probably totally frustrated, not knowing how to help this woman, he asked her one more time, can u tell me what’s going on so i can help u? She said again, I am healed by the Blood of Jesus. Guess what the doctor did next? He said to her, here’s my bill, goodbye. Have u ever hear a story like that Mark? So it that same church i have been sharing with you, my pastor said time and time again, if the Lord tells u to witness to someone and u don’t do it, and that person goes to Hell, then we’re accountable to that before God on Judgment Day. Well, I thought that When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, just before he died, He said, “It is finished.” What was finished? The atonement and forgiveness for all our sins, past, present, and future, which these fanatics don’t believe either, they say Jesus died for all our past sins, but not now, the present, and the future, well, if that was true, then Jesus would have to come back again and die for those sins too, but he’s not going to because He finished it at the Cross. I sure wish these people would see and believe that. When Bob George was on the radio and also did these conference where I went to one of them, many people asked him, well, what about IJohn1:9, which says” If we confess our sins, then He that is Faithful will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Bob gave a very definite answer, he said when the chapter was written, there were believers and non-believers standing there. I believe this to be true too, and I’m going to show u right now. If u back to verse 8, it says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceived ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Well, evidentally it can’t be talking about the believer, because Jesus Christ is the Truth and He dwells within every believer. So, then, this scripture is talking to the lost, and as for verse 9, they are confessing to God that they are a sinner, and are cleansed from all unrighteous when they believe the Gospel, period. The Bible says, that God was reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. According to this scripture, since Jesus died for the whole world, and according to this scripture the whole world has been forgiven, so why isn’t everyone forgiven, because they have to believe the Gospel, short and simple. Brother George also mentioned that when u sin, you do not have to ask God for forgiveness for your sin, because He did it already through His Son Jesus, it doesn’t mean that we are not sorry for our sins, you can thank God for forgiveness for all your sins, past, present, and future, he also explained it like this, let say someone gave u gift, are u going to receive the gift or are u continually ask for it back, you see the simile here, that Jesus was and is a gift from God to this whole world that they may be saved. This next discussion is about false prophets, who utter false prophecies, and use spiritual manipulation to get your money. Have u ever seen a so-called Prophet that comes to your church from in-state, out-of-state, or outside the US. Right before the service ends, all of them say the same thing when it come to the offering just for them, they’ll say, well, the Lord just told me that there are 3 of u here today that are supposed to give me $1000, ever heard that Mark? then they keep going down, well maybe you could give $500, and so on and so, it’s really something when they say that the Lord told him that about the congregation sitting there, the Lord didn’t tell anyone in the audience about giving $1000, so in retrospect, these prophets just make it up, and it was not told to them by God, again, spiritual manipulation. Hopefully, this will be my last discussion, brother, at that church, the wife, who’s a pastor too with her husband, her physical brother come into town from California where he lives, like twice a year, claims to be a prophet. He is on Cable, i don’t know what station or when, his name is Danny Davis. So on TV he has the cameras aimed to see right inside a person’s mouth who is going to be prayed for, for new teeth to form, and other teeth problems. Now, listen, for a second, i am not saying that i don’t believe in miracles or i haven’t seen any miracles, which i have, but he claims that that new teeth grew in their mouths where they used to be. Now when he came to his sister’s church, again, he was only praying for teeth problems, nothing else. one woman, after he prayed, fell down, and there was a gold coloring around her lips, his sister would say in previous services that gold dust would just fly down from the ceiling and u could see it on other peoples’ clothes, it didn’t happen when i was there, and also, when he is there, supposedly small gemstones, real tiny, will appear in the sanctuary, like someone found a ruby, someone found a pearl dug in the wall, the way I feel about it, so what’s the difference? Is this guy here to pray for the sick or should we all sitting there look for all these jewels around. So after he prayed for another woman, about her tooth growing back, he told her to go into the bathroom and look in the mirror for herself, and see what she could see, so then she came back, and he asked her, well, did it grow back? she was very hesitant, and said, well, I think maybe a little bit, who knows what happened. And to top everything, toward the end of the service, Mr. Davis, made this statement, “The reason I don’t go the hospitals and pray for the patients to be healed is because they can’t sow a seed.” I couldn’t believe it, i did tell his sister, but does not remember him saying that, well, brother, let’s think about this for a moment, before Jesus was about to heal someone, did he say, “Unless you give me money right now, I am not going to heal u, yeh, lets see where these people can find that in the Bible, these people are unbelievable, and you know, it’s all about the money. In my walk with the Lord I had many times to pray with people with the Love of God that He put in my heart. I could never see myself saying to a person, would it be ok to pray for u, and most would say, yes, then I am going to sit or stand there, and say, well, i’ll only pray for you if you give me $50. All this craziness his hurting and giving a bad name to the Body of Christ, and you know who put it there? Satan himself. I’ve met many people who aren’t saved and they think, they will tell you that they think that being a Christian is about going to church and giving money. Many think you have to go to a church to be saved. You know what I tell them? I’ll say, I don’t care if you’re sitting on the toilet, you can do it right there. So for the last note here, I was on Danny Davis’s mailing list where i received many many letter about doing this and doing that and sowing that seed. He would say in his letter to me in every letter he mailed, it said, “God gave me a special word for you, and it’s in my office at home, and if i don’t hear from you in 3 days, i am going to take that word and throw it in the garbage because i wouldn’t know if it was you or not? What kind of craziness is that, when i a check, it only had my name on it, again spiritual manipulation, after a long time, I felt like a complete jackass, and I wrote him a letter demanding all my money back, when I got the refund check which was in the letter, his wife had written the letter and said we could only give u back the money within the current year, saying they go back the year before. Now, here is his wife, and in her letter to me, she says” Well, I’m sorry u feel that way, anotherwards what she was saying that she her husband, this is my opinion, was doing nothing wrong, but all these so-called prophets, whether in a service or on their mailing lists swindle people by manipulating them to do so. Ok, Mark, one last statement. In Deuteronomy 28, the Word says, If a man preaches a word and it does not come to pass, then you do not listen to them. Well, Brother Mark, maybe more the next time. I wouldn’t mind if it was ok with you that u might possibly want to invite me to be on your program. Listen, Pastor Mark, you have a blessed night, a peaceful sleep, ! Love in Christ, Robert Foon

    Reply

    1. Hi Robert, thanks for sharing. Yea, there is lots of crazy doctrines out there. Concerning the Eternal Security question – I’ll have to write something about that sometime. Its an in-depth subject that has extremes at both ends. Anyway, thanks for writing and God bless.

      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  18. Mark,
    Thanks for the information. My mother is a swaggarite. And I started looking into his ministry when she asked me to be the executor of her will and make sure Jimmy gets his share of her money. I refused. I told her to name her lawyer executor because I don’t want any part of enriching that man. I sent her information on War International, an amazing group that rescues sex slaves and teaches them trades to support themselves. All while teaching about and demonstrating Christ’s love. I told her she would do more good for God’s kingdom by leaving her money to them than Jimmy. She’s not happy with me. But the more I read of your writings, the happier I am that I took a stand.

    Julie

    Reply

    1. Hi Julie, I am so pleased that my writings were a help to you. I get lots of hate mail from Swaggarites and it always an encouragement to get a comment such as yours. This is a labor of love and it is for you and others who are able to see the fallacy of Swaggartism that I have spent the many hours to get the truth out. A common thread I see is that the ministry of the Swaggarts has brought division in so many Christian families. The fruit of the Spirit does not come out of his ministry, but rather strife. God bless you as you walk with the Lord.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  19. Greetings Mark, Swaggart gets the “Planet Heaven and it being in the North” from the Dakes Bible also he gets the North issue from Ps.75:6 from the Dakes Bible

    Blessings,
    Reverend Linville

    blinville@msn.com

    Reply

  20. i am born again 7 months in now.But i always prayed form being a young child not knowing really who i was praying too but more of praying for to the situation around family circumstances.Now where i live i got involved watching the swaggart ministry etc.I found myself judging how young looking this swaggart family looked,and as i know thou should not judge it can be hard,hence to say they wear top suits bling watches etc got millions in the bank private plane akers of land when there is so much poor in life out there,so i came to ask why the riches of what they do and say funds a well established greedy way of life.Also i feel looking at them they must get facial lifts and i see that donnie judgies catholics and other religion but you should not judge from what i am being told.They sell books of this and that yet have millions of dollars,so how is it that they don’t give up so much a live in a million dollar home with just an aker if need be and give up all them riches and give it to the poor.Hence the rich of 1 percent in the world.But i trying not to judge anyone although this does get to feel hard not to do,so i pray to God forgiveness of my strain to be like that.Give it all to Israel then swaggart or all to the poor as the Lord says to look after them.So again forgive me to judging if i have it wrong.

    Reply

    1. Hi John, Thanks for your comment. The Bible does tell us to judge and use discernment. John 7:24 Jesus says, “Judge with right judgment.” It is discernment from the Holy Spirit that is witnessing to your spirit that Swaggart’s habit of living an outrageously opulent life-style off of money given for God’s work is a sinful thing. God bless you as you walk with Jesus.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. The whole Ministry works hard , every day of the week Gabriel and his wife are up at 4 or 5 in the morning as well as Frances and Jimmy and they deserve everything they have earned, they have built schools fed the hungry etc. They are in their 80s and have worked very hard since they were in their teens and the reason they look so good is because they are healthy and have healthy minds that aren’t filled with envy like so many people…

        Reply

        1. Hi Dale, thanks for your comment. If working hard validated a ministry and was a stamp of veracity and orthodoxy then we should all join the Mormon or Jehovah Witness cults, as they work extremely hard.
          It is the errant doctrine and the financial scandals of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries that is of prime concern.

          2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

          …Pastor Mark

          Reply

  21. Pastor Mark
    First I want to say thank you for your article I have only seen Jimmy Swaggart one time and that was enough for me to Judge his words using the Bible. My mother has been watching Swaggart for some time. The last time I was there she had him on the TV and noticed the how he perverted the Gospel and I informed her of it. I am a firm believer that the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. I have read through the comments and some many talked about judging and that we as Christians are not to judge. The verses in Matthew 7:1 they use for their argument are taken out of context. They need to read the Bible in the Context in which it was written. They need to read that whole chapter or at least Mathew 7:1-5

    Mathew 7:1-5 1.“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4. Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5. You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

    Here, Christ is warning believers against making judgments in a hypocritical or condemning manner. That type of judging is a characteristic often associated with the Pharisees during the ministry of Jesus. Many people who quote “judge not” from Matthew 7:1 fail to notice the command to judge in Matthew 7:5, when it says, “Then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” The point Jesus emphasizes here is to judge yourself first before you make judgments about others. As a Christian I judge myself daily. (Also, notice the discernment and judgment required in Matthew 7:15–16, 20.) In the broader context, Jesus is telling believers to be discerning when it comes to false teaching and false prophets because they “look” Christian, but their goal is to lead the flock astray (Matthew 7:15–20; Luke 6:43–45) As Christians, we should be living godly lives so that we can first concentrate on our own repentance of sin. Sanctification is a lifelong process of being transformed every day into the image of Christ. Without this, we have no place in helping another brother or sister. What Christ teaches His believers in Matthew 7 is that if we ourselves are not personally repenting of our sins, we are in no place to tell others how sinful they are acting. But the Bible does tell us to preach the gospel—and part of the gospel message is that people are sinners in need of salvation.

    Paul even taught on this in. Galatians 1: 6-10
    6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel 7. Which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9. As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! 10. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

    Ephesians 4:14–16
    14. so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16. from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love

    Are we being loving if we allow our fellow brethren to remain in error and even deceive others? Of course not. Loving others requires that we graciously correct them when they fall into error (Matthew 18; 1 Corinthians 1:11; Galatians 6:1). Those who err do not necessarily know they are in error; they are possibly deceived or ignorant. So we gently and carefully correct the error in regard to teaching, no matter what the situation. After all, this is one of the responsibilities of the church: to teach sound doctrine and correct erroneous teaching (2 Timothy 2:25, 3:16; Titus 2:1). For example, we have to use discernment (judging between right and wrong) if we are to obey verses like 1 Corinthians 5:11–13; 6:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 6:20; and Titus 3:9, just to name a few. We need to be careful in this approach, however, as we are all fallible human beings who can make mistakes in judgment. We should find out the whole story and not base our judgment on appearances. Jesus stated, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Notice the Lord’s command to judge. But before we make that judgment, we must make sure we are judging righteously from God’s Word and not relying on our own opinion. Sometimes hard judgment calls must be made, as not everything is “black and white,” which is why it is so important to know and apply the truth of Scripture.

