Finis Jennings Dake: How His Theological Errors Have Corrupted Modern Prosperity Gospel Teaching

Introduction: The Man Behind the Heresy

Finis Jennings Dake (1902-1987) was an American Pentecostal minister and biblical commentator whose influence on modern charismatic Christianity cannot be overstated. Born in Miller County, Missouri, Dake claimed to have memorized over 100,000 Bible verses and spent more than 100,000 hours studying Scripture. His most influential work, the Dake Annotated Reference Bible, first published in 1963, contains approximately 35,000 notes and has sold millions of copies worldwide, with current annual sales still exceeding 30,000 copies.

What makes Dake particularly significant is not merely his prolific writing or his claimed biblical knowledge, but rather the systematic theological errors he introduced that have become foundational to modern prosperity gospel teaching. As we will demonstrate from his own writings, Dake redefined fundamental Christian doctrines including the nature of God, the Trinity, the nature of humanity, angels and demons, and the structure of biblical history. These redefinitions, while using traditional theological terminology, fundamentally altered the meaning of core Christian beliefs.

The Christian Research Institute has noted that “much of the aberrant theology of Hagin, Copeland, Hinn, et al. can be traced to one man, Finis Dake.” This is not merely guilt by association but a documented theological lineage that can be traced through direct quotes, acknowledged influences, and parallel teachings. The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements acknowledges that Dake’s notes have become “the ‘bread and butter’ of many prominent preachers and the ‘staple’ of Pentecostal congregations.”

Part I: Dake’s Heretical Teaching About God’s Physical Body

The Doctrine as Taught by Dake

In examining Dake’s own writings from “God’s Plan for Man” (page 448 as referenced in the project files), we find one of his most problematic teachings – that God literally possesses a physical body. Dake wrote explicitly:

This teaching fundamentally contradicts Jesus’s own words in John 4:24 that “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” Dake’s anthropomorphic literalism reduces the infinite, omnipresent God to a being with physical limitations. In his Annotated Reference Bible, Dake goes even further, providing detailed descriptions of God’s supposed physical features:

In his book “Revelation Expounded,” Dake continues this theme, stating that God resides on “a material planet called heaven” and moves about in physical space. This teaching reduces God from the transcendent Creator who fills heaven and earth (Jeremiah 23:24) to a localized being confined to physical dimensions.

How Kenneth Copeland Adopted This Teaching

The direct connection between Dake’s teaching and Kenneth Copeland’s theology is unmistakable and documented. In his 1985 audio teaching “Spirit, Soul and Body I,” Copeland made the infamous statement:

This is not a vague similarity but a direct adoption of Dake’s theology. Multiple theological researchers have documented this connection. The website deceptioninthechurch.com directly states: “I presume this is where Kenneth Copeland got his Mormon doctrine of God being about 6’2″ tall and weighing about 220 pounds.” The specificity of Copeland’s description – even down to the hand span measurement – reflects the literalistic approach to biblical anthropomorphisms that Dake pioneered.

Copeland has gone on to teach this doctrine extensively throughout his ministry. In his teachings, he regularly refers to God having physical dimensions and limitations, teaching that Adam was an exact physical duplicate of God. This teaching has become so central to Copeland’s theology that it forms the foundation for his “little gods” doctrine – the idea that if God has a physical body and we are made in His image, then we are physically identical to God and therefore possess His powers and abilities.

The Spread to Other Prosperity Teachers

This doctrine has not remained confined to Copeland but has spread throughout the prosperity gospel movement. Creflo Dollar, who explicitly endorsed the Dake Bible saying “The Dake Bible helped me build a solid foundation in the Word,” has incorporated similar teachings into his ministry. Dollar teaches that understanding God’s physical nature is key to understanding our own divine potential.

Benny Hinn has also adopted elements of this teaching, though his most dramatic departure came in his interpretation of the Trinity, which we will examine in detail in the next section. However, Hinn’s teaching that believers can literally see God physically and that God appears in physical form regularly draws from this same theological well that Dake poisoned.

Orthodox Christian Response

The orthodox Christian position, maintained for two millennia, is that God is spirit (John 4:24) and is omnipresent – filling heaven and earth simultaneously (Jeremiah 23:24). When the Bible uses anthropomorphic language about God (references to God’s hands, eyes, etc.), these are understood as accommodations to human understanding, not literal physical descriptions.

Biblical scholar Gleason Archer condemned Dake’s teaching as “aberrational absurdity” and “a crass, carnal perversion and a pagan teaching that brings dishonor to God.” The Assemblies of God, which originally ordained Dake, has officially distanced itself from these teachings. General Secretary George Wood stated clearly: “His opinions are in direct conflict with our statement of fundamental truth.”

The implications of this error extend far beyond academic theology. If God has a physical body, He cannot be omnipresent. If He is limited to a physical form, He cannot be infinite. If He is confined to space and time, He cannot be eternal in the biblical sense. This teaching fundamentally undermines the very nature of God as revealed in Scripture and reduces Him to a super-powered being rather than the transcendent Creator of all that exists.

Part II: The Trinity Heresy – Three Separate Gods

Dake’s Redefinition of the Trinity

Perhaps no area of Dake’s theology is more problematic than his teaching on the Trinity. While using traditional Trinitarian language, Dake fundamentally redefined the doctrine in a way that theologians recognize as tritheism – the belief in three separate gods rather than one God in three persons. From the project files, we find Dake’s explicit teaching in “God’s Plan for Man”:

This statement might seem orthodox at first glance – after all, orthodox Christianity does teach that there are three distinct persons in the Godhead. However, Dake’s addition of each person having their own separate body, soul, and spirit fundamentally changes the doctrine. He continues:

This teaching explicitly makes the three persons of the Trinity as separate from each other as three human beings are separate from each other. This is not the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity but rather tritheism – belief in three gods. Dake was aware that his teaching contradicted traditional Christianity, and he explicitly rejected orthodox Trinitarian doctrine, calling it “foolish and unscriptural.”

In his Bible notes, Dake goes even further, teaching that the three persons of the Trinity cannot be in the same place at the same time because they have separate physical bodies. He writes that when Scripture speaks of the Father and Son being “in” each other, this must be understood as unity of purpose only, not actual indwelling, because two physical bodies cannot occupy the same space.

Benny Hinn’s Nine Persons in the Trinity

The most dramatic and public adoption of Dake’s Trinity heresy came through Benny Hinn, who infamously taught that there were nine persons in the Trinity. On his television program and in crusades, Hinn declared:

When confronted about this teaching, Hinn made a crucial admission that directly links him to Dake. In an interview with Christianity Today and later in Charisma magazine (August 1993), Hinn admitted that he derived this doctrine directly from Dake’s “God’s Plan for Man.” He stated that he had been teaching his congregation using Dake’s materials and had simply repeated what he had read without fully understanding the implications.

While Hinn later recanted this specific formulation after widespread criticism, the damage was done. Millions of viewers had heard this teaching, and many accepted it as biblical truth. Moreover, while Hinn backed away from the “nine persons” formulation, he has never fully renounced the underlying Dakean theology of God having a physical body or the three persons of the Trinity being separate in the way Dake taught.

