Chapter 14: Dake’s Influence on Modern Movements

The theological errors of Finis Jennings Dake did not die with him in 1987. Instead, they have taken root and flourished in some of the most influential movements in modern Christianity. Like seeds carried by the wind, Dake’s teachings have spread far beyond their original context, germinating in the fertile soil of movements that already tended toward theological excess. The result has been a proliferation of error that continues to damage the church today.

Perhaps no single study Bible has had such a profound influence on modern charismatic and Pentecostal movements as the Dake Annotated Reference Bible. What makes this influence particularly troubling is that many who have absorbed Dake’s teachings are unaware of their source. They accept his interpretations as biblical truth without realizing they are reading the theological innovations of a man who was expelled from ministry for moral failure and whose teachings contradict orthodox Christianity at fundamental levels.

The Word of Faith Connection

The most obvious and documented influence of Dake’s teaching appears in the Word of Faith movement, also known as the prosperity gospel or the health and wealth gospel. Major figures in this movement have explicitly acknowledged their debt to Dake’s Bible, and the theological connections between Dake’s teachings and Word of Faith doctrine are unmistakable.

Kenneth Hagin Sr.: The Father of the Word of Faith Movement

Kenneth Hagin Sr., often called the father of the Word of Faith movement, regularly cited Dake in his books and sermons. Hagin’s theological library prominently featured the Dake Bible, and he recommended it to his students at Rhema Bible Training Center. The influence is not coincidental—many of Hagin’s most controversial teachings find their roots in Dake’s annotations.

Consider Hagin’s teaching that believers are “little gods.” This doctrine, which has caused enormous controversy, derives directly from Dake’s assertion that humans are “in the God class” of beings. In his notes on Genesis 1:26, Dake wrote:

Hagin took this concept and developed it further, teaching that believers could operate with the same creative power as God Himself. He wrote: “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.”

The progression from Dake’s “God class” to Hagin’s “incarnation” teaching demonstrates how theological error compounds. What begins as a subtle distortion in Dake becomes outright heresy in his followers. The student exceeded the teacher, but only because the teacher had already departed from orthodoxy.

Kenneth Copeland: Broadcasting the Error

Kenneth Copeland, perhaps the most visible prosperity preacher today, has called the Dake Bible one of his primary study tools. In his television programs and crusades, Copeland has incorporated many of Dake’s interpretations, often without attribution. The influence is particularly evident in Copeland’s teaching about the nature of God and humanity.

Copeland’s infamous statement that “God is a being that stands somewhere around six feet tall, weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple hundred pounds” mirrors Dake’s teaching about God having a physical body. Dake wrote in his notes:

This anthropomorphic view of God, which contradicts Jesus’s clear statement that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), becomes the foundation for numerous other errors. If God has a body like ours, then perhaps we can become like Him in essence, not just in moral character. If God is limited to a physical form, then perhaps His knowledge and power are also limited. Each error builds upon the previous one, creating a theological house of cards.

Copeland has also popularized Dake’s teaching about believers’ authority, taking it to extremes that even Dake might not have endorsed. Using Dake’s interpretation of dominion in Genesis 1:26-28, Copeland teaches that believers can command reality through their words, control weather patterns, and even prevent aging. He declares: “You don’t have a god in you, you are one.”

Benny Hinn: The Nine Persons of the Trinity

Perhaps the most shocking example of Dake’s influence came through Benny Hinn’s teaching about the Trinity. In a sermon that has become infamous, Hinn declared: “God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person with a body, with a soul, and with a spirit. Say it with me: ‘God the Father is a person with a body, with a soul, and with a spirit.’ God the Son is a person with a body, with a soul, and with a spirit. God the Holy Spirit is a person with a body, with a soul, and with a spirit. There’s nine of them!”

This bizarre mathematics—turning the Trinity into nine persons—comes directly from Dake’s teaching. Dake wrote:

While Hinn later recanted this obviously heretical statement after widespread criticism, the incident demonstrates how Dake’s errors continue to influence even major Christian leaders. The fact that Hinn could make such a statement from the pulpit, apparently believing it to be biblical truth, shows how deeply Dake’s teachings have penetrated certain segments of Christianity.