    Reply

    1. Hi Justin, Very well said! Thank you for your scholarly input. I hope many will read your comment. God bless you and thank you for the help!

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  22. Jimmy Swaggart Ministries is getting SERIOUSLY concerned, as others and I undermine the falsehood of their “ministry”. They are NOTHING except about money for the Swaggart family and their immediate church. The Swaggarts have done NOTHING for other world relief causes, as they have claimed. Donnie even claimed that JSM Ministries “built 50 schools and churches in Port- au-Prince, Haiti. That is Total Bull Shit! The Swaggarts stuffed your money in their pockets! They build, OR Gave NOTHING, except BIG mouths!
    That is SO typical of the Swaggart family; God bless them in Lake of Fire!

    Reply

  23. I agree with you 100%,I have had the bible given to me, i do not agree with anything it says..I GOT RID OF IT COMPLETELY..ty lord.
    I have family members that constantly quote them and their “ministry” ..they do not associate with anyone else other than those who preach “the message of the cross”. as believers we are to sharpen each other up, all they do is put others down!besides themselves. I have had them say I’m going to hell because the church I attend does not preach “the truth”. they think they are the only “right ones”. they bear no fruit at all, they preach with hatred toward other denominations! I just pray that their eyes be open before its too late! they get confrontational & mean spirited if you talk or evn have a question..they always say “you have to remember its what he did for us on the cross”..my focus is on jesus not no cross..yes I pick it up daily but my entire focus is not on the “cross”.

    Reply

    1. Hi Nyam, Thanks for your comment. It is interesting that so many people comment that the Swaggart’s ministry has brought division and trouble within families and churches. Another interesting thing you mention is how they attack other ministries so viciously, yet you should see the hate mail I get from Swaggarites! They accuse me of doing what Swaggart does all the time, yet they are blind to his attacks on others. Very interesting indeed. You are right my brother, keep your eyes on Jesus!

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

    1. Hi Mike, Thanks for the comment. Yes, I was aware that Jimmy follows the teaching of Dake’s. Thanks for the link to CRI’s page on that. CRI is the original cult tracking organization and they have some great information. CRI also has a positional paper warning against Swaggart’s teachings. God bless…

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  24. Hi Pastor Mark,

    My husband used to be very involved with the Assembly of God church until he got into SonLife Broadcasting and watches it every day now. A few months ago he believed God wanted us to start going to a church connected with JSM. I began to feel very uncomfortable with the constant criticism of other churches, acting as though we are the one true church and there aren’t any real Christians in other churches or else they would come out of them and be a part of this ministry. Reading your article opened my eyes to Jimmy’s false beliefs about receiving more revelation from God than given in the Bible, which is how many false religions and cults have started. It truly breaks my heart and I’ll be praying for them. Praying for God to open my husband’s eyes about this ministry and to come back to the Assembles of God.

    I noticed you’re still commenting on responses to this article a few years later which shows your servant’s heart for Christ to serve Him in all you do. Thank you, and God bless!

    Reply

    1. Hi Karen, Thank you for your comment. What you said is very encouraging to me. I rejoice that you can see the truth. I will be praying for your husband that the Holy Spirit will open his eyes to the errors of Swaggartism. It is very telling that many of those who listen to Swaggart end up being critical of their own fellowship and often choose to leave and stop going to church entirely, thinking that listening to Swaggart on TV somehow can replace a real living assembly of believers. I hear of this tendency from many people. It is a mark of cultism. Indeed, it is a very subtle subversive message which he preaches and many good Christians fall prey to it. God bless you and if I can help in any way, don’t hesitate to contact me.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  25. Been reading the comments here I have been watching a few teachings on tv from donnie swaggart and he bothers me a lot more than his dad does. I think the swaggarts are good salesman that much
    I know, but why doesn’t any one expose them for what they realy are.

    Reply

    1. The things showing in those videos happened over 25 years ago. How would you stand up if people we always dragging your past out and displaying it as if you were still doing those things. God forgives and forever forgets.

      Reply

  26. Hi Pastor
    I bought the Expositors Bible thinking it had many scholars in the commentary. As hard as I tried, I have never been able to come in agreement with Bro Swaggarts teachings.
    They totally down the WOF movement but yet they live an extravagant lifestyle. His home looks like it cost $600,000.
    I don’t agree with the prosperity gospel but I feel it is hypocritical of him to have such an expensive home and yet down others. I feel they are arrogant, deceived and just plain mean and judgmental.
    As for his cross doctrine, the cross doesn’t need improved. When Jesus cried it is finished, the deal was sealed.i feel they are dogmatic and legalistic as well.
    As for his past failures, I personally will not sit under any teacher who refuses to deal with their sins. I read that he said he had been fascinated with porn since he was a boy. How sad that his own doctrine prevents him from getting the help he needs since that don’t believe in deliverance.
    Someone close to me is a babe in Christ and goes to a JSM Affiliate church. I feel they are being brainwashed and that JSM is a cult.

    Reply

    1. Hi Angelica, Thanks for your comment. You are correct, when a person gets involved with Swaggartism they are subject to brainwashing by a cult. No doubt about it. I put together a video that includes some news clips that exposes his extravagant lifestyle. It is here: https://christiananswerman.com/christian-answer-man-videos/ Its called The Swaggart Seduction. You are right, the cross doesn’t need to be improved and everything we need to know about it is in the Bible. Well said. God bless,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. Mark get a life, come into the 21st century. If you can’t find something that he is currently doing wrong then you should be very careful about the things you put on your website. God have mercy on you.

        Reply

  27. In my opinion dearly beloved having the expositors i find that God’s word is written in Black as are other bibles. The main colour always used being black. Due to various reasons one could type out underneath the context of which some would prefer because its directly under that scripture making it easier for some who do not want to look around the page to find. Why should we scrutinise colour when the main text of scripture is not altered. Why should we condemn another instead of praying for them if they are wrong. Let us examine our hearts in order to correct with love. One should approach the above mentioned .. ask for ones reasons.. because many re lead to write and do so in the spirit. We have a right to question
    Bring questions out but not ones past. As our past is our stepping stone to a ladder of excellence in the Lord. Let Jesus be the judge. If the word is being incorrectly blasphemed lets speak of the word giving the correction and ask for others to elaborate there knowledge. But we should do so in the spirit not in the flesh for then we will be condemning immorally and bearing grudges. Lets not contradict our walk with the Lord by bringing out ones personal dilemmas as we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God bless and be lead by the spirit in accordance with God’s word. Being righteous.

    Reply

    1. Hi Evelyn, Thank you for your comment. You ask, “Why should we scrutinize color when the main text of scripture is not altered?

      Swaggart’s text in red is a minor point when taken separately. More serious is the false doctrines he is promulgating. Nevertheless, when seen in the context of all his actions, Swaggart’s words in red (like Jesus’ words) are reminiscent of the multitude of alarming megalomaniacal statements and actions we have seen in the Swaggart ministries.

      You also ask, “Why should we condemn another instead of praying for them if they are wrong” Let Jesus be the judge.”

      Perhaps you will see the fallacy of your argument if I turn it around on you: Why not just pray for me if you think I am wrong? Are you judging me? Why does Swaggart not just pray for other ministries and churches if he thinks they are wrong? Why does he judge and rail against so many of them? Have you read where Swaggart condemns all other churches as of the devil? Why do you not apply your standard of never judging to Swaggart?

      Yes, this website, along with other cult-watch ministries, does pass judgment upon the doctrine of Swaggartism, and I’ll tell you why. Because God’s word tells us to judge when the prophets speak. “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.” (1Co 14:29) We are to examine everything carefully and contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

      We are not condemning him, as you claim. There is not one statement on this website that says that Swaggart is condemned. Let’s not put words in my mouth that I did not speak. Rather, in several places I have encouraged prayer for Swaggart and those he has led astray.

      What I am saying is that we are to judge Swaggart’s doctrine based upon scripture. We are to compare all teaching to the Bible, as the Bereans did: “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they…examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

      How truly Paul prophesied of this generation, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears…” (2 Timothy 4:3)

      You said, “Let’s not contradict our walk with the Lord by bringing out one’s personal dilemmas as we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

      Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits…Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” The teaching of our Lord is that as part of examining a doctrine for its veracity we should include an examination of the life of the teacher. If they are a false prophet or false teacher there will be bad fruit evidenced in their life.

      That is why an examination of Swaggart’s life is relevant. Jesus told us that bad fruit would show who the false teachers are. Swaggart claims to be an end-time apostle, the only one in all the earth to restore the true gospel. He has said all churches but his (and those who follow him) are apostate. These cultic statements require we examine his life to determine if he is a false teacher as evidenced by his bad fruit. Jesus commanded it to be so.

      Let’s consider what you call Swaggart’s “personal dilemmas.” When you are a famous evangelist and you are secretly visiting prostitutes for 30 years while evangelizing, I submit to you that such is more than a personal dilemma. It is a public moral outrage that, according to scripture, requires church discipline. When a public figure sins, and then makes a public display of repentance on television, but then goes on continuing to visit prostitutes, we have a situation far more serious than a “personal dilemma.”

      There is a pervasive liberal attitude about these matters within the modern church; a lukewarm, Pollyanna, watered-down pseudo-Christian viewpoint that is not based upon scripture but upon the loose morals of society. Please click the link below and read my article, Forgiveness for the Fallen. I believe it will help you to examine these things from a biblical perspective.

      https://christiananswerman.com/forgiveness-for-the-fallen/

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. So you are saying Jesus can forgive some sins but not others? You have a very strange way to look at salvation. I choose to believe the word of God when it says “He cast our sins into the sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered against us anymore. “

        Reply

  28. I was reading your America in the bible? page in it you talked about how the bible talks about Israel and its enemies using old school weapons such as bows, arrows and using horse’s etc, in it you say”I believe the answer is summed up in one word: EMP. Electro-Magnetic Pulse. ”
    you stated ” it would take years to restore power ” this is entirely false, the majority of electronic items now a days have built in redundancies designed to protect against various electrical overloads, a cell phone for example if it were plugged into a a wall outlet charging would not be heavily damaged in an EMP attack, the worst damage would happen to the charger itself not the phone.

    studies show that if an EMP were to go off overhead you could simply jump start your car, as batteries are thick and protected.

    the biggest issues would be to communication, since towers would be heavily damaged, other than that unless a nation was completely bombarded with nothing but EMP devises it power wouldn’t really be out for years. an EMP would not explain why everyone is using horse’s All modern military equipment is hardened against EMP. Tanks, Trucks, Planes, Radios etc. This is one of the reason that theses items cost so much more compared to an equivalent civilian item.

    There are test facilities were EMP pulses of varying strength can be generated and used to test the resistance to them.

    like the u.s Most of the electrical power grid in Israel id electromechanical, not strictly electronic – This means that it will have mechanical components in their systems which are completely immune to an EMP. Considering that many systems are often down for maintenance or simply because of fluctuations in demand, it’s very unlikely that any EMP attack would catch the entire grid online at one time, lessening the effect of the pulse.

    like the u.s there are warehouses full of electrical replacement parts,Many are stored in conditions which protect them against static electricity which would also ameliorate the intensity of an EMP. Some would simply be resistant to an EMP simply due to their construction or the fact they are not hooked into a live circuit.