Kenneth Copeland’s Adoption of Tritheism

Kenneth Copeland has also adopted elements of Dake’s Trinity doctrine, though he has been more careful in his formulations. Copeland teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings who work in perfect unity but are as distinct as three human beings working together. In his teaching series on the nature of God, Copeland states:

This teaching flows directly from Dake’s concept that if each person of the Trinity has a separate body and we are made in God’s image, then we must be physically identical to God. Copeland has built an entire theology around this concept, teaching that Adam was originally a god who fell from divinity and that Jesus came to restore us to godhood.

The Spread Through Word of Faith Movement

The corruption of Trinity doctrine has spread throughout the Word of Faith movement in various forms. While most teachers avoid Hinn’s extreme “nine persons” formulation, many have adopted the underlying theology that the three persons of the Trinity are separate beings united in purpose rather than one Being in three persons.

Creflo Dollar teaches that understanding the “threeness” of God is essential to understanding our own triune nature and thus our divine potential. Jesse Duplantis has taught that he has visited heaven and seen the three persons of the Trinity in three separate locations, consistent with Dake’s teaching that they have separate bodies and cannot be in the same place simultaneously.

Joyce Meyer, while generally more careful in her formulations, has made statements suggesting that the persons of the Trinity operate independently and have separate wills that must be brought into agreement, reflecting the influence of Dake’s separated Trinity doctrine.

Why This Matters: The Orthodox Position

The orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity, established at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and refined at Constantinople (381 AD), teaches that God is one in essence (ousia) and three in persons (hypostases). This means that while the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons, they share one divine nature, one will, and one essential being. They are not three separate gods working in unity but one God existing eternally in three persons.

The Athanasian Creed, accepted by all major Christian traditions, states: “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.” Dake’s doctrine explicitly divides the substance, making three separate beings.

Reformed theologian Michael Horton has identified Dake’s teaching as “similar to Mormon theology and is heretical.” Indeed, the similarity is striking – Mormons also teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings with physical bodies (though they differ on the Holy Spirit having a body).

The Christian Research Institute notes that Dake’s Trinity doctrine “denies the historic Christian church doctrine that God, in Trinity, is one in essence.” This is not a minor theological quibble but strikes at the heart of Christian monotheism. The Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one,” is not abrogated by the New Testament revelation of the Trinity but fulfilled in it. Dake’s doctrine, by contrast, creates three gods and thus falls under the biblical condemnation of polytheism.

Part III: The “Little Gods” Doctrine – Humans as Divine Beings

Dake’s Foundation for Human Divinity

One of the most controversial teachings in the prosperity gospel movement is the “little gods” doctrine – the belief that humans are essentially divine beings with godlike powers. This teaching finds its roots directly in Dake’s anthropology and his teaching about humanity’s nature. From the project files, we find Dake teaching that humans are “miniatures of God in attributes and power.”

In “God’s Plan for Man,” Dake develops this theology systematically. He argues that since humans are made in God’s image and likeness, and since God has a physical body (as he erroneously taught), humans must be exact physical duplicates of God. But Dake goes beyond physical similarity to teach essential similarity:

This teaching fundamentally confuses the Creator-creature distinction that is basic to biblical theology. While Scripture does teach that humans are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), orthodox Christianity has always understood this as referring to our rational, moral, and spiritual capacities – not to physical appearance or essential divinity.

Dake’s error becomes more serious when he teaches about the nature of the “image of God.” He argues that if God has creative power, and we are made in His image, we must have the same creative power. If God can speak things into existence, so can we. If God rules by faith, so must we. This logic leads directly to the Word of Faith movement’s teaching about the power of our words and the “force of faith.”

Kenneth Copeland: “I Am a Little God”

Kenneth Copeland has become the most prominent advocate of the “little gods” doctrine, building directly on Dake’s foundation. Copeland teaches:

This shocking statement represents the logical conclusion of Dake’s theology. If humans are exact duplicates of God, possessing His nature and attributes, then humans must be gods. Copeland has developed this teaching extensively:

Copeland explicitly connects this teaching to practical application in the prosperity gospel. If we are gods, he argues, then we have the same creative power as God. We can speak things into existence. We can command wealth and health. We can bind and loose spiritual forces. This theology undergirds the entire “name it and claim it” movement.

In his teaching series “The Force of Faith,” Copeland explains that faith is not trust in God but a force that God Himself uses. Since we are gods like Him, we can use this same force to create our reality. This teaching, which would be blasphemous to orthodox Christianity, flows naturally from Dake’s premise that humans are miniature versions of God with the same attributes and powers.

Creflo Dollar’s “Little G” Teaching

Creflo Dollar has become infamous for his bold proclamation of the “little gods” doctrine. At the 2001 Southwest Deliverer’s Convention, Dollar dramatically declared:

Dollar specifically credited Kenneth Copeland as his source, noting “Brother Copeland caught it the first time he preached on this,” establishing the clear theological pipeline: Dake → Copeland → Dollar.

Dollar has developed this teaching to argue that Christians who don’t understand their divine nature are living below their privileges. He teaches that sickness, poverty, and defeat come from not recognizing and acting on our godhood. In his book “The Divine Order of Faith,” Dollar writes:

This teaching represents a complete departure from biblical Christianity, which teaches that humans are creatures, not creators; servants, not gods; saved by grace, not divine by nature.

The Spread Through the Movement

The “little gods” doctrine has spread throughout the prosperity gospel movement with varying degrees of boldness. Paul Crouch, founder of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), declared on his network:

Paula White has similarly taught: “You are a little god. You came from God, you look like God, you act like God, you think like God, you are a god.”

Earl Paulk wrote in his book “Satan Unmasked”: “Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God. Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods.”

Kenneth Hagin, often considered the father of the Word of Faith movement, taught: “You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was. Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.”

Even Joyce Meyer, who tends to be more careful in her formulations, has taught variations of this doctrine: “Why do people have such a fit about God calling His creation, His man—not His whole creation, but His man—little gods? If He’s God, what’s He going to call them but the god-kind?”

The Biblical Response

The Bible is unequivocal in its condemnation of humans claiming divinity. When Satan tempted Eve, his promise was “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). This desire to be like God in His essential divinity rather than in moral character was the original sin that brought death to humanity.

Isaiah 43:10 declares: “Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.” God explicitly states that He knows of no other gods (Isaiah 44:8). The idea that millions of “little gods” exist contradicts God’s own testimony about Himself.

When prosperity teachers cite Psalm 82:6 (“I said, ‘You are gods'”), they ignore Jesus’s own interpretation of this passage in John 10:34-36. Jesus was not teaching that humans are divine but was making an argument from lesser to greater: if human judges could be called “gods” in a figurative sense because they represented God’s authority, how much more could He, who was truly divine, call Himself the Son of God?

The New Testament consistently presents humans as creatures who need salvation, not gods who need to realize their divinity. Paul explicitly contrasts the Creator with the creature (Romans 1:25) and condemns those who “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being.”

