Hillsong United twists Scripture to pressure Bible knowledge deficient church members to pay “tithes”
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. I would thou wert cold or hot. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” Revelation 3:14-18 (KJV)
Hillsong United mega-church is a huge multi-million dollar corporation that rakes in more money on a yearly basis than the church is able to spend. But it’s not for a lack of trying. Brian Houston, founder of Hillsong United, lives a massively-lavish jet-setting lifestyle, and he never stops reminding his congregants to tithe a minimum of 10% of their income to the church. They even have a Hollywood agent that helped them to produce a feature film set to be released in September of 2015. What on earth does a Church of Jesus Christ need with a Hollywood agent?
Hillsong in 2011, took in an incredible $28,000,000.00 in tithes and donations, all tax-free. An additional $7,000,000.00 was taken in by sales of their music recordings. Revenue generated from conferences that year totaled $4,000,000.00. Their bible colleges and courses took in another $10,000,000.00. Hillsong reported total revenue for that year to be $55,000,000.00. All of it completely tax-free.That is not a church, that is a corporation that is using the cover of a church to get out of paying taxes.
On the other hand, charitable giving by Hillsong United in 2011 was a paltry $5,500,000.00. So it makes you really wonder where the other $49,500,000.00 is being spent. Remember, these figures are for 4 years ago, Hillsong has only grown since then. They have taken in nearly another $250,000,000.00 since these 2011 figures were released.
The hard-sell tactics of Hillsong founder Brian Houston to pressure members to tithe revealed:
Christians are not commanded to tithe a set amount
From a doctrinal perspective, the idea of telling a Christian that they must “tithe” their income, or even give any set amount at all, is completely unbiblical. The bible doctrine of tithing was a command given to Jews living under the Law of Moses, and is found in Malachi:
“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:8-10 (KJV)
But in the New Testament, in Paul’s writings to the Christian church, not only is this not found, something every different is there instead. While Paul acknowledges the need for the Church to have money to sustain itself, the parameters are something quite unique. Today’s Laodicean pastors ignore these teachings because when you use them, it’s nearly impossible to make millions doing it.
Hillsong United Church Steeped In Illuminati And New Age Symbolism
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (KJV)
See that? The Holy Spirit through Paul is telling to give cheerfully, because you want to and not because you have to. Christians under Grace are not required to tithe anything (the word tithe referring to giving a tenth, or 10% of your income). The bible goes on to say this also:
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” 1 Corinthians 16:2 (KJV)
Paul says to give “as God has prospered you”, but again he leaves the amount of that giving up to the individual. If you are in church that pressures you to give, and to give a set amount, that church is telling you false doctrine and placing you in bondage. Flee from a corrupt flock fleecer like that.
Mega Church using mega-millions to create mega-movie to rake in more millions. All tax free.
When Hillsong United, or any church, preaches from the pulpit that their members must tithe 10%, and make them feel that God will punish them if they don’t, is nothing more than extortion. It is not only unbiblical, it is also corrupt and crooked. Hillsong United may have started out as a church with good intentions of preaching the gospel, but they have long since abandoned those principles for financial gain.