    Electricity isn’t very hard to generate – From crystals to waterwheels there are numerous ways to generate electricity. Nuclear batteries (like the former Soviet Union loved to build for unmanned lighthouses and space probes) are very easy to assembly and can generate power for decades. An EMP will certainly do nothing to the chemicals which are used to manufacture batteries , so they can be assembled by hand, if necessary, and charged using extant generators or solar panels. Electricity, once it’s been harnessed, isn’t difficult to recreate.

    Mechanical power can replace electricity in many areas until the grid can be restored – Windmills, waterwheels,flywheels and even springs can create or store mechanical energy. These can (and have) been used for these purposes for centuries and would actually be basic constructs to this generation of engineers. They would have unlimited resistance to EMP and they could be used to recreate the damaged electrical components which then could be used to restore electricity.

    EMPs make for great film entertainment and they are always a “boogeyman” which can be trotted out to scare the gullible. In reality, they are relatively limited in scale and scope and, if they were not followed with nuclear exchanges, would be easily handled by a modern society

    It is estimated power would be restored within two weeks to the most important areas after an EMP

    Reply

    1. Hi Randell, Thank you for your comment. Rather than write a point by point rebuttal of your points I will simply refer you to the U.S. government Committee on Armed Services Report of 2008. There you will find the stark facts of how devastating an EMP attack on the U.S. would be. It estimates that nine-tenths of the U.S. Population would die. It is much more dire than you surmise. Even military equipment that is hardened against EMP cannot be maintained without an infrastructure to provide repair components, fuel and man-power to use them. Additionally, it is not “batteries” that are vulnerable in automobiles, as you surmise, but rather the tiny connections inside integrated circuits that are destroyed by EMP.

      Reply

  29. I wish I had read this before I bought one for my friend.. she is so enamoured with his showman ship. When I called Francis and Friends with questions..his “yes men” acted as though he really did have some “new” Revelation that “no one else has”. She is young in the Lord and I pray she won’t be swept up in these…

    Reply

  30. To me, one of the worst things J S teaches is that Paul couldn’t stop sinning. The Bible is plain when it says that the Bible was written by holy men of God, moved on by the Holy Ghost.

    I really believe that he knows the book he calls expositor’s bible, is wrong. He has put this book together to cover his own sins. He says the devil can force a Christian to do what they don’t want to do. We know that the real Bible says that He will always make a way of escape over temptation. One is drawn away by his own lust. James chapter 1.

    One other bad doctrine is where they teach that children won’t go in the rapture unless one of their parents is saved. If that were true, it would be the only case where another person’s sin would affect your standing with God.

    Even though I believe he knows better, I think his family believes because of their high opinion of him. It’s very sad that a man would drag his family with him in order to cover his own sins. May God have mercy on those poor people.

    Reply

    1. Hi Collieen, thanks for your comment. You make some excellent points. That is interesting what you say – that the Swaggarts teach that all children go to hell unless they have a saved parent? I was not aware of that. Can you show me where they teach that? That is a particularly egregious doctrine.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. Colleen can’t show you where they say that, because that’s not what they say. And for saying that his family is trying to cover his sin that again is not accurate. That’s because the blood of Jesus covers our sins. Maybe she should get her facts straight before she posts.

        Reply

        1. Hi Norma, I want to make clear that I have never heard or seen Swaggart teach that children go to hell if they don’t have a saved parent. I always take care to back up anything I say in regard to someone’s false doctrine with quotes from them that are in print or on video. Until I see proof I must give the benefit of the doubt and not believe he said that. That said, I do know that on Frances and friends they make many statements of false doctrine and then when they get push back they are quick to say the next day that is not what they meant. An example of this is when Donnie said that you don’t go to heaven unless you speak in tongues, then the next day he disavowed that he said or meant that. Obviously a lot of people understood him to say that, and thats why he clarified.

          So in view of many instances of that type of behavior, I cannot assume that Colleen does not have her facts straight. She may very well be accurate in what she reports. We just can’t be dogmatic about it until we have some proof. Concerning his other many doctrinal errors, we do have much proof, as all the articles on this site about Swaggartism attest.

          This is a common theme with the Swaggarts – they make outrageous doctrinal claims, and then when they get too large of a negative response from Christians, they back away from what they said.

          We cannot know for sure what Jimmy Swaggart’s motive is in making up his doctrine that he calls “The Message of the Cross.” Only God sees the heart, However in his book “The Message of the Cross” at the beginning of the book, he spends a great deal of time talking about his embarrassment over getting caught with prostitutes over and over. He talks about that before he even mentions what his “new revelation” is. When he does get to his revelation, he claims that is what helped him stop sinning with prostitutes.

          So although we can’t say for sure, if you look at it with some discernment and thought, it seems from what he says, that his new doctrine is strongly related to his personal trauma caused by his willful continued unrepented sin.

          You are correct that the blood of Jesus covers over our sins. However His precious blood does not cover unrepented willful continued sin…

          “There is a sin which is unto death. I do not say that one should pray for that…”
          (1 John 5:16)
          “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment…” (Heb 10:26-27)

          Our hope and prayer is that Jimmy has repented of his sins. Its hard to know, since after he did his televised repentance, he continued to see prostitutes, and when caught again told the Church, “Its none of your business.” That doesn’t sound like repentance, so we are left wondering. Then when he comes out claiming he is some kind of end-time apostle and the only one with the magic cure for sin, one has to really take a close look at whats going on there and use some discernment as the scripture tells us to.

          …Pastor Mark

          Reply

          1. DO you know for a fact he has not asked forgiveness. If so that makes you a mind reader. I think only God knows such. As for Donnie saying you have to speak in tongues to go to heaven. That is not a true statement. I have heard him say that you do not have to speak in tongues to go to heaven many times. I don’t know where you get all of your information. Do you watch them on a regular bases. I really honestly feel sorry for you and pray God will open your eyes to the Truth. Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

          2. Hi Norma, I believe I made it clear that we don’t know this for sure if Swaggart has asked for forgiveness but that there are reasonable doubts about this. Since he is in the public arena proclaiming himself to be a pastor, prophet and apostle, then according to scripture it is his responsibility to be clear about that. Saying “Its none of your business” after being caught multiple times with a prostitute is not being clear. We are required to watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing and examine them based upon whether or not they are displaying good fruit of the Holy Spirit or bad fruit of sinful living. Jesus told us we would know them by their fruit. Since Swaggart has been a repeat sexual offender and has not made any public confession of repentance since last being caught with prostitutes, then it behooves the Church to beware, especially since he is claiming to be someone special in exclusive possession of a new revelation from God.

            Concerning Donnie’s statement about tongues…I heard it with my own ears. He did correct it the next day in the midst of an onslaught of emails and phone calls.

            No, I do not watch them at all anymore, expect to review their videos which people make me aware of that contain false teaching.

            Norma, I suggest you read through the comments on this site and see the number of families injured by the Swaggart’s false teaching. Also prayerfully consider all the articles on this site in regard to Swaggartism. I know it offends your pride to have someone suggest you have followed a cult leader, but humility is the beginning of getting back on the right track.

            You need to take a look at this article on posting so that you understand this is not a forum for people to defend their false teacher, but a place for people to get help that have been led astray. Here is that article…

            https://christiananswerman.com/about-posting-comments/

            I also think the article below would help you. It explains how forgiveness and restoration works in the body of Christ and how Jesus taught us to exercise discretion and discernment and put all religious teachings and teachers to a biblical test.

            https://christiananswerman.com/forgiveness-for-the-fallen/

            God bless you Norma. I know you feel irritated, but sometimes that is our human reaction to the beginning of conviction by the Holy Spirit.

            …Pastor Mark

  31. My pride is not hurt sir. Because I don’t follow the Swaggart’s I follow Jesus Christ. I thank you for your prayers. I measure every thing by the word of God. It just makes me wonder when someone says they love the Lord and then works so hard trying to tear other people apart. Thank you for listening. Norma

    Reply

    1. Hi Norma, I am happy to hear that you don’t follow Swaggart, but rather Jesus Christ. Thats good. Many Swaggarites do follow Swaggart, believing his words instead of the Bible’s words. I am pleased to hear you are not among that group. You are like the Bereans, measuring all against the word of God. Keep it up.

      Now concerning your statement: “wondering when someone says they love the Lord and then works so hard trying to tear other people apart.” Good for you. You should wonder. Take a look at this article which exposes how Swaggart does exactly that – tears other people apart without cause. https://christiananswerman.com/swaggart-attacks-christian-ministers/

      Our prayers here are for the Swaggarts that they will repent of their pompous disdain for other ministers, their false teaching and conduct, and be humble before the Lord. If you will read all the articles and watch all the videos on this site about Swaggart I believe you will learn of false teachings that you may not have been aware of. Also I recommend you read the following article on the importance of false teachers being examined with discernment and exposed within the church. It is the commandment of scripture to do so. Here is the link: http://www.av1611.org/crock/judbynum.html

      When you have a situation of willful continued sin – such as with Donnie Swaggart having an affair in 2003 with a 5-time divorcee in their church, then divorcing his wife of 20+ years (Debbie) to marry her (Judy), then three years later he divorced her to go back to his first wife (Debbie), and all the while being a minister in their church – that is an unholy and unscriptural thing. God’s word says, “An elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation…He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?”

      Donnie Swaggart should have stepped down from ministry until his personal and spiritual life were under control and until his family life was stable. Jimmy Swaggart should have seen to it that this was done. But no, Donnie just continued right on as a minister at Swaggart’s Family Worship Center. Unfortunately his bad example led to a plethora of affairs and divorces in their church. It is interesting that they were preaching their “Message of the Cross” at that time, saying it is the way to overcome sin. Jimmy says he received his special revelation of the cross in 1997. For some reason Swaggart’s “Message of the Cross” did not keep his own son from committing adultery in 2003.

      The Word of God warns that we would know them (false teachers) by their fruit and not to listen to them and to “Keep away from them.” (Romans 16:17) When you read the testimonies of people who have worked for the Swaggarts and see the evidence of the money laundering, the mishandling of funds, the sinful nightclub posters they produced, the crooked financial dealings, the injured families and destroyed relationships, the false teaching, the adulteries, the threats, and their claims to be the one true church, then you can see that people need to be warned about the Swaggart cult.

      God bless you as you follow Christ,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

    2. Norma
      I am one of many who has a family member that is what I call “drinking the Jimmy Kool Aid” . My mother has left her church turned her back on her family and friends and watches the Swaggarts 24/7. She has excommunicated me several times for months at a time because I won’t follow the Swaggarts. I try very hard to keep in contact with her as she is alone and nearing 80. I pray for her to have her eyes opened to this cult. She talks so much against every church and how they are demonic, my heart is broken that she is living such a dark and lonely life. She is truly missing out on the joy and freedom which comes from Jesus cleansing blood.
      The posts on here have given me some solace in that my experience with my mother is not unique. I try not to harbor unkind feelings toward The Swaggarts, I have yet to decide if they are truly evil in their intentions or in need of serious Christian counciling. In either case they are guilty of causing a lot of harm.

      Reply

      1. Hi Michelle, I thank you for your post. I am glad this site has given you solace. I welcome you to continue to monitor the posts and perhaps you can help others Christians who are caught up in the Swaggart cult, for you have first hand experience of how the mean spiritedness of Swaggartism causes so much hurt. Yes, it is hard not to have negative feelings about the Swaggarts when you see the family and church disharmony they cause, but like you, I also pray for them, that they will turn from their evil way and become kind loving Christians instead of a divisive force in the body of Christ.

        God bless,
        …Pastor Mark

        Reply

      2. Sorry you are having a bad experience with your mother. I’m also 80 and have been watching SBN for 8 years it has not influenced me to leave my church nor call other churches demonic. I have not left my family. I love the Lord and serve him. I believe the ministry of SBN is helping a lot of people. If it was not of the Lord I do not think it would have lasted. I pray you will have a better relationship with your mom. God loves you

        Reply

  32. Hi Pastor Mark
    Thankyou for your recent considered reply and for send me the references which I want to spend time reading/watching.
    I cannot find what I wrote or what you replied. I don’t mind whether it is public or not, but I now don’t have your references and I really would like to respond to some of your points. Is this okay?