Part IV: The Pre-Adamite Race and the Origin of Demons

Dake’s Gap Theory and Pre-Adamite Civilization

One of Dake’s most elaborate theological constructions is his teaching about a pre-Adamite world that supposedly existed between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. This “gap theory” proposes that millions or billions of years elapsed between these two verses, during which a complete civilization existed, fell into sin, and was destroyed. From the project files, we find Dake’s extensive teaching on this subject in “God’s Plan for Man” and “Another Time… Another Place… Another Man.”

Dake taught that before Adam, there was a race of beings who lived on Earth under the rule of Lucifer. According to Dake’s system, when Lucifer rebelled against God, this entire civilization was destroyed in a flood (distinct from Noah’s flood), and the spirits of these pre-Adamite beings became what we now know as demons. From “God’s Plan for Man,” Dake writes:

This teaching has no basis in Scripture but comes from Dake’s attempt to reconcile the Bible with evolutionary geology. He wrote in his Bible notes:

This represents a fundamental compromise with secular science that undermines the authority of Scripture. Rather than accepting the biblical account of creation, Dake attempted to accommodate billions of years of evolutionary time by creating an elaborate mythology about pre-Adamite civilizations.

Demons as Disembodied Pre-Adamite Spirits

According to Dake’s theology, demons are not fallen angels (as orthodox Christianity teaches) but the disembodied spirits of the pre-Adamite race. From his book “Revelation Expounded,” Dake teaches:

This teaching fundamentally alters Christian demonology. If demons are the spirits of a destroyed race rather than fallen angels, it changes how we understand spiritual warfare, possession, and deliverance. Dake developed this teaching extensively, arguing that demons seek bodies because they remember having bodies in their pre-Adamite existence and desperately want to return to embodied life.

Dake distinguished between Satan’s angels (who he taught have bodies) and demons (who are disembodied). This creates a complex hierarchy of evil spirits that has no biblical foundation but has been widely adopted in charismatic spiritual warfare teaching.

Benny Hinn’s Adoption of Pre-Adamite Demonology

Benny Hinn has taught this exact doctrine, demonstrating again his dependence on Dake’s theology. Hinn has stated:

This is not a similar teaching but an exact reproduction of Dake’s doctrine. Hinn has built extensive spiritual warfare teachings on this foundation, teaching about different types of spirits, their origins, and their purposes based on Dake’s pre-Adamite mythology.

In his book “The Anointing,” Hinn develops this theology to explain various spiritual phenomena. He teaches that understanding the pre-Adamite origin of demons helps believers understand why certain spiritual warfare techniques work and others don’t. This entire framework, with no biblical basis, comes directly from Dake.

The Gap Theory’s Influence on Modern Teaching

The gap theory has influenced numerous modern teachers beyond its demonological implications. Jimmy Swaggart, who declared “I owe my Bible education to this man [Dake],” has taught variations of the gap theory throughout his ministry. He has argued that understanding the pre-Adamite world helps explain fossil records and geological formations while maintaining biblical authority.

The influence extends to how many charismatic churches understand Genesis 1. Rather than reading it as the original creation account, they read it as a re-creation account following the destruction of the pre-Adamite world. This fundamentally changes how believers understand God’s creative work, the origin of evil, and humanity’s place in cosmic history.

Several prominent teachers have built on Dake’s foundation to develop elaborate spiritual warfare strategies based on understanding pre-Adamite history. They teach about “ancient spirits,” “territorial demons from before Adam,” and “pre-Adamite strongholds” – all concepts that flow from Dake’s initial error but have no biblical support.

Angels with Physical Bodies and Sexual Reproduction

Related to his pre-Adamite teaching, Dake also taught that angels have physical bodies and can reproduce sexually. From the project files, we find Dake teaching:

Dake taught that Genesis 6 describes angels having sexual relations with human women to produce the Nephilim. He argued that angels have all the physical equipment necessary for sexual reproduction and that some angels fell specifically because of sexual lust for human women.

This teaching has been adopted by many modern teachers who speak of “generational curses” from Nephilim bloodlines, “demonic DNA,” and other concepts that blend Dake’s angelology with modern genetic language. Some prosperity teachers argue that understanding this angelic-human hybridization is key to breaking certain spiritual bondages.

William Branham and the Pre-Adamite Connection

William Branham, the healing evangelist who influenced many modern charismatic leaders, was “fully aligned with Dake’s views of a pre-Adamite race” according to documented sources. Branham taught extensively about the “serpent seed” doctrine, which built on Dake’s ideas about pre-Adamite beings and sexual reproduction between different orders of beings.

Branham’s influence spread these ideas throughout the Latter Rain movement and into modern prophetic and apostolic movements. Many contemporary “prophets” teach variations of pre-Adamite theology, serpent seed doctrine, and related ideas that can be traced back through Branham to Dake.

The Biblical and Scientific Problems

The gap theory faces insurmountable biblical and scientific problems. Biblically, it contradicts the clear teaching that death entered the world through Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12). If a pre-Adamite race lived and died before Adam, then death existed before sin, contradicting Paul’s theology.

Exodus 20:11 states that “in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” This leaves no room for a previous creation that was destroyed. The Hebrew grammar of Genesis 1:2 does not support a gap, as Hebrew scholars have repeatedly demonstrated.

Scientifically, the gap theory satisfies neither creationists nor evolutionists. It attempts to accommodate billions of years of geological time while still maintaining a recent creation of modern life. It accepts the evolutionary timescale while rejecting evolutionary mechanisms. It creates more problems than it solves.

Regarding demons, the Bible consistently presents them as fallen angels, not disembodied human spirits. Jesus spoke of “the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Revelation 12:7-9 describes Satan’s angels being cast out of heaven. Second Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 speak of angels who sinned, not pre-Adamite humans.

Part V: The Prosperity Gospel Connection

How Dake’s Theology Enables Prosperity Teaching

While Dake was not primarily a prosperity preacher himself, his theological framework provided the essential foundation for the modern prosperity gospel. By teaching that humans are “miniatures of God” with the same attributes and powers, Dake created the theological justification for believing that Christians should exercise godlike control over their circumstances.

In “God’s Plan for Man,” Dake emphasizes repeatedly that God intends for His people to prosper materially. He uses the wealth of Old Testament patriarchs as proof that godliness leads to prosperity:

This simplistic equation of godliness with wealth ignores the complex biblical teaching about possessions and the numerous warnings about the dangers of riches. However, it became a cornerstone of prosperity theology.

More significantly, Dake’s teaching about humans having creative power like God provides the mechanism for prosperity teaching. If we are gods with the same creative power as God, then we should be able to speak wealth into existence just as God spoke the world into existence. This is exactly what prosperity teachers went on to teach.

Kenneth Hagin and the Dake Connection

Kenneth Hagin, often called the father of the Word of Faith movement, was significantly influenced by Dake’s theology. While Hagin also drew from E.W. Kenyon and others, the systematic theology underlying his prosperity teaching shows clear Dakean influence.

