Popular American televangelist, Benny Hinn, says he has two regrets about his ministry which has spanned decades.
Hinn, 71, in a recent interview, said he regrets promoting prophesies which “were not accurate or from the Lord” and pushing “prosperity theology.”
“The two things I regret most in ministry: I was not too wise a number of times with prophecy,” the Israeli born American-Canadian told The Strang Report.
“I had guests come to the crusades that I think brought harm to not only people’s lives but also to my reputation because their prophecies were not really prophecies. They went outside the borders of redemption.
“And then there were times when I thought God had shown me something that He wasn’t showing me. And I spoke it out. But in I Corinthians 13, we clearly see that we all prophesy in part. That means we don’t see the full picture. And sadly – and I wish I could go back and fix it – but sadly, there were some prophecies I gave that were not accurate or from the Lord.
“But who is perfect? And for that, of course, I ask people to forgive me. I’m just human and made mistakes like that. And I’ll probably make them again, I suppose, down the road, because I’m not perfect.
“But you know, it’s sad when people focus on times you missed it. But that’s just, you know, the way it is. Yet there were times when I did not miss it.”
Prosperity teaching, my greatest regret
The revered clergyman also said teachings on prosperity are his greatest regrets.
Hinn was one of the prosperity gospel teachers who taught that God rewards active faith and faithful payments of tithes and offerings with wealth and health.
He said, “And that’s been a difficult one for me. When I started in ministry, it was simple. And then the ministry grew….I think that’s when my troubles began. I don’t blame anyone, but sadly you get kind of in a place (where) it becomes difficult. You don’t know what to do and how to get out of it.
“So I came to the conclusion in 2019 that I don’t want to be part of the gimmickry of it, and I still stand by that. But sadly, I let pressure get to me, and because of that pressure, I said things and did things that I should not have done.
“And for that, really, I am sorry, and I ask the dear people watching us to really forgive me for that. And I’m striving with all my heart to be as biblical as possible with that.
“Right now, my focus is the Lord and only the Lord. And if, of course, there will be a time when I may have to raise funds for our ministry, I will do it as biblically as I know how – and balanced.”
Profile
Born Toufik Benedictus Hinn on 3 December, 1952 in the port city of Jaffa, part of modern Tel Aviv in Israel, Benny began his ministry in the 70’s in the United States.
His family had migrated to Canada in 1968 after the 1967 Arab-Israel War.
In 1972, at the age of 20, Hinn gave his life to Jesus alongside high school friends.
He subsequently moved to Orlando, Florida in the U.S. where he established the Orlando Christian Center in 1983. Benny began holding crusades.
In years to come, the cleric held regular “Miracle Crusades” – revival and faith healing summits in major cities. He became popular across the world.
In September 2019, Hinn publicly renounced his previous teachings on prosperity, saying it got out of hand and damaged a lot of people.
He said he would henceforth focus on evangelism and the gospel rather than health and wealth that fetched him millions.
He said at the time, “How long do I have on this earth? What am I going to do in the next 20 years? That is for me to decide. I want to make sure that for the next 15 to 20 years of my life, that my message is the Cross, the real call on my life.”
Before then, his nephew, Costi Hinn, who worked with him, accused the televangelist of being fraudulent in the ministry.
He accused his uncle of riding on prosperity gospel to establish an enterprise that was consuming people and also performing fake miracles, which he said dominated his healing services.
“It’s just like a Ponzi scheme. The only guy getting rich is the guy at the top,” Costi alleged.
He stated further in a documentary, “I saw the testimony of healing and the stories of healing but I never saw real healing.”
Hinn dismissed his nephew’s allegations, saying they are deceptive, inaccurate and wild.