    Kind Regards, Frances Shah

    Reply

  33. Hi Pastor Mark
    Please ignore the above. I found our discussion when I learned how your website works.
    Why do some things get moved to the side with peoples’ names on, including mine? Have I used your website wrongly? Its okay to tell me.
    There are other sorts of churches to the ones that I know, that have transferred from the USA. Are the Church of God and the Church of Christ cults?
    Who are the Assemblies of God? What does the sin nature mean and in what way is Jimmy’s understanding of such, different?
    Thank you, Frances Shah

    Reply

    1. Hi Frances, Church of God and Assemblies of God are both Christian churches that are Pentecostal, that is, they believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation and in the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the church today. The Church of Christ, on the other hand, is a cult. They believe you are saved by virtue of joining their church and that if you are not baptized in their church you are not saved.

      Concerning things getting moved to the side on the website…I don’t know. I’m not sure to what you are referring. Although I built the website, sometimes it does things I don’t want it to! Such is technology.

      Swaggart’s term “the sin nature” is not found in scripture. The Bible uses the phrase “sinful nature.” to refer to the fact that because of Adam’s fall into sin, we inherited a sinful nature from Adam. This sinful nature is dealt a death blow when we come to Christ, but we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit to continually overcome the desires of this old nature. Swaggart seems to use his term with the same meaning as scripture.

      I hope this helps, God bless…
      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. Thank you for your reply Pastor Mark. Some neighbours in the Church of Christ tried to recruit me, but things did not feel quite right. You have confirmed what I thought already.
        Things moving to the side happen when you archive something, but I discovered it could still be reached.
        Church of God came round the doors recently, but when I looked them up, I read that they believe European Jews are not descendants from the middle eastern Jews in the Bible. I cannot agree with that. Perhaps the Church of God here are not the same.
        Anyway thanks for your answers.
        Kind Regards, Frances.

        Reply

  34. Pastor Mark, here is what I have found concerning Jimmy Swaggart’s commentary on Romans Chapter 7. During online discussions on Christian Faith and Fellowship sub forums, where you only have a few who participate with a depth and a searching for His Truth, I have found that many discussions end with a few basic questions, such as, How can I walk in the Spirit, How can I obey the commands of Jesus, How can I be an overcomer. Today’s Christian teaching seems to take everyone to the point of understanding we should do all that is in these questions, but everyone, even the most dedicated follower and believers seem to be frustrated by these questions.

    Why then would the Apostle Paul be any different. To understand how we are to live with and for God, we must begin with Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus in John 3. We must be born of the Spirit. We must ourselves experience what this is. We must be changed, given new desires, see old desires vanish, see what once was the most important thing in our life, such as a sport or hobby or way of life suddenly be let go in favor of what the Lord puts into your heart. For me, it was a life of hunting which was suddenly put aside when I was called to begin to go to Church. Something of this magnitude must happen at conversion. Paul had a conversion of an even greater magnitude. We all should see some change.

    From this point on, I sat and listened wholeheartedly and learned as my old thinking was being transformed to the Word of God. This takes years until we begin to see the order in the Bible and God’s Message to mankind. During this time you may not even realize what has happened to you. Where once you were proud, you are humble, where once you were self righteous in you judgments of others, now you are more compassionate and when you do judge, the Spirit will show you how you still live the same way and so you bow your head and sort of take back your judgement of others realizing we are all in need or His grace.

    You will start to experience the Hand of God working in your life. You will begin helping others as the Holy Spirit leads you, you will be led to others to share your testimony as the Spirit maintains an uninterrupted environment for you, a servant of His Kingdom to share what you have been given. Afterwards you will be filled with a joy but will still be blessed by a God who no man can outgive. Your service, freely given will be rewarded in some way. It may be an understanding you have been seeking or even a physical need of some sort, but blessed you will be along with a joyous thanksgiving that the creator of the universe knows you and you are a part of His Kingdom. This brings one to his knees in thankfulness. This is how we should be living BUT…look around. How many will witness to this? Not many, I fear. Why? The answer is in Romans Chapter 7 for those who can and will see and not be led by the tradition of other men’s thinking and reasoning – but by the light of the Holy Spirit.

    Something can go wrong with this wonderful new way of living. This flame can begin to dim, the moving of the Spirit can lessen, the world can come creeping back in and you seem powerless to change it. The more you try, the worse it gets. It hurts like nothing else you’ve known and you don’t know why, so you finally cry out once again as you did at first before your conversion for His help. Where did the Holy Spirit lead me? To Revelation Chapter 2:4-5, 2‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent NAS

    I become very introspective. How did I leave my first love? What did I do at first? My first love had to have been Jesus when The Father first baptized me into His son Jesus and gave me new life. This married me to Jesus. God himself gave me to Jesus and also all those who have been born of the Spirit. What did I do at first that I’m not doing know. When you look at yourself, you will see what has changed. At first we are seeking, knocking, asking, crying out, receiving, trusting and relying upon only One, Jesus. What is different now? You have received this gift of life along with The Helper and Spirit of God and without even realizing what you are doing, have begun to think that “you” are now capable of living this new life and helping others. The “YOU” has crept in silently and unnoticed. The You once again is slowly replacing “HIM” as the love of your life. We don’t realize this is happening until the flame grows dim and the Spirit is grieved by our adulterous state. Our pure faith has shifted from Jesus and what HE has done to what we can do and this is adultery and grieves the Holy Spirit to the point where He no longer can work in our sinful state until we repent of it and turn once again in conviction and all humility to Christ alone.

    This is what Jimmy Swaggart is teaching in Romans 7. Paul went through this, just as I did. Paul helped me to see this and so did Jimmy Swaggart. Jimmy is in no way saying that Paul wrote His Letters and Epistles and taught from a state of sin. Paul must have gone through this after He first preached to the Jews and was lowered over the wall in a basket by the followers of Christ to keep him from being stoned to death by the Jews. During those years of silence is when Paul himself went through this and began to understand what happens when we are first converted and given new life. Once he understood it and repented and realized his faith had shifted, he saw clearly how our old sin nature could revive if our faith did not remain in Jesus alone.

    As soon as we too realize this great teaching of Paul and understand the adultery he describes in Chapter 7, we too can begin to see how the two great laws in Chapter 8 apply to all Christians. Those who don’t heed Christ’s warning in Revelation 2 will never understand how to get to the promised land which Paul tells us in Chapter 8 is Life in the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Or as Paul says in Galatians 2:4,
    18“For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

    I hope this helps to understand what Jimmy is trying to help others to see in God’s Word.

    Reply

    1. Hi Craig, You have written an excellent analysis of the how the Holy Spirit sanctifies us as we go through the struggles of life. What you said is right on. That is what the Bible teaches and what Christian churches around the world are teaching. If that was all that Jimmy Swaggart taught, then cult-watch groups around the world would not be giving warning about him. No doubt, The Swaggart’s preach much of the truth of the Gospel. The problem is that they mix in a lot of poisonous ideas, nonsense and judgmental influence with it.

      Swaggart’s aberrant teachings can be summarized as follows:

      [1] The entire church world does not have the complete gospel. Jimmy Swaggart has received a special revelation from God that he says is “new to the Church.

      [2] In this revelation Jimmy claims to have received “more light than the Church has previously known,”

      [3] and that his revelation sheds “more light on that which was originally given to Paul.” This special revelation, which he calls The Message of the Cross, is supposedly the key to living a victorious overcoming Christian life free from sin. Central to this revelation is the idea that the object of a Christian’s faith should be the cross alone, rather than in the Lord Jesus Christ. Swaggart claims that his revelation is “the true Gospel” and that his ministry alone has a mandate from God to reach the world with this restored Gospel.

      [4] No church, denomination, minister or teacher has this revelation except Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. Unless they learned of it through JSM, they do not have this secret information.

      [5] Swaggart claims that his so-called Messsage of the Cross is something that no other ministry has, that it is a special revelation that he alone received from God, and he makes the bold claim that this is “the single most important material for the believer to know and understand.” He claims that all his many years of Bible study and hearing sermons, and reading Christian books did not show it to him, but he got it by special revelation from God and no one but him has it. See the video embedded in this article where you see one of the many times where he claims this: https://christiananswerman.com/is-it-a-cult/

      [6] The Apostle Paul (and the other apostles) did not understand the cross and lived a defeated Christian life (for a time) while preaching the gospel. It seems that Jesus had neglected to pass this essential information on to his apostles. Consequently, they were overcome by sin until they also got this same revelation from God. (Apparently this revelation became lost throughout church history until God again revealed it to Jimmy Swaggart. Although Swaggart claims his revelation is Biblical, he never explains why it was never discovered by people just reading scripture.) Jimmy Swaggart explains that he visited prostitutes only because there was no one in the Church who could tell him of the lost revelation, consequently he had no means to resist sin and that all Christians will be overcome with sin as he was unless they heed his special revelation.

      [7] All, or nearly all, churches, denominations, ministries, are of the devil, false, apostate and have abandoned Christ. The only exceptions seem to be JSM and those churches who acknowledge the preeminence of Jimmy Swaggart’s revelation. Their disdainful arrogant attitude towards other churches and ministries is evidenced on their television programs, which are often filled with vicious attacks upon other Christian denominations or ministries. Satellite Swaggart Churches across the country tend to believe and proclaim that they alone have the true message of the Gospel and the power of God moving amongst them, while they condescendingly look down upon all other churches as only playing church and not walking with God.

      [8] Since most churches are false and don’t believe in Jimmy’s secret revelation, people are subtly encouraged to quit their church and join his online church and send their tithes in to JSM.

      [9] God the Father has a body similar to a man’s body. God is not omnipresent. Jimmy says, “I believe His body is in one place at one time, wherever that may be.”

      [10] Heaven is a planet in our universe which is in the direction “north.

      [11] Christians that don’t speak in tongues are “of little worth to the Kingdom of God.”

      [12]Adam was not the first man.

      Anyone familiar with the fundamental doctrines of historic Christianity will recognize with concern that these teachings, taken as a whole, are beyond bizarre; they are both cultic and dangerous. May the Spirit of the Lord guide you as you use discernment and I pray you find yourself in a bible-based Church where you can grow with balanced teaching.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

    2. Norma, Then you are in disagreement with Swaggart, for he says it is a new revelation. In Swaggart’s book, “Brother Swaggart Here is my Question About the Cross,” Swaggart says, and I quote: “Considering that this message is new to the church...”

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  35. Pastor Jimmy heart for serving the Lord is recognized and encouraged. However his message is not quite clear, it stopped and focused on his main object “the Cross”, not on Jesus Christ and the resurrection ( =conquering death/Satan). Pastor Jimmy and his associate pastors do mention about “Jesus Christ Crucified” and stop there (this is kinda Catholic doctrine). And I’m not a religious person, just a humble child of Jesus, sharing my humble take.

    Reply

    1. Hi, if you watch them enough you come to realize when they speak of the Cross they are speaking of the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of the Lord. They just encapsulate the entire sequence of events where the keystone of the series of events is, in the Cross. The Cross or cross is the finished work of Jesus.

      Reply

      1. Hi Adam, Thank you for your comment. If what you say were true, that Swaggart’s Message of the Cross is simply “the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of the Lord,” then there is nothing different from his message from what the Bible teaches and from what the Church has always taught, for the Church certainly does teach about the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord.

        But in point of fact, Swaggart makes claims beyond that in regard to his teaching. He says that his exclusive teaching is “new to the Church.” In his book, Brother Swaggart, Here is My Question About the Cross, Swaggart says, “Considering that this message is new to the church…” This statement leaves no question that Swaggart is claiming that he has a NEW revelation from God. So his Message of the Cross cannot simply be just the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, for that is not new to the Church.

