Beware of fake Joseph Princes out to con you
By Naqiyah Shapudin
The New Paper
Monday, May 20, 2013
The Facebook page has the same cover photo and profile picture. The posts on the timeline are also identical, with frequent updates of inspirational verses from the Bible.
The difference?
One is the real Facebook page of Pastor Joseph Prince of New Creation Church, with close to a million "likes", while the other is a replica of his page, made to con people into thinking it is the real thing.
This impostor is not alone.
Others use some of the photos and posts on Mr Prince's page and post them on their profiles.
Some take it even further, meticulously copying and pasting posts from Mr Prince's real page onto their own timeline, hours after the original posts are made.
But all of them seem to lead to the same thing: Asking the follower to give money to a cause. The most common cause appears to be African orphanages that they say are in need of funds.
The impostor then gives details of how to carry out an online transfer of money to these "causes".
More than 20 'Joseph Princes'
It is not known how many people have been conned by these fake profiles, or how many there are out there, although a quick search on Facebook for "Joseph Prince" turned up more than 20 initial results.
Earlier this week, Mr Prince himself issued a warning to his followers regarding the matter, through a post on his official page.
The post read: "It has come to our attention, that there are people using fake Joseph Prince Facebook accounts to send friend requests and private messages to individuals to ask for their personal details or to raise money for their own causes, like orphanages."
It went on to say that Team Joseph Prince "do not use Facebook to raise any funds for other organisations... and we do not send private messages or friend requests to individuals".
The popular pastor's post comes in the wake of a rise in the number of people posing as high-profile pastors and soliciting money from innocent followers.
This scam is even more common overseas, with notable American pastors such as Adam Hamilton and John Hagee also being impersonated on Facebook.
How can I recognize a false teacher
Jesus warned us that “false Christs and false prophets” will come and will attempt to deceive even God’s elect (Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18). The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing. Any believer who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine. For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:16-17 will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity. Therefore, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teaching by what the Scripture says.
Jesus said “a tree is recognized by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). When looking for “fruit,” here are three specific tests to apply to any teacher to determine the accuracy of his or her teaching:
1) What does this teacher say about Jesus? In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and for this answer Peter is called “blessed.” In 2 John 9, we read, “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” In other words, Jesus Christ and His work of redemption is of utmost importance; beware of anyone who denies that Jesus is equal with God, who downplays Jesus’ sacrificial death, or who rejects Jesus’ humanity. First John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.”
2) Does this teacher preach the gospel? The gospel is defined as the good news concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). As nice as they sound, the statements “God loves you,” “God wants us to feed the hungry,” and “God wants you to be wealthy” are not the complete message of the gospel. As Paul warns in Galatians 1:7, “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” No one, not even a great preacher, has the right to change the message that God gave us. “If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:9).
3) Does this teacher exhibit character qualities that glorify the Lord? Speaking of false teachers, Jude 11 says, “They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.” In other words, a false teacher can be known by his pride (Cain’s rejection of God’s plan), greed (Balaam’s prophesying for money), and rebellion (Korah’s promotion of himself over Moses). Jesus said to beware of such people and that we would know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20).
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