Rod Parsley: Continuing the Legacy

Rod Parsley, pastor of World Harvest Church and a prominent television evangelist, has praised the Dake Bible as “one of the greatest literary works ever made for Pentecostal and Charismatic believers.” Parsley’s ministry reflects many of Dake’s emphases, particularly in the areas of spiritual warfare and prosperity teaching.

Parsley’s elaborate teachings about the spirit world, demonic hierarchies, and territorial spirits echo Dake’s detailed (though often speculative) descriptions of the angelic realm. Dake’s notes include extensive charts and lists of different types of angels and demons, their supposed functions, and their hierarchical arrangements—much of which goes far beyond what Scripture actually reveals.

Prosperity Gospel Roots

The prosperity gospel—the teaching that God wants all believers to be wealthy and healthy—finds significant support in Dake’s interpretations. While Dake didn’t originate the prosperity gospel, his Bible provided seemingly scholarly backing for its claims.

The Guarantee of Health and Wealth

In his notes on 3 John 2, Dake wrote: “It is God’s will for all saints to prosper and be in health.” This simple statement, presented as biblical fact in the margins of Scripture, has been used to justify elaborate prosperity theologies that promise material wealth to all who have enough faith.

Dake’s interpretation of Deuteronomy 28 is particularly influential. He taught that all the blessings listed there—including material prosperity, perfect health, and success in every endeavor—are guaranteed to every Christian who walks in faith. He wrote:

This interpretation ignores the covenantal context of Deuteronomy 28 (specific promises to Israel under the Mosaic covenant), the reality of suffering in the Christian life (which Paul extensively discusses), and the New Testament’s emphasis on spiritual rather than material blessings. But for prosperity preachers looking for biblical support, Dake’s notes provide ready-made proof texts.

The Misuse of Faith

Dake’s teaching about faith has been particularly influential in prosperity circles. He presented faith as a force or power that believers can wield to obtain whatever they desire. In his notes on Mark 11:23-24, he wrote:

This mechanistic view of faith—treating it like a spiritual law of gravity that works automatically—has become central to prosperity teaching. Faith becomes a tool for manipulating reality rather than trust in God’s character and submission to His will. The result is a man-centered religion that uses God as a means to personal ends rather than worshiping Him as the ultimate end.

Prosperity preachers have taken Dake’s teaching and developed it into elaborate systems of “positive confession,” “seed faith,” and “prosperity activation.” They teach that poverty is always a sign of weak faith, that sickness indicates sin or unbelief, and that material wealth is the primary sign of God’s blessing. All of these teachings find support in Dake’s notes, giving them an appearance of biblical authority.

The Hundred-Fold Return

One of the most exploitative teachings in the prosperity gospel is the promise of a “hundred-fold return” on financial giving. Televangelists promise that God will multiply any donation by one hundred times, turning a $1,000 “seed” into a $100,000 harvest. This teaching, used to extract money from often poor and desperate viewers, finds support in Dake’s interpretation of Mark 10:29-30.

Dake interpreted Jesus’s promise of receiving “a hundredfold now in this time” as a literal guarantee of material multiplication. He wrote: “This is a literal promise that can be claimed by any believer who gives sacrificially to God’s work.” This interpretation ignores the context (Jesus is talking about the family of God, not financial returns) and the symbolic nature of the number, but it provides prosperity preachers with a powerful fundraising tool.

Extreme Healing Teachings

The modern faith healing movement, with its guarantee of healing for all who have enough faith, draws heavily on Dake’s interpretations. While divine healing is a biblical doctrine affirmed by orthodox Christianity, the extreme versions taught in some circles go far beyond Scripture—often with Dake’s Bible as their authority.

Healing in the Atonement

Dake taught that physical healing is included in Christ’s atonement in exactly the same way as forgiveness of sins. Based on his interpretation of Isaiah 53:4-5 and Matthew 8:17, he wrote:

This teaching, while containing an element of truth (there is a connection between Christ’s atonement and ultimate physical restoration), creates enormous pastoral problems when taken to its logical conclusion. If healing is guaranteed in the atonement just like forgiveness, then anyone who remains sick must lack faith, harbor sin, or be resisting God’s will. This cruel theology adds guilt to suffering and blame to affliction.