        He also says that his ministry alone has a special commission from God to spread this new teaching, which he calls “the True Gospel,” which Swaggart believes most all churches have departed from. In his The Evangelist magazine, January 2004, From Me to You section, Swaggart writes the following: “This Ministry is of God. Accordingly, we have a mandate from the Lord. That mandate is World Evangelism and, as well, the proclamation of the True Gospel, the ‘Message of the Cross.’ In other words, the Church must be brought back to the Cross. The Lord has mandated this ministry to help carry this out. In fact, that’s at least one of the reasons that the Lord gave me this great Revelation of the Cross in 1997.

        Speaking of what he calls his “Great Revelation,” Swaggart says, “That which the Lord gave me, which I believe sheds more light on that which was originally given to Paul…” (The Evangelist, From Me to You, December 2004) Here Swaggart confesses that he has “more light.” The question arises, more light than who? More than Paul? The next quote answers that question: “But I honestly think, in His explaining this Revelation to me, that He gave me more light than the Church has previously known…”http://www.francesandfriends.com/message-cross/ So there you have it. Yes, more light than Paul, but also more light than any of the apostles, more light than any theologian in church history, more light than what the Bible gives, more light than any other Christian has ever had, more light than the church has ever known. This is the epitome of braggadocios megalomania and it takes his ministry to the level of cult status.

        I suggest you watch this short video I put together showing what Swaggart himself says about cults. Watch him, in his early years, define what a cult is and then see him make his more recent claims which, by his own definition, reduces his ministry to cult status.

        I appreciate you taking the time to comment and I pray this information is helpful to you. God bless,

        …Pastor Mark

        Reply

        1. Dear Pastor Mark,

          Again I read your comments and criticisms towards the Jimmy Swaggart ministry and I understand that you believe to be true all that you say. I understand that you believe you are doing your fellow Christians a service. I just don’t agree with your analysis and conclusions.

          To shed more light on why you feel the way you do, I think we have to sincerely examine how some denominations originally reacted to the sinful transgression Jimmy entered into years ago. That wound seems to have never healed, which means that it is still alive and affects how folks still react to the mention of his name. We see a bit of it in how folks react to the mention of Donald Trump’s name today. It affects how we think and what we say. It colors our judgement and response. It may even blind us to the truth.

          Let me say this about the Message of the Cross. First, I am not a scholar, nor do I have any degrees in Divinity as I believe you do. Honesty, I respect those who do and the heart that led then to pursue these studies. What I do have are brothers and sisters in Christ in a home church who have recognized my calling and have prayed over me and asked me to join with our Pastor as a fellow Pastor. This is more humbling than I can express. This may and probably never would have happened if it were not for the Message of the Cross teaching and the humiliation and deep crying out of this brother for the means to find victory over the sin nature in his life that he could not find the power within to resist.

          Pastor Jimmy Swaggart did not dream this all up in a flash of light so that he might elevate himself to the level of Paul or anyone. No, instead, he suffered for years with the knowledge that he, and the Church, needed to understand how to find victory over the flesh, the world and the Devil.

          We preach salvation today and do it well. We bring many to Jesus and the cross, but then we teach them “about” the commands of Jesus and “about” the Bible, but do we actually fulfill the Great Commission given by our Lord this way? No, for the most part, the Church today is only fulfilling half of the Great Commission. The other half is to teach them “how” to obey the commands of Jesus. This is what Pastor Jimmy was searching for; for his own life and for the Church.

          We tell folks who come to us seeking help from sin to pray more, read more and to try harder. Please show me those words in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Today’s Church is desperate for what is contained in Paul’s teachings that will help them to be overcomers in Christ, in this world of sorrows and temptations. We already have enough Doctrine, and denominations and religion, what we need now is not a form of religion, but the Power of God in our lives. That is what is in the Message of the Cross teachings.

          Pastor Jimmy Swaggart does not have any more light than you or I. What he does have though is a powerfully strong burden to bring what understanding he was given to the Church. Most won’t receive it, but those who have are so thankful for what has been added to our understanding of this walk with Christ Jesus in the Spirit of Holiness that only comes to those who truly surrender their life for a new life in the Cross of Christ.

          I believe the Church would be better served by not attacking or tearing down a brother but instead by trying to understand what his contribution to the Church really is. So please accept this as from a fellow Pastor, not with any desire to do verbal battle or engage in protracted dialogue about the errors of a ministry (of which all have some), but to urge you to look deeper into the context of the message and not the man.

          Sincerely, brother Craig

          Reply

          1. Hello
            We have SBN in our house. We listen to worship music, my family member loves JS teachings. I have a humble question for you or JSM. Who is “ the Church” or what “Church” are JSM pastors referring to in their sermons?

          2. I think that is 2 fold depending on context. In one he’s referring to the Church as the overall unified body of Blood bought, born again believers across the span of denominations. The other would be the governmental BODIES known as “the Church” from associations within the different denominations and leadership down to the pastors and deacons as representatives of individual church bodies.

            So really, I think it all depends on the context it is being used in.

          3. I followed Jimmy Swaggert for years. Even after he was with the prostitute, I forgave him, I still watched his shows. It really bothered me, the more I read about his sinful nature, and some of his church people. I started doing my own research, on his life, his expositor study bible.
            I am shocked of all the things that I have found. To think this man had a sinful problem, and couldn’t find peace, deliverance, and comfort, in the WORD OF GOD! He was a preacher, had been preaching for years, and he couldn’t find what he needed to satisfy his soul.

            He didn’t want deliverance, or he would have had it, by the WORD OF GOD. He didn’t have to go out searching for something different. He already had it, the WORD OF GOD. He wasn’t ready to give up his sinful life. In order for him to keep his sinful nature and to keep sinning, he searched for a way out, and that was the cross. And for him to be comfortable in his sins, he had to make everyone else comfortable in theirs. So, he made up his own doctrine and bible to, to fit his needs, so everyone else, can feel the same as he does about their sin, that they don’t know where to get help. Pastor Swaggert did it so can I.

            The cross can’t save you! Only JESUS CAN! All the things he said, about GODS WORD, JUST MAKES ME SICK IN MY STOMACH.
            ONLY JESUS CAN DELIVER YOU FROM TEMPTATION, NOT THE CROSS. He knows what the bible says. The devil knows what the bible says. So, Jimmy, needs to be careful. He needs to burn that hellish, cultish, so call bible, that he wrote. He will stand before the throne of Glory, some day, and it won’t be a pretty picture. Think about all the souls that would be lost because of his sins. And him wanting to continue to do so, because he didn’t want to be delivered. WHAT A SHAME!!

            I can go on and on!!

            GOD WILL HAVE THE LAST SAY ABOUT THIS MATTER. AND THERE IS NOTHING JIMMY CAN DO, BUT CRY AND SAY, I HAVE SINED BEFORE YOU, MY LORD. BUT IT WILL NOT MEAN ANYTHING TO GOD. HE’LL SAY, I NEVER KNEW YOU.

            THIS IS SOMETHING THE CHURCH NEEDS TO SEARCH FOR THEMSELVES AND THOSE THAT PUTS THIS MAN HIGH ON A PEDASTL.

            PASTORS, PREACHERS, AND TEACHERS, THAT ARE IN THIS SITUTION, NEEDS TO BE EXSPOSED… ALL OF THEM. AND I AM ON THE PATH OF DOING JUST THAT.. JESUS IS ABOUT TO COME!! AND LOOK AT THE SOULS THAT ARE LOST. I DON’T WANT THAT.
            GOD BLESS!

  36. My mom loves this guy and believes everything he says. Her body language is bad when I tell her Swaggart is wrong about something. I told her, pastors are not right about everything. For some reason, she thinks pastors know every translation and us regular people don’t. She’s been saved for over 30 years and does not read her bible. In fact, she’s looking to buy Swaggar’s Expositor’s bible. Thinking he knows it all. I told there’s some heresies in there. And advised her to read the KJV without commentary and just ask the HS to give you understanding as you read.

    As for me, I was introduced to JSM from my mother. She’s a media member. I got saved three years ago watching SBN. But the last two years I tailed off and now have not watched in two months. They preach salvation but I find many of their other doctrines to be faulty. They don’t speak about other topics. The sermons are usually about, tithing, blessings, salvation, and the infilling of the HS. Which is fine but why not speak about spiritual warfare? The Judgments that are happening to this country? What the government is doing with the NWO/agenda 2030?

    Last Fall I was watching one the Wednesday evening service. Jimmy was preaching. He said something so crazy to me. He said when the prophet Daniel was speaking of knowledge increasing in the end times, that he really believes that verse/scripture was referring to his Expositor’s bible. I was like ‘what’! That’s a pretty arrogant thing to say.

    I’m not a fan of his son Donnie either. I’m sorry but I can’t listen to him. I learn nothing anyway. His beliefs are so off. The founding father’s were not Christians Donnie nor are the Republican presidents he and his family like to vote for… He also says some of the most ridiculous border line racist things. He’s been cancelled for me.
    I used to like watching Frances and Friends but I no longer cause of him.

    Their music is very good. I give them that. But overall I’m just not feeling them anymore. It’s great that their preaching the gospel but like I said, I find their other doctrine beliefs to be wrong. My eyes have been opened since becoming save and reading/studying the scriptures for myself. I’m thankful that I got saved under their ministry. But since, I’ve found a few other born again Christian Youtube pastors/ministries that I choose to watch.

    Reply

    1. Hi TR, Thanks for your comment. Wow – Swaggart really believes that the “knowledge shall increase” statement of Daniel 12:4 is referring to his Expositor’s Bible? His hubris truly knows no bounds. I remember before he was found out to have been visiting prostitutes for over twenty years that he used to say that God had called him alone to reach the world with the gospel. Now he says that his ministry alone has a special commission from God to bring the Church back to the truth. Megalomania is alive and well at SBN.

      If you can locate a YouTube video of Swaggart’s where he says that, let me know. I will link it so the proof is documented on this site.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. Pastor Mark,

        Do you think Jimmy Swaggart is a Christian? Has he ever been saved in your opinion? Is he a brother or is he a lost sheep?

        Reply

      2. Pastor Mark,

        I know who you DON’T LIKE, but whom do you see as a spiritual mentor? Of the many ministers who are on tv and radio, is there particular ones that have molded and shaped your theology? Ministers WHO HAVE tested worthy. Is there any of them that we would have heard of?

        Do you have any opinions on the Azusa Street Revival? I’ve been studying on that for a bit. What are your thoughts?

        Reply

      3. I don’t know if it’s on Youtube cause when I heard it, it was a Live broadcast last November I was watching. He was doing a series of sermons on the end-times.

        Reply

    2. TR,

      Jimmy Swaggart made the same claim that his Expositor’s Study Bible is the increase in knowledge prophesied in Daniel, or at least his Study Bible indicates the increase in knowledge, during a sermon on March 19, 2017. I unfortunately cannot find video of it anywhere, but I heard it live with my own ears. During this same sermon, Swaggart also claimed more people have been saved through his network than any other network on television and God will transfer his headquarters from PLANET Heaven to planet Earth (emphasis added).

      Reply

  37. Hello Craig,

    Thank you for replying; I am sure you are sincerely trying to help the Kingdom of God. I cannot speak for Pastor Mark or anyone else who has posted, but I personally understand victory over sin comes by placing ones faith in Christ’s death on the Cross, which absorbed God’s wrath, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives without violating His Perfect Nature. The issue I have with JSM is the claim they are the only ones who understand this. In other words, I do not object to Swaggart’s teaching per se, I object to his exclusivity. More Christians understand victory over sin that the Swaggarts wish to admit, in my opinion. So many people think JSM is a cult because JSM claims to be the best ministry in the world, when it is one of several ministries God is using.