Hagin taught that believers have the same “faith force” that God used to create the world. This teaching makes no sense unless one accepts Dake’s premise that humans are essentially the same type of beings as God. Hagin wrote:

This is pure Dakean theology applied to material prosperity. Hagin developed this into the “positive confession” movement, teaching that our words have creative power to bring wealth or poverty, health or sickness, based on what we speak.

The Authority of the Believer Doctrine

Dake’s teaching about humans being given dominion as “gods over the earth” evolved into the modern “authority of the believer” doctrine. This teaches that Christians have absolute authority over all circumstances, including weather, finances, health, and even death.

Kenneth Copeland has taken this to extremes, claiming he could have stopped Hurricane Katrina if he had gotten there in time. He teaches that believers have authority over natural laws because they operate in a higher law – the law of faith that God Himself uses.

Creflo Dollar teaches that understanding our authority as “little gods” is the key to financial prosperity. He argues that poverty is a result of not exercising our divine authority over financial circumstances. In his prosperity courses, he explicitly connects divine nature with financial dominion.

The Force of Faith Teaching

Dake’s mechanistic view of faith as a force rather than trust in God became central to prosperity teaching. If faith is a force that even God uses (as Dake implied), then humans can master this force and use it to create their desired reality.

Kenneth Copeland has developed this extensively, teaching that faith is a “spiritual force” that operates by spiritual laws. He compares it to electricity or gravity – impersonal forces that work for anyone who knows how to use them. This completely removes faith from its biblical meaning of trust in God and turns it into a technique for manipulating reality.

This mechanistic view of faith leads directly to the “name it and claim it” methodology. If faith is a force we control rather than trust in a sovereign God, then we can use it to claim whatever we want. The only limit is our faith, not God’s will.

Seed Faith and Hundredfold Return

While the “seed faith” teaching popularized by Oral Roberts has multiple sources, Dake’s theology provided crucial support. If humans are gods with creative power, then they can create wealth through spiritual laws like sowing and reaping.

Dake taught that the laws of sowing and reaping are absolute spiritual laws that work mechanically. This removed the element of God’s sovereignty and turned giving into an investment strategy. Modern prosperity preachers have taken this to extremes, promising specific returns on “seed” offerings.

Mike Murdock, who created an empire around “seed faith” teaching, draws on Dakean concepts of humans having the same creative abilities as God. He teaches that our “seeds” (monetary gifts to his ministry) activate spiritual laws that force God to multiply them back to us.

Part VI: Racial Segregation and Controversial Social Teachings

Dake’s 30 Reasons for Racial Segregation

One of the most troubling aspects of Dake’s teaching, clearly documented in the project files, is his explicit advocacy for racial segregation. In his Annotated Reference Bible (page 159 of the New Testament), Dake provided “30 reasons for segregation of races,” which represents not merely a product of his times but a theological justification for racism that he claimed was biblical.

Among Dake’s reasons for segregation, he argued:

This represents a fundamental misuse of Scripture to support racist ideology. Dake goes on to argue against interracial marriage, claiming it violates God’s created order. He even suggests that racial mixing was one of the sins that brought about Noah’s flood.

Most disturbingly, Dake writes in his notes:

This teaching extends racial segregation into eternity, suggesting that heaven itself will be segregated by race. This is completely contrary to the biblical vision of every tribe, tongue, and nation worshiping together before God’s throne (Revelation 7:9).

The Implications for Modern Movements

While most modern prosperity preachers have distanced themselves from Dake’s racial teachings, the influence remains in subtle ways. The prosperity gospel’s frequent failure to address systemic injustice and its emphasis on individual prosperity over community justice may reflect lingering influences of Dake’s segregationist worldview.

Some researchers have noted that the prosperity gospel’s emphasis on individual blessing rather than communal liberation particularly appeals to those who benefit from existing social structures. The theology that focuses on personal prosperity while ignoring systemic poverty may carry echoes of Dake’s belief in divinely ordained separation and inequality.

It’s significant that while prosperity preachers eagerly adopted Dake’s teachings about divine health and wealth, they have been largely silent about his racial teachings. This selective adoption raises questions about the discernment and theological integrity of those who promote Dake’s Bible while ignoring its most problematic elements.

The Criminal History and Moral Failures

Also documented in historical records is Dake’s criminal conviction. In 1937, Dake was convicted of “carnal knowledge of a girl aged 16” and sentenced to six months in prison. While he claimed innocence, he served his sentence and was later defrocked by the Assemblies of God.

This historical fact is relevant not to engage in character assassination but because it demonstrates a pattern of moral and theological deviation. The same man who claimed special revelation about the nature of God and the structure of reality was convicted of a serious moral crime. While people can repent and be restored, Dake never acknowledged error in his theological teachings, continuing to promote them despite widespread criticism.

The willingness of modern prosperity preachers to embrace Dake’s theology while ignoring both his racist teachings and his moral failures reveals a troubling lack of discernment. It suggests that the pursuit of theological justification for prosperity teaching overrides concerns about the source and credibility of that teaching.

Part VII: Denominational Responses and Academic Criticism

The Assemblies of God’s Rejection

The Assemblies of God, which originally ordained Dake, has officially and repeatedly distanced itself from his teachings. This is particularly significant because the Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal denomination and might be expected to be sympathetic to a Pentecostal teacher.

General Secretary George Wood stated unequivocally: “His opinions are in direct conflict with our statement of fundamental truth.” The denomination has identified multiple areas where Dake’s teaching contradicts their official positions:

The denomination has issued pastoral letters warning churches about the use of the Dake Bible in teaching and has encouraged pastors to educate their congregations about its errors. This represents a significant rejection from within Dake’s own theological tradition.

Christian Research Institute’s Analysis

The Christian Research Institute, founded by Walter Martin and now led by Hank Hanegraaff, has published extensive critiques of Dake’s theology. Their article “Dake’s Dangerous Doctrine” provides a systematic analysis of his errors. They conclude:

CRI identifies Dake’s theology as “cultic” in several areas, particularly his teachings about God’s nature and the Trinity. They note that his doctrines parallel Mormon theology more closely than Christian orthodoxy. This is not a casual accusation but a careful theological analysis based on comparing Dake’s teachings with both orthodox Christianity and various cultic groups.

The Institute has also traced the influence of Dake through the Word of Faith movement, documenting how specific errors in Dake’s theology reappear in the teachings of prosperity preachers. This genealogy of error demonstrates that the problems in prosperity theology are not isolated mistakes but systematic theological deviations rooted in Dake’s foundational errors.

Academic Theological Criticism

Biblical scholars and theologians from various traditions have criticized Dake’s work. Gleason Archer, the respected Old Testament scholar, called Dake’s teaching about God having a physical body “aberrational absurdity” and “a crass, carnal perversion and a pagan teaching that brings dishonor to God.”

Reformed theologian Michael Horton has identified Dake’s Trinity doctrine as “similar to Mormon theology and is heretical.” This comparison is particularly damaging because it places Dake outside the bounds of Christian orthodoxy and in the company of groups traditionally considered cults.