The Rejection of Medical Treatment

Some extreme faith healers, building on Dake’s foundation, teach that seeking medical treatment demonstrates lack of faith. If healing is guaranteed through faith, they reason, then going to a doctor is trusting man rather than God. Dake contributed to this thinking with statements like:

This teaching has led to tragic consequences. Parents have withheld medical treatment from sick children, diabetics have stopped taking insulin, and cancer patients have rejected proven treatments—all in the name of “faith.” When healing doesn’t come and tragedy results, the survivors are told their loved one lacked faith or had hidden sin. The psychological and spiritual damage is incalculable.

The Authority to Command Healing

Dake’s teaching about believers’ authority has been particularly influential in healing ministries. He taught that believers have the same authority over sickness that Jesus had. In his notes on Luke 9:1, he wrote:

This teaching ignores the unique apostolic context of Luke 9, the sovereign will of God in healing, and the reality that even apostles like Paul experienced ongoing physical affliction (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). But for faith healers seeking to validate their ministries, Dake’s interpretation provides biblical justification for their claims of healing authority.

The “Little Gods” Doctrine

Perhaps no teaching associated with the Word of Faith movement has generated more controversy than the “little gods” doctrine—the claim that born-again believers are gods, divine beings who share God’s nature and abilities. This teaching, shocking to orthodox Christians, finds its roots directly in Dake’s theology.

The Foundation in Dake

As mentioned earlier, Dake explicitly taught that humans are “in the God class” of beings. But he went further than just classification. In his interpretation of Psalm 82:6 (“I have said, Ye are gods”), Dake wrote:

This interpretation completely misunderstands Psalm 82, which is actually a condemnation of unjust judges who, despite their God-given authority (metaphorically called “gods”), will die like mere men because of their corruption. Jesus’s use of this passage in John 10:34 was an argument from the lesser to the greater, not an affirmation that humans are divine beings.

The Development by Faith Teachers

Word of Faith teachers took Dake’s “God class” teaching and developed it into a full-blown deification doctrine. Kenneth Copeland declared: “You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” Creflo Dollar taught: “If horses get together, they produce what? Horses! If dogs get together, they produce what? Dogs! If cats get together, they produce what? Cats! So if the Godhead says, ‘Let us make man in our image,’ and everything produces after its own kind, then they produce what? Gods!”

Paul Crouch, founder of Trinity Broadcasting Network, proclaimed on his network: “I am a little god! Critics, be gone!” Joyce Meyer infamously stated: “I was listening to a set of tapes by one man and he explained it like this… he said we are little gods. I thought, ‘That’s a good way to explain it.’ We better check our definition of who we are in Christ.”

All of these teachers can trace their theological lineage back to Dake’s assertion that humans are “miniatures of God” who belong to the “God class.” What Dake planted as a seed has grown into a forest of theological confusion.

The Dangerous Implications

The “little gods” doctrine has profound and dangerous implications:

First, it erases the Creator-creature distinction. The fundamental divide in reality is between God the Creator and everything else, which is created. When humans are placed in the “God class,” this essential distinction collapses. We become co-eternal with God rather than His creatures, which is essentially the lie of the serpent in Eden: “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5).

Second, it undermines the uniqueness of Christ. If all believers are gods, what makes Jesus special? If we share God’s essential nature, why do we need a Savior? The doctrine inevitably diminishes the person and work of Christ, making Him merely the first among many gods rather than the unique God-man.

Third, it promotes pride and self-deification. When believers think they are gods, humility becomes impossible. Why should gods humble themselves? Why should they submit to authority? Why should they accept suffering or limitation? The doctrine feeds the very pride that caused Satan’s fall and humanity’s original sin.

Fourth, it distorts the purpose of salvation. Biblical salvation is about reconciliation with God, not deification as God. We are being conformed to the image of Christ in moral character (Romans 8:29), not transformed into divine beings with God’s essential nature. The Eastern Orthodox concept of theosis, sometimes cited in defense, is about participation in divine grace, not obtaining divine essence.