    Reply

  38. Hi Craig,

    Thank you for your timely response and your willingness to amicably discuss JSM with me. As a matter of fact, several other ministries teach victory over sin ultimately comes through the cross of Christ. For instance, here is an article to a Billy Graham Evangelistic Magazine Article describing Christ dying to sin, not merely for sin: https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/june-2010/how-to-find-victory-over-sin/
    These ministries may not articulate the message exactly as Swaggart does, but they teach the same thing. Swaggart’s teaching is a nuance of Keswick theology, which has been prominent in the church since its inception in 1871.
    As I have stated before, my objection to Swaggart has nothing to do with his past, but rather his present claims that he has received this special revelation from God, and those who have not also received this revelation are condemned to live as second-rate, impotent Christians. Swaggart also attacks believers who disagree with his view of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and those who disagree with his view of Conditional Security. For a time in my life, I was afraid to attend a church that disagreed with his views because that must be a dead church. I have attended a Reformed Baptist Church now for over two years and let me assure you it is not dead.
    I again appreciate your openness to my commentary and your post forced me to think a bit; I hope this will lead to a stronger mutual understanding between us and within the Body of Christ. Trust the Lord and He will lead you into all truth. You are in my prayers, brother!

    In Christ,
    Isaac

    Reply

  39. The sacred Trinity having a body is actually the Mormon Adam-God doctrine. That is noxious heresy.

    Reply

    1. Yes, you are correct – that is Mormon doctrine, not Christian. It is incredible that so many Christians who follow Swaggart don’t recognize the heresy.

      Reply

      1. You might be interested to know as well Swaggart was influenced by the two arguable godfathers of Positive Confessionalism, EW Kenyon as well as FJ Dake whose Annotated Reference Bible teaches the tritheistic Mormon false trinity in addition to the planet Heaven heresy. You might also be interested to know like Dake, Swaggart resolutely denies eternal generation as documented in the 7 November 1987 issue of Dr RL Sumner’s The Biblical Evangelist as well as in abberant hypo-Calvinist RC Sproul’s contribution to the work The Agony of Deceit. As a Primitive Baptist, I abhor his errors but he did document Swaggat’s semi-Arianism. https://www.amazon.com/Agony-Deceit-Preachers-Really-Teaching/dp/0802487785

        http://www.mormonthink.com/QUOTES/adamgod.htm

        http://www.pawcreek.org/the-dakes-bible-hagins-and-copelands-doctrines/

        Reply

        1. Yes, thanks for pointing that out. I was aware of some of that and I mention the Dakes influence in one of these articles. In fact he was sued by Dakes for plagiarism. Thanks for your input.

          …Pastor Mark

          Reply

  40. Wow. I am now thoroughly blown away. I’ve never been a fan of J.S.,but as I am a “false teacher junkie” I try to learn about what each one’s particular errors are. I read through your review of his bible & my jaw literally dropped. The arrogance of this man is off the charts. The Lord has stern words to say about those who add to His word. As sickened as I am by the souls he is influencing, the greater abomination is his misrepresentation of who God is. He is dragging our savior thru the filth of his own debauchery. I’m glad I found your website!
    Sola Gloria

    Reply

    1. Hi Denise, I am happy to hear my website is of value to you. Yes, you are right, arrogance is a predominant aspect of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and it infects many of his followers with the same. Thanks for your comment.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  41. Tonight I was flicking through the stations and notice that Francis and Friends was on and talking about this study Bible. I have seen online how this Bible is written and it is nothing more than a big distraction on reading the scriptures just like you said. So this is what I email to Francis

    The Expositor’s Study Bible goes against the scriptures in the Bible. Jimmy’s comments in RED are a distraction in reading the Holy scriptures. There are many scriptures warning on adding or taking away from the the Word of God. Below is a list of them, I can’t tell you how disturbing this is coming from someone that is claiming to be a man of God and turns around and puts his own interpretations into the Bible that says not to do it.

    Revelation 22:18-19
    I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

    Deuteronomy 4:2
    You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

    Proverbs 30:5-6
    Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

    Deuteronomy 12:32
    “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

    Revelation 22:18
    I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,

    2 Peter 1:20
    Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.

    My mother loves watching them and donates to them, and said I should watch them- but there is something in me that just doesn’t trust this ministry. It’s mostly singing and selling their books and music. I’ve tried many times to watch them and like them – but something is just not right with them. I’ve also have notice them criticizing other ministries that are on TV and degrading people calling into Francis and Friends with questions. I hate to say it but they remind me of modern day pharisees.

    Reply

    1. Hi Christine, I appreciate your comment. Your perception is right on – the Swaggart Bible smacks of adding to the Word of God. That is sad that your mother is being influenced by them. If I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. God bless.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  42. Great stuff! The latest airings of SBN in Australia included these gems by Jimmy and Donnie Swaggart: “98% Christians walk in darkness” and “If you don’t have the King James version of the Bible you do not have the word of God”. What pride and arrogance! And why do the men who participate in his pane discussions look so sad and angry?

    Reply

    1. Hi Neville, Thanks for that information. Those are horrendous statements by Swaggart. Very cultic. I would like to get that documented. If you can find me a video of that I would be very appreciative.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. SBN broadcast on free to air channel 055 here in Australia, and the services are not in sequence, as some include a guitar player who died about four years ago. I cannot provide a video, but I could, in future, note the date of the broadcast in which he makes these spurious claims. Almost every service and panel discussion includes statements about ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in other tongues’. Also, on many occasions, Swaggart has claimed that the other denominations do not understand ‘the message of the cross’. This is patently untrue as churches here in Australia have been preaching this message for as long as I can remember.

        Reply

  43. Hi Pastor Mark,
    Recently a neighbor requested that I build him a laptop and install certain Bible software. He asked me to install the JS Expositor’s Bible, (which I have never heard of), so I first installed the “King James Pure Bible Search” and “e-Sword” software programs. Thhen I attempted to install the JS Expositor’s Bible, but found that the JSM website only offers it for android or iphone in “app” form. This resulted in me doing a search on the internet for a Windows or PC version when I came upon your website. WoW!! I have to say I agree with you, (everything), and will pray for my neighbor that his eyes are opened and that the heretical ways of Jimmy Swaggart are revealed to him, and to all of the deceived persons snared by Satan in this false ministry, as they are obviously blind too and need our prayers .

    Reply

    1. Hi Yours in Christ, Thanks for your comment. I am glad you found my site helpful. I add my prayers to yours for your neighbor. I pray you can help him and perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this! Concerning installing the JS Expositor’s Bible on a computer, I can help you with that. I have worked in IT since the 80s. Here is how it is done: First you download Kindle for PC. You can get it here: https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=ruby_redirect?ie=UTF8&node=16571048011
      Then click on “Download for PC and Mac.” That will get you the EXE file. Just run that to install Kindle. Then your neighbor needs to set up a Kindle account with Amazon if he does not already have one. The next step is to purchase the Bible with his kindle/Amazon account. I just checked and it seems that Swaggart has removed his Bible from Kindle, but the Kindle New Testament Expositor’s Bible by Swaggart is available. I own the Kindle version of Swaggart’s Bible with the Old and New Testament – I bought it to examine his teachings. So I know he used to sell it. He must have figured he would make more money if he removed the option for the Kindle version. I used the Kindle version when I wrote my article: https://christiananswerman.com/the-dangers-of-the-jimmy-swaggart-bible/ All my references in that article use the Kindle location page numbers. I wonder if his removal of it had something to do with my article using the Kindle page numbers. I know they have talked about me in their services and on their television program, so I do know they are aware of my work.

      If you have not seen it, you might take a look at this page – My book on Swaggartism can be a great ministry tool for helping Swaggartites: https://christiananswerman.com/get-the-book-swaggartism-jimmy-swaggart-false-teaching/

      Thanks again for your comment, God bless,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  44. I just saw a rerun of a Donnie service this afternoon. He plainly said “If you’re reading the… (he read off a bunch of non-KJV), then you ain’t read’in the Bible!”. I was halting waiting for him to do an ESB ad right then and there. I watch that clown show “Frances & Friends” daily. My husband gets really hacked off, but I can’t wait to see how off the wall they are that day. Someone needs to take Dave Smith and Jim Nations and dump them out in the country somewhere. If they were not so dangerous and stupid with their constant palavering, they would be comical.
    I love this website, and so thankful so see all of my observations from the last 30 years of these CROOKS justified.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jeanette, Thanks for the comment and the information. It is always helpful when people provide information on what the Swaggarts are up to. Yes, they are definitely KJV Onlyists. By the way, I wrote a book entitled, KJV Onlyism: Is the KJV the Best Version? I think you would like it. You would also like my book, Swaggartism: The Strange Doctrines of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. You can see all my books here: http://www.amazon.com/author/markswarbrick They are all available in both paperback and Kindle eBook version.

      Reply

  45. I write this comment in true Christian charity. I am a former follower of Jimmy Swaggart, and former reader of JS Expositor’s Bible and the Dake Annotated Notes. There are many false doctrines in each of the men’s notes (which Swaggart heavily borrowed from Dake). But the Gap Theory is a blatant lie. I will not refute in its entirety, just with two passages: 1 Cor 15:22; Rom 5:14. “All die in Adam…Death reigned from Adam unto Moses.” The Gap Theory violates this truth and is irreconcilable unto Scripture. If death did not occur prior to Adam, then how did the pre-Adamites die? Someone is lying, and GOD cannot lie, Titus 1:2: Heb 6:18. I submit that Thomas Chulmer who invented this blasphemy is lying and all who propagate, including JS. If the Gap Theory is Truth; why did not the LORD JESUS or His apostles teach it? As followers of the LORD JESUS, we must decide if we will follow His teaching Who will establish the Kingdom of His glorious Father upon earth, or liars who desires to establish their own kingdom.

    Reply

    1. Hi Scott, Thanks for your comment. You are absolutely correct. The Gap Theory is nonsense. Your point is well made – a race of men could not exist and die out before Adam, because the New Testament says death came by Adam. Great point. This is just one of many of Swaggart’s false teachings. This one he stole from Dake and he was convicted in court for plagiarizing Dake’s writings. One would think a man who says he has new revelations directly from God would not need to steal material. God bless and thanks for commenting.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

      1. I like your thinking, brother. As aforementioned, I followed Swaggart for most of my life. But, when I asked the LORD for true enlightenment for His holy Word, the Swaggart lies were revealed. I alluded to his plagiarism, but refused to be specific. I have learned through the truth, that I am a Biblicist, and I am pleased with that label. If the doctrine is not specifically taught in the revelations to true prophets and apostles, I reject it. THANK you for the work that you perform. You reach and help more people than you realize. True lovers of the Word of GOD are vanguards of His revelation, and although He has promised to preserve His Word; it is incumbent upon the followers of the KING of kings to preserve the truth as long as we have breath. Bless you, Brother!

        Reply

  46. As a young lady in the late ’50’s and early ’60’s I was introduced to Jimmy Swaggart and his family as they held meetings at our Assembly of God campground in Carlinville, Illinois. What great moves of God we had in those meetings and I remember sitting on the edge of my seat, thinking “here is a man we can follow as he follows Christ”. I followed him through the years and loved his ministry. I was also acquainted with Jim Woolsey, as my husband was career military, and we were stationed in Tucson, Az. where Jim Woolsey accepted Christ. If only Bros. Swaggart would have accepted the chance to be restored to the Assembly of God denomination and taken the council that was offered. I have always thought that was his downfall and was disappointed to learn that Jim Woolsey stayed with him through it all.
    Jimmy Swaggart is misleading many and will have to account for it some day.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jeri, Thanks for commenting. Yes, I agree with you. When Swaggart did his TV repentance show, I told my congregation that if he repented then he is forgiven and we should forgive him too. But then he rejected the help and counsel from his own church and went rogue. I knew then it would not bode well for him. He continued seeing prostitutes after that, and got caught by the police twice. A truly sad story. Thanks again for your comment and God bless,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

    2. I understand your dilemma, Sister. I had only followed Swaggart since the early 80s, but his downfall was not following the LORD JESUS, not refusing to accept correction from the AG.
      Swaggart, like many other pastors, are only interested in building their own kingdom, NOT advancing the Kingdom of GOD like the apostles. Remember, if you follow the precepts of the Bible, and NOT man, you will never be wrong.