An M.Div. graduate from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary published extensive research documenting that Dake’s theology is “cultic and heretical” on “almost every major core belief held by Christians for centuries.” This represents criticism from within the Pentecostal academic community, not from cessationist critics who might be expected to oppose Pentecostal teaching.

The academic consensus is that Dake’s work, while demonstrating extensive Bible knowledge, fundamentally misinterprets Scripture through:

Christianity Today’s Investigation

Christianity Today, evangelicalism’s flagship publication, conducted an investigation into the Dake Bible’s influence in 1994. They found that despite widespread theological criticism, the Dake Bible was experiencing “an upsurge in popularity” specifically “due to its embrace by leading Word-Faith teachers such as Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, and Benny Hinn.”

The investigation revealed that annual sales exceeded 30,000 copies and that the Dake Bible had become “the ‘bread and butter’ of many prominent preachers and the ‘staple’ of Pentecostal congregations.” This widespread use despite known theological errors raised serious concerns about theological education and discernment in charismatic churches.

Christianity Today noted that Dake’s influence extended beyond individual preachers to entire Bible schools and training programs. Some institutions were using the Dake Bible as a primary textbook, ensuring that his errors would be passed to another generation of ministers.

Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

Even the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, which might be expected to be sympathetic to a Pentecostal teacher, acknowledges problems with Dake’s theology while recognizing his influence:

The Dictionary notes that while Dake’s Bible has been influential, it contains “controversial interpretations” and “questionable theological positions” that have concerned denominational leaders and theologians.

Part VIII: The Ongoing Impact and Modern Manifestations

Television Networks and Mega-Churches

The influence of Dake’s theology extends throughout the modern prosperity gospel movement, particularly through television networks and mega-churches. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), founded by Paul and Jan Crouch, has been instrumental in spreading Dakean theology worldwide. Paul Crouch’s declaration “I am a little god!” on his own network exemplifies how Dake’s errors have been mainstreamed.

Daystar Television Network, founded by Marcus and Joni Lamb, regularly features teachers who promote Dakean doctrines. The network’s programming includes shows by Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar, and others who explicitly teach variations of Dake’s theology about God’s physical body, human divinity, and the creative power of words.

The impact extends to mega-churches worldwide. Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, while avoiding the more extreme formulations, promotes a prosperity message that draws on the theological framework Dake established. The emphasis on human potential, the power of words, and the expectation of material blessing all reflect Dakean influence, even when not explicitly acknowledged.

T.D. Jakes, pastor of The Potter’s House, has been influenced by Word of Faith theology, though he has tried to distance himself from its extremes. Nevertheless, his teachings on prosperity and the power of faith show the pervasive influence of the theological framework that Dake helped establish.

Bible Schools and Training Programs

Perhaps most concerning is the influence of Dake’s theology in Bible schools and ministry training programs. Rhema Bible Training College, founded by Kenneth Hagin, has trained thousands of ministers in Word of Faith theology that draws heavily on Dakean concepts. Graduates have planted churches worldwide, spreading these teachings globally.

Kenneth Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church operates a Bible school that explicitly teaches Dakean doctrines about human divinity and the creative power of faith. Students are taught that understanding their “god-nature” is essential to effective ministry.

Creflo Dollar’s School of Prosperity teaches that financial abundance is a sign of spiritual maturity and understanding one’s divine nature. The curriculum includes extensive teaching on the “little gods” doctrine and its practical applications for wealth creation.

These institutions ensure that Dake’s errors are not only perpetuated but systematized and given academic credibility. Students graduate believing they have received sound biblical education when they have actually been indoctrinated in heretical theology.

The Global Spread

Dake’s influence has spread globally through the missionary efforts of prosperity gospel preachers. In Africa, prosperity theology has exploded, with preachers like David Oyedepo (Nigeria), Prophet Shepherd Bushiri (Malawi), and Prophet Uebert Angel (Zimbabwe) teaching variations of Dakean theology to millions.

In Latin America, the prosperity gospel has made significant inroads, particularly in Brazil where churches like the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus) teach that believers have divine authority over circumstances. These churches often use translated versions of materials from American prosperity preachers who themselves draw on Dake’s theology.

In Asia, particularly South Korea, the prosperity gospel has merged with cultural concepts of blessing and honor. David Yonggi Cho’s Yoido Full Gospel Church, once the world’s largest church, taught prosperity theology that shows Dakean influence, particularly in its understanding of the creative power of words and visualization.

The Internet and Social Media Amplification

The internet and social media have exponentially amplified the spread of Dakean theology. YouTube channels dedicated to prosperity teaching often feature teachings that can be traced directly back to Dake’s errors. These videos receive millions of views, spreading theological error to audiences who may have no theological training to evaluate what they’re hearing.

Social media “prophets” and “apostles” regularly share quotes and teachings that reflect Dakean theology, often without knowing the source. Memes about being “little gods,” having “creative power,” and “speaking things into existence” proliferate across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Online “schools of the supernatural” offer courses in prosperity theology, spiritual warfare based on pre-Adamite demonology, and the practical application of “god-kind faith.” These programs, often expensive, promise to teach students how to operate in their divine nature and create their desired reality.

The Music Industry Connection

Gospel music has become another vehicle for spreading Dakean theology. Many popular gospel artists are associated with prosperity gospel churches and their lyrics reflect this theology. Songs about “speaking victory,” “declaring blessing,” and “walking in authority” normalize Dakean concepts for millions of listeners.

The connection between prosperity gospel churches and the gospel music industry ensures that theological errors are not only preached but sung, making them emotionally resonant and memorable. When believers sing about their divine authority and creative power, they internalize theology that Dake invented but that has no biblical basis.

Part IX: Specific Heretical Doctrines and Their Modern Applications

The Doctrine of Identification

One of Dake’s most influential teachings, though not always recognized as originating with him, is an extreme form of “identification” theology. Dake taught that in salvation, believers literally become what Christ is. Not in a metaphorical or positional sense, but in an actual, ontological sense.

From “God’s Plan for Man,” Dake writes about believers:

This teaching has been developed by Kenneth Hagin into what he called “the incarnation of believers.” Hagin taught: “Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.”

Kenneth Copeland has taken this further, teaching that believers are not merely like Christ but are “little Christs” with the same authority and power. He states: “You don’t have a God living in you; you are one! You are part and parcel of God!”

This doctrine fundamentally confuses the Creator-creature distinction and leads to the blasphemous conclusion that believers are divine beings rather than redeemed creatures.

The Jesus Died Spiritually (JDS) Doctrine

While not originated by Dake, his theology provided crucial support for the “Jesus Died Spiritually” doctrine that became central to Word of Faith teaching. This doctrine claims that Jesus’s physical death was insufficient for salvation; He had to die spiritually, take on Satan’s nature, go to hell, and be born again.

Dake’s teaching that humans are essentially spiritual beings with divine potential required a reconfiguration of the atonement. If humans are “little gods” who fell from divinity, then salvation must restore that divinity. This logic led prosperity teachers to develop the JDS doctrine.