Spiritual Warfare Extremism

The modern spiritual warfare movement, with its elaborate demonologies, territorial mapping, and binding and loosing practices, draws heavily on Dake’s detailed but often speculative teachings about the spirit world.

The Elaborate Hierarchies

Dake’s Bible includes extensive charts and descriptions of supposed demonic hierarchies, going far beyond what Scripture actually reveals. He lists various ranks of demons, their specific functions, and their geographical jurisdictions. For example, he wrote:

While Scripture does mention different categories of spiritual beings, Dake’s detailed organizational charts go far beyond biblical revelation into speculation. He creates elaborate systems that owe more to medieval demonology and Paradise Lost than to Scripture.

Territorial Spirits and Spiritual Mapping

Dake’s teaching about territorial spirits—demons that control geographical regions—has become central to modern spiritual warfare practice. Based primarily on Daniel 10’s mention of the “prince of Persia,” Dake developed an entire theology of territorial dominion. He taught:

This teaching has spawned an entire movement of “spiritual mapping,” where practitioners attempt to identify the specific demons controlling cities or regions. They conduct elaborate prayer walks, perform prophetic acts, and engage in spiritual warfare to “bind” these territorial spirits. Cities are “prayer walked,” demons are “evicted,” and spiritual atmosphere is supposedly changed through these practices.

The problem is that none of this is actually taught in Scripture. Daniel 10 mentions spiritual opposition but doesn’t instruct believers to engage territorial spirits. Jesus and the apostles never practiced spiritual mapping or territorial warfare. They simply preached the gospel and trusted God to work. Dake’s speculations have become practices that distract from biblical evangelism and discipleship.

The Power Encounter Emphasis

Building on Dake’s teachings, some spiritual warfare practitioners emphasize dramatic “power encounters” with demonic forces. They seek supernatural confrontations to demonstrate God’s power, viewing ministry primarily through the lens of spiritual combat. Every problem becomes demonic, every solution involves warfare, and Christian life becomes an exhausting battle against largely imaginary foes.

Dake contributed to this emphasis with teachings like:

This militaristic view of Christian life creates several problems. First, it can produce fear and paranoia, with believers seeing demons everywhere and living in constant anxiety about spiritual attack. Second, it can externalize all problems to demonic sources, avoiding personal responsibility for sin and poor choices. Third, it can lead to spiritual pride, with “warriors” viewing themselves as elite Christians engaged in cosmic battle while ordinary believers are seen as spiritually inferior.

Binding and Loosing Extremes

Dake’s interpretation of Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 about “binding and loosing” has been particularly influential in charismatic spiritual warfare. He taught that believers have authority to bind Satan and loose blessings through their declarations. He wrote:

This interpretation misunderstands the Jewish legal context of “binding and loosing,” which referred to rabbinical decisions about what was permitted or forbidden under the law. Jesus was giving His apostles authority to make decisions about church discipline and practice, not magical power to control spiritual forces through verbal formulas.

But based on Dake’s interpretation, many believers spend enormous time and energy “binding” everything from traffic to bad weather to government policies. They “loose” prosperity, healing, and revival through verbal declarations. This magical view of language—that words themselves have power to control reality—owes more to occultism than biblical Christianity.

How Error Compounds Error

One of the most important lessons from studying Dake’s influence is how theological error compounds over time. Each generation of false teachers builds on the previous one, taking errors further than their predecessors dared. What begins as a subtle deviation from orthodoxy becomes outright heresy within a few theological generations.

The Generational Progression

We can trace this progression clearly:

First Generation (Dake): Humans are “in the God class” and are “miniatures of God.” God has a body. The Trinity consists of three separate beings. Believers have the same authority as Christ.

Second Generation (Hagin, Copeland Sr.): Believers are “little gods.” Faith is a force that controls reality. Health and wealth are guaranteed to all believers. We can command sickness and circumstances.

Third Generation (Contemporary Faith Teachers): Believers can create reality with their words. They can control weather, prevent aging, and manipulate the physical world. They are equal to Christ in nature and authority. Some even claim believers can raise the dead at will.