      Reply

  47. In, January 2011, Donnie Swaggart was guest speaker at the ‘National Australia Day United Prayer.” This ecumenical gathering led by Daniel Nalliah, President of Catch the Fire Ministries, Australia, had a clear Kingdom Now Dominion Theology mandate as is evident when reading the following excerpts from the ‘Australia Day United Prayer and Revival in Jan. 2011’ leaflet at: http://catchthefire.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/national-australia-day-united-prayer-2011-and-ctfm-revival-meetings-with-rev-donnie-swaggart.pdf

    “Rev. Donnie Swaggart (son of Rev Jimmy Swaggart) will minister the uncompromised Word of the Lord and challenge the body of Christ in Australia to rise up and transform the nations for Jesus…

    Pastor Daniel stated, “Do not miss this great opportunity to unite as up to 1000 prayer warriors gather from many denominations and cultures across Australia, to petition heaven for our nation to honor Jesus as Christ. United prayer will bring down God’s glory; it is the key to nationwide governmental breakthrough.”

    Listed as supporters and representatives of this ecumenical prayer gathering are: “Anglicans, African Churches, AOG, Apostolic, Arabic, Baptist, Catholic, CCC, Chinese, Church of Christ, COC, Orthodox, CRC, FGA, Filipino, Independent Churches, Indian, Indigenous, Indonesian, Lutheran, Messianic Believers, Methodists, Presbyterian, Reformed, Salvation Army, Samoan, Sri Lankan, Uniting & Many Ethnic Churches, Culture Watch, National Alliance of Christian Leaders, Salt Shakers, Australian Marketplace Connections, Victoria Parliament, Transforming Melbourne, Rise Up Australia and Options Plus Care.”

    Further evidence of the ungodly Kingdom Now Dominionist agenda of Catch the Fire Ministries is revealed when Daniel Nalliah, chairman of Rise Up Australia Party stated:

    “It is with great joy and excitement that we announce the formation of a new political party, RISE UP AUSTRALIA PARTY (Keep Australia Australian) a party for all people who embrace Australia as home. This Party is totally committed to protecting the Australian way of life and our Judeo-Christian Heritage upon which Australia was founded…The Rise Up Australia Party Board of Directors comprises of Medical Doctors, Housewives, Businessmen, Businesswomen, Christian Ministers and others with more than 20 years of experience in the Political arena. This great bunch of people who love Australia, have been working behind the scenes for the past several months to set up the Party, ready to start operations in June 2011. http://riseupaustraliaparty.com

    Reply

    1. Hi Ronald, Thanks for your comment. I am very familiar with the Kingdom Now Dominion theology. I opposed it in the 80s when it first appeared on the scene. Their belief that Christians are to take over the governments of all countries and rule the world as little gods and bring in the Millennium by their own power is an unbiblical doctrine. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

      However, the quotes you have provided in your comment do not establish that National Australia Day United Prayer or the RISE UP AUSTRALIA PARTY are Kingdom Now Dominion events or organizations. I do not claim they are not, for I know nothing about them. I only say that you have failed to prove that they are. I find the quotes you have given are completely in line with Christians exercising good stewardship as citizens of their nation and desiring to be a light to the world. In 1892 the Supreme Court of the United States declared:

      “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon, and embody the teachings of, the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian. This is a Christian nation.”

      There is nothing wrong with such a position, indeed I applaud it, so long as the freedom of people to believe or not to believe is afforded all citizens. I pray that America will return to its Christian roots and once again become “one nation under God.” As President Ronald Reagan put it, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

      I cannot overemphasize the efficacy of Christian awareness of Satan’s use of political organizations to implement his wicked plans. Christians must be politically active in countering the devilish schemes of Satan in the political realm. Plato said, “The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” How true that is. Christians, more than any, should be involved in politics, and the preacher even more so. True is the maxim: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Let us take care that we do not become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  48. Thank you, I have one of his Bibles and I was thinking it was just strange that he had his words in red instead of Jesus . And that he had his words in between the written word. Now I don’t know what to do with this Bible because I don’t want it but I don’t want to give it away or let it be out there . but God’s words also in it so I don’t know what to do with it. Thank you again .sincerely Marie

    Reply

    1. Hi Marie, It is a corruption of God’s word, so if you want to discard it, there is no sin. Another option is just to stuff it away in a closet somewhere.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  49. I have been watching the Son Life channel for the past few months and I marveled at the singing and musical talent displayed on their programs. In fact I told my wife I was thinking about purchasing the Jimmy Swaggart bible. I was unable to sleep last night and decided to research the topic online. I guess I was too impressed with the artful presentation of their ministry to see the real truth. It did bother me the way Swaggart’s commentary was displayed but I decided it was worth the “knowledge” I would be receiving. Thank goodness for a sleepless night and for what I found this morning concerning JSM. I have actually given to the ministry but fortunately not that much. I have had too much sin in my life to condemn it in Donnie or Gabriel’s lives but this has been a big eye opener indeed. My father was a Nazarene minister for over 65 years and he warned me at an early age, but I didn’t listen and was on the way to getting involved with support for JSM. If ever there was a man who loved God, it was he. Anyway I think I will go back to bed and trust the Holy Spirit to guide me through my studies in the word.

    Reply

    1. Hi Bruce, Thanks for your comment. I am so glad you found my site and that it has been helpful to you. The articles on my webpage about Swaggart just scratch the service. To get the whole story, I recommend my book: Swaggartism: Here is a link:

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  50. Hi Pastor Mark,
    YES! I agree with what you are saying. I used to follow jimmy swaggart but when I saw that he came out with that expository bible I felt something was wrong. I thought what if Jimmy gets something wrong in one of those interpretations? The bible is a VAST book and its best to leave it ALONE and if one needs discernment, then they should ask GOD not Jimmy to clarify a scripture they may not understand. Moreover, his wife francis is a shameful woman. She uses her platform to push to vote and support republicans, she even had roger stone in her show one day. Jesus Christ NEVER involved himself in politics! Also, they seem to ALWAYS be asking for money and they sound like saleman selling and trying to sale books. Its so disgusting, I can’t connect to that. Jimmy and his son and grandson live in mansions. Did not Jesus say sale your possessions and give to the poor??? I eliminated them from my life and I thank GOD that he opened my eyes. These people are misleading SOULS into hell….sadly. As for the expository…does not the bible WARN us not to add to the scriptures??? Isn’t it considered “adding” what jimmy is doing in the expository bible and on top of that he is making MONEY off of that???

    NO WAY! Bye JIMMY!

    Thank you Mark for your article and work exposing the swaggarts. May God Bless you and your family.

    Reply

    1. Hi Tony and thank you for your encouraging words. I agree with what you say, except the part where you mention being against supporting Republicans. Although the Republican Party is far from perfect, the other choice is not a choice any true born-again believer can make. Any one supporting the Democratic Party is fighting against God. You cannot be for a party that supported slavery, opposed civil rights, practiced eugenics, stole Indian land and engineered the infamous Trail of Tears, and that currently promotes the murdering of babies in the womb, socialism, totalitarianism, removing the mention of God from their platform, and promoting homosexuality, and also be a Bible-believing Christian.

      I recommend to you my book, Hidden History: The Real Story of the Democratic Party

      https://christiananswerman.com/hidden-history/

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  51. well, well I guess you shall see when you stand before the Great White Throne of Judgement-This article so well spent is definitely NOT of GOD and obviously written from someone who IS NOT SPIRIT FILLED-Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

    16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

    17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

    18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

    19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

    20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

    21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

    22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

    23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

    Reply

    1. Hi Rose, Thanks for your comment. That is a great verse you quoted, where Jesus tells us to know them by their fruits. I have an article about that passage that you may find of interest. It is here:

      The Bad Fruit of Swaggartism

      You mentioned that I am not Spirit filled. I am Pentecostal and I was filled with the Holy Spirit 50 years ago and have operated in the gifts of the Spirit since. I gather you do not agree with my article and that’s alright. My defense is that just because I think a particular Bible commentary is not advantageous, and because I do not believe that heaven is a planet to the north, or that the Holy Spirit has a body, or that God the Father is not omnipresent, or that those who have not spoken in tongues are “of little worth to the Kingdom of God,” or that Jimmy Swaggart has a new revelation giving him some sort of exclusive claim on the Gospel – just because I don’t believe those things does not make me a false prophet. I am sure you can see the reasoning of that.

      Thank you again for commenting. I pray that our Lord and Savior blesses you with joy and peace. God bless you my friend,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  52. If Brother Swaggart was not a true man of God … then why would God let him continue year after year? I love Jesus Christ with all my heart and know that when I tune into SBN I feel the Holy Spirit working in me. I feel the Holy Spirit is working through his ministry and will continue to watch and praise my Lord as always. God bless you, myself and the Swaggart family.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kimberly, in answer to your question, “If Brother Swaggart was not a true man of God … then why would God let him (Swaggart) continue year after year?” Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that longevity of life is a test for a false prophet. If that were the standard, then we should consider a number of the Mormon prophets to be true prophets, for many of them lived a long time. Charles Russell of the Jehovah Witnesses would, by that standard be a prophet. So would Mary Baker Eddy of the Christian Scientists and Ellen G White of 7th Day Adventists. All these cults had prophets that lived a long time. The standard the Bible gives us is this: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20) In other words, if their teaching is not in line with Scripture, they are a false prophet. That is the standard, not how long they live or how long (or how large) their following is.

      Feelings you may experience are also not a gauge of a ministry or a prophet either. Many cultists experience strong feelings in their cult meetings. Swaggart services are not cultic, the majority of the people there are saved Christians. So it would not be unusual to experience the presence of God while worshipping at a Swaggart service. But that does not prove that all of Swaggart’s teachings are biblical. Much of what the Swaggart’s teach is true. But there is a lot of false teaching mixed in and it takes research and discernment to see it. I would recommend to you my book, Swaggartism if you are brave enough to see the facts.

      God bless,

      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  53. Jesus words were never written in “red” until the Scofield Bible. Why does everyone have such a fit about this? It wasn’t originally written in red, smh.. hilarious is people find this to be an issue as it was started only a short while back by Scofield. I have no problem with it being written in red, it’s just a silly argument and makes no sense.

    Reply

    1. Hi Daniel. Actually the first red letter edition Bibles came out in 1901 and were published by the Christian Herald, before the Scofield Bible began doing the same. American readers have become used to this practice for over a hundred years now. Swaggart putting his words in red in a world that is accustomed to seeing Jesus’ words in red is shocking to many people. Since Swaggart is known the world over for being braggadocios, many people see his adoption of this practice (in concert with his claims of being a prophet of God who alone has the true gospel) as further evidence of his megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur.

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  54. Could not agree more. So many people are being deceived and ripped off by his b.s. It only goes to show that these are indeed the last days we are living in. I guess Gutenberg did not realize the impact his printing press would have on the world. Satan could not be more pleased.

    Reply

  55. Hi Mark,

    I have made comments on another post of yours on Swaggart’s expository bible so I don’t want to duplicate my answer again.

    But can I just add, I am not a big fan of commentary bibles even if I may agree with the writers thoughts being expressed.

    In my view they can be a distraction to the reader who even sub consciously may read the writers thoughts at the same time as reading the text and accept it as being the correct interpretation.

    Right way is to search and study the scriptures oneself (Acts 17:11, 2Tim 2:15 & 3:15-17)

    When I first saw Swaggarts expository bible being promoted on his tv show a few years ago I was absolutely shocked!

    The nerve and arrogance from him to insert his own “opinions” next to virtually every scripture in the word of God is disgraceful.

    Even the JWs corrupt New World translation have never gone that far as far as I know.

    Enough said about Swaggart’s blatant perversion of the holy scriptures.

    p/s Does Jimmy really think that the christian message and walk should always come back to the cross — “Message of the cross” that he keeps preaching ?

    (Col 2:14-23) suggests we should put this all behind us and go on to perfection (Heb 6:1-2)

    Regards, Rod.

    Reply

    1. Hi Rod, Thanks for your comment. To answer your question, Yes, Jimmy Swaggart does seem to feel that there is nothing more to the Gospel than the cross. He has said, “There is nothing before the cross and nothing after, because there doesn’t need to be.” Of course, this leaves out all of Jesus teaching (before the cross) and the Resurrection, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and His continual intercession for us at the right hand of the Father (after the cross).