Kenneth Copeland teaches: “Jesus went into hell to free mankind from the penalty of Adam’s high treason… When Jesus was in hell, God said to the demons, ‘Let him go.’ Then the resurrection power of God Almighty went through hell and filled Jesus.”

Joyce Meyer taught (though she later recanted): “Jesus stopped being the Son of God in hell… He was no longer the Son of God. He was a man that had sinned.”

This doctrine represents a complete reimagining of the atonement that undermines the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and contradicts Jesus’s own words: “It is finished” (John 19:30).

The Power of Words Doctrine

Dake’s teaching that humans possess creative power like God led directly to the modern “power of words” doctrine. If humans are “miniatures of God” with His attributes, then our words must have creative power like God’s words.

From Dake’s writings, we find the foundation:

This has developed into the positive confession movement. Charles Capps wrote: “Words are the most powerful things in the universe… The words you speak will either put you over in life or hold you in bondage.”

Joel Osteen, while avoiding the extreme formulations, regularly teaches about the power of declarations and speaking victory over one’s life. His book “The Power of I Am” is essentially a popularized version of this doctrine.

This teaching turns words into magical formulas and makes humans the controllers of their destiny through verbal declarations rather than humble dependence on God’s sovereign will.

Prosperity as a Divine Right

Dake’s teaching that believers are “gods over the earth” with dominion authority evolved into the doctrine that prosperity is a divine right. If believers are divine beings with God’s authority, then poverty becomes a contradiction of their nature.

Creflo Dollar teaches: “As children of God, we have a divine right to wealth. Poverty is not humility; it’s stupidity. God wants you rich!”

Kenneth Copeland states: “Poverty is under the curse of the law. Jesus bore that curse for us. Therefore, any believer who lives in poverty is living below their covenant rights.”

This teaching ignores the numerous biblical examples of godly people who were poor, the warnings about the dangers of wealth, and Jesus’s own teaching about the difficulty of rich people entering the kingdom of heaven.

Health and Healing as Legal Rights

Similarly, Dake’s theology led to the teaching that divine health is a legal right of believers. If believers are “little gods,” then sickness becomes an illegal intrusion that they have authority to reject.

From “Bible Truths Unmasked,” Dake taught that sickness is never God’s will and that believers have absolute authority over all disease. This became central to prosperity gospel teaching about health.

Benny Hinn declares: “Sickness does not belong to you. It has no part in the body of Christ. Sickness is from the devil, and we have authority over the devil!”

Kenneth Hagin taught: “I believe that it is the plan of God our Father that no believer should ever be sick… It is not God’s will for us to be sick.”

This teaching has led to tragic situations where believers have refused medical treatment, believing that using medicine demonstrates lack of faith. Some have died from treatable conditions while “standing on their confession” of healing.

Part X: The Corruption of Biblical Interpretation

Dake’s Hermeneutical Method

Understanding how Dake interpreted Scripture is crucial to recognizing how his errors have been perpetuated. Dake claimed to take the Bible literally, stating in his introduction to “God’s Plan for Man”:

However, Dake’s “literalism” was actually a hyper-literalism that ignored literary genres, figures of speech, and context. When the Bible uses anthropomorphic language about God (referring to God’s hands, eyes, etc.), Dake took these as literal descriptions rather than accommodations to human understanding.

This hermeneutical error has been adopted wholesale by prosperity preachers. They take metaphorical language literally when it supports their theology (like being “gods”) while spiritualizing literal passages that contradict it (like warnings about wealth).

Proof-Texting and Context Manipulation

Dake was a master of proof-texting – taking verses out of context to support predetermined conclusions. His Bible contains over 35,000 notes, many of which string together unrelated verses to create doctrines that no single passage teaches.

For example, Dake’s doctrine of the pre-Adamite race is built on connecting unrelated passages:

• Genesis 1:1-2 (to create a gap)
• Isaiah 14 (about the king of Babylon, applied to Satan)
• Ezekiel 28 (about the king of Tyre, applied to Satan)
• Jeremiah 4:23-26 (about judgment on Judah, applied to pre-Adamite destruction)
• 2 Peter 3:5-6 (about Noah’s flood, applied to a different flood)

None of these passages teach about a pre-Adamite race when read in context, but by connecting them through superficial verbal similarities, Dake created an elaborate mythology.

Modern prosperity preachers have adopted this method. They string together verses about Old Testament prosperity, Jesus’s statements about faith, and Paul’s teachings about spiritual blessings to create a prosperity gospel that no biblical author taught.

Redefinition of Biblical Terms

One of Dake’s most deceptive practices was redefining biblical terms while maintaining traditional vocabulary. He would use orthodox-sounding language but invest it with unorthodox meaning.

For example:

• “Image of God” – Orthodox: rational, moral, and spiritual capacities. Dake: physical appearance and divine nature.
• “Faith” – Orthodox: trust in God. Dake: a force that God uses and humans can master.
• “Dominion” – Orthodox: stewardship over creation. Dake: godlike authority to create reality.
• “Born again” – Orthodox: spiritual regeneration. Dake: transformation into a god-class being.

This practice has been widely adopted by prosperity preachers who use biblical language to teach unbiblical concepts. When they speak of “faith,” “blessing,” “authority,” or “anointing,” they mean something fundamentally different from biblical usage.

The Confusion of Descriptive and Prescriptive Texts

Dake regularly confused descriptive passages (which describe what happened) with prescriptive passages (which prescribe what should happen). He would take unique historical events and turn them into universal principles.

For example, because Abraham was wealthy, Dake concluded that all believers should be wealthy. Because Jesus healed everyone who came to Him during His earthly ministry, Dake taught that healing is always God’s will for everyone.

This error pervades prosperity teaching. Every biblical example of prosperity becomes a promise; every instance of healing becomes a guarantee; every victory becomes an entitlement. This ignores the progressive nature of revelation, the unique aspects of biblical history, and the sovereignty of God in His dealings with individuals.

The Ignoring of Progressive Revelation

Dake failed to recognize the progressive nature of biblical revelation, treating all parts of Scripture as equally applicable to modern believers. He would take promises specific to Israel and apply them directly to the church, or take unique apostolic experiences and make them normative for all believers.

This has led prosperity preachers to claim Old Covenant promises about material prosperity while ignoring Old Covenant requirements. They want the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 without the Law of Moses. They claim the prosperity of Solomon while ignoring that his wealth led to apostasy.

Part XI: Case Studies – Direct Adoption of Dake’s Errors

Case Study 1: Kenneth Copeland’s “Revelation Knowledge”

Kenneth Copeland provides perhaps the clearest example of direct adoption of Dake’s theology. Beyond his teaching about God’s physical dimensions, Copeland has systematically incorporated Dake’s entire theological framework.

Copeland’s teaching about “revelation knowledge” mirrors Dake’s claim to special insight into Scripture. Like Dake, Copeland claims to receive direct revelations that overturn traditional Christian teaching. He stated:

This pattern of claiming special revelation to support heretical teaching comes directly from Dake’s approach. Dake regularly claimed that God had shown him truths that centuries of Christian scholars had missed.