Each generation goes further because they accept the previous generation’s errors as established truth. When the foundation is crooked, the entire building leans more precariously with each added floor. Eventually, the structure becomes so distorted that its Christian identity is barely recognizable.

The Normalization of Heresy

Another troubling aspect of Dake’s influence is how his errors have become normalized in certain Christian circles. Teachings that would have been immediately recognized as heretical a century ago are now accepted as mainstream in some churches. The constant repetition of error, especially when packaged with genuine biblical truth, gradually erodes discernment.

For example, the idea that God has a physical body would have been immediately rejected by any orthodox Christian throughout church history. The church fathers, the medieval theologians, the Reformers, and evangelical leaders all affirmed God’s spiritual nature. Yet today, influenced by decades of Dake-inspired teaching, many Pentecostals and Charismatics accept divine corporeality without question.

Similarly, the “little gods” doctrine represents a form of polytheism that the early church fought vigorously against. Yet today, major Christian television networks broadcast this teaching daily to millions of viewers. What was once unthinkable heresy has become acceptable variation.

The Authority of the Annotated Page

Part of Dake’s lasting influence comes from the format of his work—a study Bible with notes printed authoritatively alongside Scripture. When error appears in a book about the Bible, readers can more easily recognize it as one person’s interpretation. But when error appears in the margins of the Bible itself, it gains an unconscious authority.

Readers often don’t distinguish between the inspired text and the human commentary. They absorb both as equally authoritative. The physical proximity of Dake’s notes to Scripture gives them a borrowed authority they don’t deserve. This is particularly dangerous when readers lack theological education to evaluate the notes critically.

The International Spread of Dake’s Errors

Dake’s influence is not limited to American Christianity. Through missionary work, Bible distribution, and now digital media, his errors have spread globally, taking root in churches that may be even less equipped to recognize and refute them.

The Missionary Connection

American missionaries, particularly those from Pentecostal and Charismatic backgrounds, have carried Dake Bibles around the world. In their sincere desire to provide biblical resources to new churches, they have unknowingly spread theological poison along with the gospel. A missionary to Africa reported:

The problem is particularly acute in areas where theological education is limited. Pastors who have no access to seminary training or theological libraries rely entirely on study Bibles for their biblical interpretation. When that study Bible is Dake’s, error becomes orthodoxy for entire congregations and even denominations.

The Translation Problem

In some countries, portions of Dake’s notes have been translated and published separately from the Bible text. These study guides spread his errors even more widely, as they’re often the only detailed biblical commentary available in certain languages. The translation process sometimes makes the errors worse, as cultural misunderstandings compound theological mistakes.

For example, in cultures where animism and ancestor worship are common, Dake’s elaborate demonology and his teaching about spirit beings having bodies can syncretize with pre-existing beliefs to create dangerous hybrid theologies. His teaching about territorial spirits reinforces animistic concepts of local deities, while his physical view of God can blend with anthropomorphic concepts of deity from traditional religions.

The Digital Explosion

The internet age has exponentially increased Dake’s global influence. His Bible is now available as a free download on numerous websites, reaching people who could never afford a physical copy. Bible software programs include his notes as a standard reference work. Mobile apps put his commentary in the pockets of millions worldwide.

Social media amplifies this influence. Facebook groups with thousands of members discuss Dake’s interpretations daily. YouTube channels explain his prophetic charts and theological systems. Instagram accounts share quotable excerpts from his notes. The digital echo chamber reinforces error through repetition and peer validation.

Online translation tools mean that language is no longer a barrier. Someone in China can read Dake’s notes translated instantly into Mandarin. A believer in Russia can access his commentary in Russian with a click. The technological miracle of instant global communication has become a vehicle for instant global deception.

The Perpetuation Through Bible Schools

One of the most concerning aspects of Dake’s ongoing influence is his prominence in independent Bible schools, particularly those associated with the Word of Faith and prosperity gospel movements. These institutions, often lacking accreditation and academic oversight, use the Dake Bible as a primary textbook, ensuring that each new generation of pastors and evangelists absorbs his errors.

