“Kenneth Copeland has gotten very rich...”
Solomon. Joseph. Abraham. Isaac. Job. David.
Deuteronomy 8:18
“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for [it is] he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as [it is] this day”.
Malachi 3:10
“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].”
3 John 1:2
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
2 Corinthians 8:9
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
Luke 6:38
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Deuteronomy 28:2-13
“2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
3 Blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the field.
4 Blessed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed [shall be] thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out.
7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them]”
So, God/Jesus believe prosperity and riches are a blessing. NOWHERE and at no time does God or Jesus promise poverty or sickness as anything approaching a blessing.
Unless you can show one.
I’m not saying everything Copeland says is perfect, or even correct. But you cannot condemn someone because they are rich...even people of God because they are rich. ESPECIALLY when God says that riches are a sign of one’s obedience/relationship to Him.
I think you’ll embarrass yourself, and then hopefully, humble yourself, by studying what God thinks about riches vs. poverty.
Once you’ve done that and understand that God sees riches and plenty as blessings and poverty/lack as a curse, you might wonder if your lack of them is connected to God’s blessing/withholding. You might wonder what it is you’re missing.
Then you might begin to search out what is broken. It’s either God or you.
But...you might quit blaming people who are rich and teaching a way they believe you can get in line with God’s provisions and start trying to listen to what they’re saying.
But, whatever.
That's why the apostles died poor and often in terrible conditions.
But, whatever.
By your theology Bernie Madoff was a very godly man truly blessed.
But whatever.