Copeland has also adopted Dake’s entire cosmology:

• God has a physical body measuring approximately 6’2″
• Faith is a force that God uses to create
• Humans are in the “god-class” of beings
• Words have creative power to shape reality
• Angels and demons operate in a complex hierarchy with physical limitations

In his book “The Laws of Prosperity,” Copeland explicitly builds on Dakean foundations, though he rarely credits Dake directly. The entire theological structure of the book – that prosperity operates by spiritual laws that even God must obey – comes from Dake’s mechanistic view of spiritual reality.

Case Study 2: Benny Hinn’s Theological Journey

Benny Hinn’s theological development provides a fascinating case study in how Dake’s errors spread and evolve. Hinn’s early ministry showed heavy reliance on Dake’s materials, which he later admitted to using in teaching his congregation.

The progression is traceable:

1. Early adoption: Hinn begins using Dake’s Bible for sermon preparation
2. Uncritical teaching: Hinn teaches Dake’s Trinity doctrine, resulting in the “nine persons” controversy
3. Partial retraction: After criticism, Hinn backs away from the most extreme formulation
4. Continued influence: Despite retractions, Hinn continues teaching Dakean concepts about God’s nature, angels, and spiritual warfare

Hinn’s famous statement about the Trinity reveals how he processed Dake’s teaching:

The claim of “revelation knowledge” to justify teaching taken directly from Dake shows how these errors are perpetuated through claimed supernatural validation rather than biblical exegesis.

Case Study 3: Creflo Dollar’s Systematic Application

Creflo Dollar represents a second-generation prosperity teacher who has systematized Dakean theology into a comprehensive worldview. Dollar’s “School of Prosperity” curriculum shows clear Dakean influence throughout:

Dollar has been more explicit than many in acknowledging influence, stating: “The Dake Bible helped me build a solid foundation in the Word.” However, he doesn’t acknowledge that this “foundation” includes heretical teachings about the nature of God and humanity.

Dollar’s famous “little g” sermon shows direct application of Dake’s theology:

This reasoning comes directly from Dake’s literalistic interpretation of the image of God and his teaching about humans being in the “god-class” of beings.

Case Study 4: Joyce Meyer’s Subtle Integration

Joyce Meyer represents a more subtle integration of Dakean theology. While she avoids the most extreme formulations and has retracted some statements after criticism, her teaching shows clear Dakean influence.

Meyer stated: “I thank God for the people who produced the Dake Bible. Their hard work has made it easier for me to teach God’s Word.” This endorsement is significant because it shows acceptance of Dake’s overall work despite its errors.

Meyer’s teaching shows Dakean influence in several areas:

• The power of words to create reality
• The authority of believers over circumstances
• The expectation of material prosperity as a sign of spiritual maturity
• A mechanistic view of spiritual laws

While Meyer has been more careful than some prosperity teachers, her statement about the “little gods” doctrine reveals the underlying influence:

This reasoning, while presented more palatably than Copeland or Dollar’s versions, still reflects Dake’s fundamental error about human nature.

Part XII: The Global Impact and Third World Exploitation

The African Prosperity Gospel Explosion

Dake’s theology has had particularly devastating effects in Africa, where prosperity gospel teaching has exploded in recent decades. African prosperity preachers have embraced Dakean theology with enthusiasm, often taking it to extremes that even American prosperity preachers avoid.

David Oyedepo, founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners’ Chapel) in Nigeria, teaches pure Dakean theology about human divinity and creative power. With over 50,000 members in his main church and branches worldwide, Oyedepo spreads the teaching that poverty is a curse and wealth is a sign of godliness.

Prophet Shepherd Bushiri of Malawi, who calls himself “Major 1,” claims miraculous powers that he attributes to understanding his divine nature. He teaches followers that they can “create money” through faith declarations, leading impoverished people to give their last resources to his ministry while he displays enormous wealth.

These teachers exploit Dake’s theology in contexts of desperate poverty, promising divine wealth to people who can barely feed their families. The result is massive enrichment of prosperity preachers while their followers remain in or sink deeper into poverty.

Latin American Adaptations

In Latin America, Dake’s theology has merged with local religious traditions to create unique hybrid forms. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus) in Brazil, founded by Edir Macedo, combines Dakean prosperity theology with elements of Afro-Brazilian religions.

The church teaches that believers have authority over spiritual forces that control wealth and health. They sell “blessed objects” that supposedly channel divine power, a practice that flows from Dake’s mechanistic view of spiritual reality but contradicts biblical teaching.

Cash Luna in Guatemala teaches that understanding one’s divine nature is key to escaping poverty. His church, Casa de Dios, attracts thousands who believe that their financial struggles result from not exercising their god-given authority over circumstances.

Asian Prosperity Movements

In Asia, particularly Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Dake’s theology has found fertile ground. Joseph Prince of New Creation Church in Singapore teaches a version of prosperity gospel that emphasizes “grace” but includes Dakean concepts about believers’ authority and the power of declarations.

Kong Hee of City Harvest Church in Singapore (convicted of criminal breach of trust) built his ministry on prosperity theology that draws heavily from American Word of Faith teachers who themselves depend on Dake’s theological framework.

In South Korea, David Yonggi Cho’s “Fourth Dimension” teaching about visualization and confession shows clear influence from the Dakean stream of theology, though adapted to Korean cultural concepts.

The Exploitation of Poverty

The most tragic aspect of Dake’s theological legacy is how it’s used to exploit the poor. Prosperity preachers in developing nations use Dakean theology to justify their wealth while their impoverished followers sacrifice necessities to “sow seeds” into their ministries.

The teaching that poverty indicates lack of faith or understanding of one’s divine nature adds spiritual abuse to economic exploitation. Poor believers are told their poverty is their own fault for not exercising their “god-given authority” over circumstances.

This creates a cruel cycle: the poor give to prosperity ministries hoping to activate spiritual laws of prosperity, remain poor because they’ve given away needed resources, and then are blamed for “lack of faith” when prosperity doesn’t come.

Part XIII: Theological Consequences and Systemic Damage

The Undermining of God’s Sovereignty

One of the most serious consequences of Dake’s theology is the systematic undermining of God’s sovereignty. By teaching that God has a physical body and is limited by spiritual laws, Dake reduced God from the sovereign Creator to a powerful being who must operate within constraints.

This has led to prosperity teaching that presents God as bound by His own words, unable to act sovereignly because He has given authority to humans. Kenneth Copeland teaches that God “cannot do anything on earth without a human giving Him permission.”

This theology reverses the biblical relationship between Creator and creature. Instead of humans submitting to God’s sovereign will, God becomes subject to human faith declarations. Prayer becomes commanding God rather than submitting to Him.

The Distortion of the Gospel

Dake’s theology has fundamentally distorted the gospel message. The biblical gospel of salvation from sin through Christ’s sacrifice has been replaced with a gospel of self-realization and material prosperity.

Where the Bible teaches that humans are sinners needing redemption, Dakean theology teaches that humans are gods needing to realize their divinity. Where the Bible teaches submission to God’s will, Dakean theology teaches exercising dominion over circumstances.