      God bless,

      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  56. No way I’d ever get this fake Bible Swaggart made just to boost his own ego and false doctrine (also got your book “Swaggartism”, great book BTW), if anyone wants a proper KJV Study Bible (though it’s not my preferred translation, I’m more for ESV), there’s this on Amazon, though I personally don’t agree with every footnote commentary in it written: https://www.amazon.com/KJV-Study-Bible-Violet-Floret/dp/1683228448

    And here’s something else interesting; I don’t think this is the first time Jimmy’s pulled a similar stunt with publishing a Bible that’s identical to another. One thing I’ve noticed is in the 1970s, the now defunct company Crusade Publishers, Inc., in Nashville, Tennessee, published their own KJV Bible, called a “Family Altar Edition”, probably the biggest/heaviest Bible I’ve come across. It’s a nice KJV one, Red Letter, has beautiful paintings and photos of Ancient Israel, but as it turns out…

    Jimmy Swaggart, who’s also had other Bibles in the past like a “Rock of Ages Family Edition”, once had his own Bible called a “Campmeeting Edition”, and what do you know, it’s the EXACT SAME as the Family Altar Edition, same spacing of text, photos and paintings, the only differences is that the title page, instead of saying “Crusade Bible Publishers, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee”, says “Jimmy Swaggart, Baton Rouge, Louisiana”, followed by the zip code, it has “SWAGGART” on the cover, and there’s a photo of Swaggart on the front cover, and that’s it. There’s no other changes, and in fact, it and the title page still has the Crusade Bible Publishing Logo on the cover and title page, and even the same Preface from the Family Altar one.

    It’s not direct plagiarism, but it definitely raises my eyebrows with suspicion; comparing the two literally feels like Swaggart just put it there as a way of fueling his self-image, it doesn’t seem likely that he got Crusade’s permission, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a foreshadowing of what lead to the publishing of his false, so-called bible.

    Reply

    1. Hi Mitchell, Thanks for your comment and thanks for the info. I do know Swaggart was found guilty in court of plagiarizing from the Dake’s Bible, so it seems to be a tendency. Thanks for buying my book and thanks for the compliment.

      God bless,
      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  57. I’m going to order the book because I’ve been following along with their panel studies and I’m seeing them constantly testing each others understanding and admitting to when they’re wrong or followed a wrong teaching in the past. That’s what Jesus tells us to do in the messages to the 7 churches. (This is happening real time btw) His primary message is the Cross and what Jesus did for us there. Still figuring out their entire doctrine but I agree with most and only question a few listed. (Still reserve the right to change my position if the truth is revealed to me by the Holy Spirit)

    Reply

  58. I believe this article. I believe that what jimmy swaggart did was ADD to the bible. God warned us not to add to his word. By jimmy adding his commentaries in there, in that expository bible, he is literally adding to the bible. That’s a major sin. What if he goofed in one of his interpretations?? I even emailed jimmy swaggart ministries and called them to repent of this expository bible but as of yet they refuse. What a sad shame…jimmy will have to account to God on judgement day. I want to thank the person for writing this article and exposing jimmy’s expository bible as this has had me distressed for some time now.

    Reply

  59. One other comment I’d like to make is something interesting; crazily enough, it talks about the old KJV Bible that Jimmy Swaggart released, the “Reference Edition” that Don mentioned in the comments here: https://christiananswerman.com/seriously-sincerely-deceived/

    Turns out, that Bible oddly in itself is like a study Bible, as it has commentaries on each of the 66 books, although they’re placed before the actual book, unlike being placed in the footnotes or on the sides of the pages, with some example photos here:

    https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MrMAAOSwKV5ju22o/s-l1600.jpg
    https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LT4AAOSw4JBkJuY2/s-l1600.png

    Which makes me wonder, if he wanted to do his own study Bible, why couldn’t he have just reprinted those comments from the original printing or something and put them in the footnotes or margins instead? It boggles my mind.

    I also do believe that Swaggart is a KJV Onlyist; he has the same mannerisms and phrasings they use; he actually said once that he doesn’t even see modern translations as translations in his book “25 Great Years…25 Anointed Sermons” (ever read that book? I got a used copy out of a perverse sense of curiosity, not because I support Swaggart but to see what Swaggart’s preaching was like in the 80’s as I’ve found the whole case with him and other televangelists fascinating) from 1981, in the tenth chapter/sermon called “The Bible”, he wrote this, and I quote (using capitalization in place of italics since I can’t use italics here), and re-reading this section, it’s ironic to see how much Swaggart changed, especially when you read the fourth paragraph:

    “Some people ask me about my likes and dislikes in regard to the question of the ever-expanding number of Bible ‘translations’. Personally I prefer to refer to them as interpretations. Basically, that is exactly what I think they are. In honesty I find it hard to even think of them as interpretations. To me, it seems that they are more in the nature of books ABOUT the Bible.
    Now I know full well that the King James version is a ‘translation’ too. But the men who translated it had but one motive, and that was to translate the original Scriptures as perfectly as possible, from the Greek or Hebrew (and also Aramaic) into English. They were not trying to promote pet doctrines and so forth. Their only thought was to make it agree, as perfectly as possible, with the original. This should be the aim of every translation as the Bible is brought out in different languages.
    Have you noticed? There will be a great fanfare made over some new translation (interpretation) when it is first brought out. But in a short time, they all seem to fall by the wayside. Yet the King James version never falters. It just keeps on going, year after year after year.
    You see, it bothers me when people try to twist and change God’s Word to make it conform to their interpretation of what they THINK God should have said. It is one thing to translate something, but it is another matter entirely when you start interpreting it.
    And please understand, I am not saying it is wrong to have different translations. I am not implying that it is wrong to study them. But personally, I feel every Christian would be miles ahead if he would use the King James version as the FOUNDATION of all study in the Word of God. The King James never falls by the wayside. Year after year it shows up once again as the most popular translation of the Bible.
    There IS a reason for this. I believe it because it is the closest to the original of anything that has ever been printed. That is the reason it never dies. Use other translations as you choose, but always keep your King James version as your solid foundation from which you explore the other translations. As I have often said, the other translations are not really the WORD of God, they are books ABOUT the Word of God.
    People say to me, ‘Brother Swaggart, I can’t UNDERSTAND the King James version.’ Really, I doubt this. This is God’s letter to mankind. Spend a little time WORKING to understand it. It isn’t just another book. IT IS THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
    You should give it all diligence. You should pray over it, water it with your tears, study it incessantly. Only then will you find that the Spirit of God will reveal it to you.
    And never forget this: If you know the Word of God, you have the foundation of ALL knowledge, irrespective of the circumstances under which that knowledge may dwell.”

    And ironically enough, the Expositor’s Study Bible is literally just what Swaggart claims modern translations are; it’s not a pure translation, but an interpretation, one that twists God’s Word and contradicts what he said before. And another thing that disproves him; the KJV is, as of March 2022, only the 5th most popular translation, the NIV is the most popular (unless it was #1 in the 1970s and 1980s, but I wasn’t born there, I was born the same year Swaggart got caught a third time).

    Reply

      1. Got a copy of the book for my birthday last year, and it’s a very good and informative one, definitely recommend one for any Christian. Never understood why a good amount of preachers/televangelists (like Falwell) only use that translation, there are other good and more accurate ones besides it.

        Reply

  60. Hi Mark,

    In a reply to someone else above, you stated that Jimmy Swaggart had said to Marvin Gorman that “I’ve been doing this for twenty-eight years. I have chased prostitutes in every city where I have conducted revivals or crusades.” Do you have any sources for that?

    You also write that Swaggart was caught with a prostitute in 1988, 1991 and 1995. The 88 and 91 incidents are well documented, but I have never heard nor can I find anything about 1995. Source?

    By the way, thanks for exposing the errors of Swaggart’s teaching. I used to admire him a lot when I was younger, and his preaching and music were a great blessing to me back then. Later on I got totally turned off by the things that you mention: their constant focus on their message of the cross, their incessant criticism of other churches and preachers, and their not-so-discrete suggesting that the real Truth is found at JSM alone. Then there is the whole “touch not God’s anointed” thing, which apparently relieves anyone who says, explicitly or implicitly, they’re anointed of any accountability. (And the gullible, naïve little flock just keep on giving money and buying books and merchandise in exchange for simple answers to complex issues …)

    Thanks for your time, and God bless.

    Reply

    1. Hi Thomas, In my book Swaggartism I have this:

      According to court documents, Swaggart told the Assemblies of God that he had a “long standing sexual aberration and that he had consorted with prostitutes for many, many years.” In tears, Swaggart told Rev. Marvin Gorman, “I’ve been doing this for twenty-eight years. I have chased prostitutes in every city where I have conducted revivals or crusades.”

      This confession happened in 1988. Swaggart said it to Rev. Marvin Gorman. In my book Swaggartism, I have a footnote to that to a YouTube video, however when I check it, YouTube says that account has been deleted. I believe the statement is also found in the book, Let us Prey, written by Marvin Gorman’s attorney, Hunter Lundy. The statement may be in the John Camp videos as well, and they are still up.

      The 1995 incident was when Swaggart was pulled over in a red light district late at night. Having been observed cruising up and down “the strip” numerous times police pulled him over for suspicion of soliciting prostitution. Swaggart claimed he was going to inspect a transmission tower the church owned. However that tower hand been sold by the ministry a year prior. A police officer is interviewed on the matter in the following video. Start watching at 9:20 and after they discuss the ’91 incident then they begin with “four years later” (’95) and discuss the ’95 incident. Here is the video. It is Part 2 of the John Camp Videos, which are worth watching in their entirety. https://youtu.be/MwW4-e0qni8

      Hope this helps,

      …Pastor Mark

      Reply

  61. Tonight I watched an SBN broadcast of “The Message of the Cross,” where a panel of SBN-affiliated ministers tried to tell Jimmy Swaggart that he did not originate the concept of Jesus’ death on the cross for redemption and sanctification. One minister cited numerous theologians before Swaggart’s time who taught the doctrine of the cross. He said to Swaggart “This is not new.” Another minister quoted the Apostle Paul linking salvation and sanctification with the Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. Swaggart seemed annoyed and asked the minister which scripture he was getting his information from, as though he didn’t believe it. He was mostly silent as they, in effect, challenged him as the deliverer of a new revelation about the cross. The ministers tried to soften the blow by praising Swaggart for his ministry that advanced the message of the cross worldwide.

    Reply

    1. Hi Joseph, Thank you for that information. That is very interesting indeed! Swaggart has long claimed that his revelation is “new to the Church” and that you can’t get it anywhere except from him. Swaggarites typically argue that Swaggarts revelation is not new and is in the Bible. And now Swaggart is arguing against the idea that it is not new with him. I must find a recording of this and post it with some commentary on it. Can you tell me which day you saw this? I appreciate you sharing this. It is not uncommon for the doctrine of cults to evolve and its important to keep track of what is happening at SBN.

      God bless,
      Pastor Mark

      Reply

  62. I found another interesting thing here; last May, Donnie actually claimed here on Instagram that he actually uses the original Jimmy Swaggart Reference Edition Bible instead of the Expositor’s one his father uses: https://www.instagram.com/donnielswaggart/p/Csj00GsO4ps/?img_index=4

    I’m not sure I believe that seeing how Frances has also used the Expositor’s one, it only makes me wonder, like I commented round about nine months prior, why Jimmy couldn’t have just re-released the original commentary but put it in the footnotes instead of at the beginning of every chapter? I actually even read some of the commentaries and while they actually sound far more closer to what the Bible says than in the Expositor’s Study Bible (even learned some archeological facts that records of King Belshazzar from Daniel 5 weren’t discovered until the recent time it was printed, which would have been late 1970s/early 1980s), it only further shows how Swaggart still fooled everyone and even perusing it you could never tell he was having misadventures with prostitutes whilst preaching the Gospel.

    It would be interesting to do a comparison of the two and see how they differ, but there are far better Study Bibles out there (Thomas Nelson now I think has put out the best KJV one).

    Reply

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