This distortion affects every aspect of Christian life:

• Salvation becomes restoration to godhood rather than forgiveness of sin
• Sanctification becomes increasing in prosperity rather than growing in holiness
• Prayer becomes declaring and decreeing rather than seeking God’s will
• Faith becomes a force to manipulate rather than trust in God
• Suffering becomes always negative rather than potentially redemptive

The Creation of False Expectations

Dake’s theology creates false expectations that lead to spiritual shipwreck. Believers are taught that they should always be healthy, wealthy, and victorious. When reality doesn’t match these expectations, they face a crisis of faith.

Some conclude they lack faith and descend into condemnation and striving. Others conclude the gospel is false and abandon Christianity entirely. Still others maintain cognitive dissonance, proclaiming victory while experiencing defeat.

The prosperity gospel’s inability to deal with suffering, failure, and death reveals its theological bankruptcy. When prosperity preachers themselves face sickness or financial difficulty, they often hide it or create elaborate theological explanations that contradict their own teaching.

The Destruction of Biblical Community

Dake’s individualistic theology has contributed to the destruction of biblical community. If each believer is a “little god” with authority over their circumstances, then community becomes unnecessary except as an audience for one’s success.

The biblical model of bearing one another’s burdens is replaced with judging one another’s faith. The suffering member is not comforted but criticized for lack of faith. The poor are not helped but blamed for their poverty.

This creates churches that are collections of isolated individuals rather than functioning bodies. The prosperity gospel church becomes a theater where success is performed rather than a hospital where the wounded are healed.

Part XIV: Responding to Dake’s Legacy

The Need for Biblical Literacy

The widespread acceptance of Dake’s errors reveals a crisis of biblical literacy in the church. Millions of Christians use the Dake Bible without recognizing its heretical teachings, suggesting they lack the biblical knowledge to identify error.

Churches must return to systematic biblical teaching that equips believers to recognize and reject false doctrine. This includes:

• Teaching the whole counsel of Scripture, not just popular passages
• Training in proper hermeneutics (biblical interpretation)
• Grounding in historical theology and orthodox doctrine
• Development of critical thinking skills
• Understanding of church history and the development of doctrine

The Recovery of Orthodox Doctrine

Churches influenced by Dakean theology need to intentionally recover orthodox Christian doctrine. This requires more than simply rejecting errors; it requires positive teaching of biblical truth.

The Challenge to Christian Leaders

Christian leaders who have promoted or tolerated Dakean theology must take responsibility for the damage done. This includes:

Television networks that broadcast prosperity preachers should evaluate content for theological accuracy, not just popularity. The excuse that they’re providing “diverse viewpoints” doesn’t justify broadcasting heresy.

Publishers who continue printing and promoting the Dake Bible should add clear warnings about its theological errors or cease publication. The fact that it sells well doesn’t justify spreading false teaching.

Pastors who have used Dake’s materials should publicly correct any false teaching they’ve spread. This may be humbling, but integrity demands it.

Bible schools using Dake’s materials should remove them from curriculum and teach students to recognize and reject such errors.

The Call for Theological Accountability

The evangelical community needs to establish better mechanisms for theological accountability. The fact that obvious heretics can become prominent teachers reveals a systemic failure.

This might include:

• Formal theological review of popular teaching materials
• Public documentation of theological errors
• Denominational discipline for those teaching heresy
• Consumer education about problematic resources
• Support for ministers who stand against false teaching

Conclusion: The Ongoing Battle for Biblical Truth

Finis Jennings Dake’s theological errors have created a crisis in modern Christianity that extends far beyond academic theological debate. His teachings have fundamentally altered how millions understand God, themselves, salvation, and the Christian life. Through his influence on Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and countless other prosperity preachers, Dake’s heresies have achieved global reach and generational impact.

The evidence presented in this report, drawn from Dake’s own writings and the documented adoption of his teachings by modern prosperity preachers, reveals a systematic departure from orthodox Christianity. This is not a matter of denominational differences or interpretive variations but fundamental heresy that places its adherents outside biblical Christianity.

The teaching that God has a physical body reduces the infinite Creator to a finite being. The teaching that the Trinity consists of three separate beings destroys Christian monotheism. The teaching that humans are “little gods” blasphemously confuses Creator and creature. The teaching about pre-Adamite races and demon origins creates an alternative cosmology with no biblical basis. These errors, taken together, constitute a different religion that merely uses Christian vocabulary.

The practical consequences have been devastating. The prosperity gospel built on Dake’s foundation has enriched a few preachers while exploiting millions of vulnerable believers. It has created false expectations that lead to spiritual shipwreck. It has distorted the gospel from a message of redemption to a technique for gain. It has replaced humble faith with presumptuous demands. It has turned prayer into incantation and faith into a force to be manipulated.

Most tragically, Dake’s theology has inoculated millions against true Christianity. Having been promised health and wealth through their “divine nature” and “faith force,” they become disillusioned when reality contradicts the promises. Some abandon faith entirely. Others maintain an increasingly desperate pretense of victory while experiencing defeat. Few find their way to biblical Christianity after such thorough indoctrination in error.

The battle against Dake’s legacy is not merely an academic exercise but a fight for the soul of Christianity. Every church that uses the Dake Bible, every broadcaster who platforms prosperity preachers, every publisher who prints their books, and every believer who supports their ministries participates in spreading this theological poison.

The solution requires more than exposing error; it demands recovering and proclaiming truth. Churches must return to faithful biblical exposition. Seminaries must train ministers in sound doctrine. Publishers must exercise theological discernment. Broadcasters must prioritize truth over ratings. Individual believers must develop biblical literacy to recognize and reject false teaching.

The words of the apostle Paul to Timothy ring with particular relevance: “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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

That time has come. Dake’s myths have been embraced by millions who prefer a gospel of self-deification to the biblical gospel of self-denial. The question facing the church is whether we will continue tolerating this false teaching for the sake of unity, popularity, or profit, or whether we will stand for truth regardless of the cost.

The legacy of Finis Jennings Dake serves as a warning about the danger of theological innovation divorced from orthodox accountability. One man’s errors, systematized in a study Bible and propagated through popular preachers, have corrupted the faith of millions. The damage continues to spread through television networks, mega-churches, Bible schools, and now the internet.

Yet truth remains more powerful than error. The Word of God, properly interpreted and faithfully proclaimed, can expose and correct false teaching. The Holy Spirit continues to guide believers into truth. The church, when faithful to its calling, can stand against the gates of hell.

The battle is not over. Every generation must fight anew for biblical truth against contemporary errors. Dake’s heresies, dressed in the prosperity gospel’s appealing clothes, represent one of the most significant challenges facing Christianity today. How the church responds will determine whether biblical Christianity survives and thrives or whether it’s replaced by a counterfeit that bears Christ’s name but denies His truth.

May God grant His church the wisdom to recognize error, the courage to confront it, and the faithfulness to proclaim truth, no matter the cost. The glory of God, the integrity of the gospel, and the souls of millions hang in the balance.

© 2025, Matthew. All rights reserved.