The Curriculum Problem

Many independent Bible schools structure their entire curriculum around the Dake Bible. Students are required to purchase it, classes are taught from it, and assignments are based on its notes. A former student at one such school reported:

These schools often attract students who are zealous for God but lack educational opportunities. They may be older adults entering ministry as a second career, international students seeking affordable biblical education, or young people from churches that distrust academic institutions. These vulnerable students absorb Dake’s errors as biblical truth, then go on to teach them to others.

The Multiplication Effect

Each graduate of these Dake-centered Bible schools potentially influences hundreds or thousands of others through their ministry. A single pastor teaching Dake’s errors affects their entire congregation. An evangelist spreading his interpretations reaches multiple churches. A missionary carrying his Bible plants these errors in virgin soil where they can grow unchecked.

The multiplication is exponential. If one Bible school graduates fifty students per year, and each graduate influences just one hundred people over their ministry career, that’s 5,000 people per year being exposed to Dake’s errors from just one school. Multiply this by dozens of such schools over several decades, and the scope of influence becomes staggering.

The Academic Immunity

These Bible schools often operate in an academic bubble, immune to correction from mainstream evangelical scholarship. They dismiss criticism of Dake as attacks from “dead orthodoxy” or “secular theology.” Academic credentials are viewed with suspicion, scholarly criticism is rejected as unspiritual, and theological accountability is non-existent.

This immunity is reinforced by the prosperity gospel’s success narrative. If the school’s graduates are building large churches and raising significant funds, this is seen as divine validation of their teaching. Success becomes the measure of truth rather than scriptural fidelity. The bigger the ministry, the more correct the theology must be—a dangerous reversal of biblical priorities.

The Television and Media Amplification

Christian television has been perhaps the most powerful amplifier of Dake-influenced theology. Networks like Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Daystar, and others broadcast prosperity gospel and Word of Faith teaching twenty-four hours a day to millions of viewers worldwide. Many of the most prominent televangelists are disciples of Dake, whether directly or through his theological descendants.

The Power of Repetition

Television’s power lies partly in repetition. When viewers hear the same teachings daily from multiple sources, these ideas begin to seem normative. Dake’s concepts—humans as little gods, God having a body, guaranteed health and wealth—are repeated so often that they cease to shock and begin to seem biblical.

The production quality of modern Christian television adds to its persuasive power. Professional sets, dramatic lighting, enthusiastic audiences, and emotional music create an atmosphere of authority and authenticity. When error is packaged this attractively, it becomes more appealing than truth presented plainly.

The Celebrity Factor

Television creates celebrity preachers whose influence extends far beyond their actual biblical knowledge. When a televangelist with millions of followers endorses the Dake Bible or teaches his interpretations, their celebrity status lends credibility to the error. Viewers assume that someone so successful and influential must be teaching truth.

These celebrities often cross-promote each other, appearing on each other’s programs and endorsing each other’s ministries. This creates a network of mutual validation where error is reinforced through celebrity endorsement. When Kenneth Copeland appears on Benny Hinn’s program, both teaching Dake-influenced theology, viewers see confirmation through agreement rather than recognizing shared error.

The Financial Engine

Television ministry requires enormous funds, and the prosperity gospel provides the perfect fundraising theology. Based on Dake’s teaching about hundredfold returns and guaranteed prosperity, televangelists can promise donors miraculous financial breakthroughs in exchange for “seed” offerings. This creates a self-perpetuating cycle: the theology funds the television ministry, which spreads the theology further, generating more funds.

Dake’s interpretation of biblical promises about giving and receiving provides the theological justification for what critics call religious exploitation. When he wrote that “every promise in the Bible is for every believer” and that these promises include material wealth, he provided prosperity preachers with ammunition for their fundraising appeals.

The Contemporary Influence in Specific Movements

To fully understand Dake’s ongoing influence, we must examine specific contemporary movements where his teachings continue to shape theology and practice.

The New Apostolic Reformation

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a movement claiming to restore apostolic authority to the modern church, draws heavily on Dake’s teachings about authority, spiritual warfare, and dominion. NAR leaders teach that modern apostles have the same authority as biblical apostles, including the power to receive new revelation and exercise dominion over territories.

Dake’s interpretation of passages about binding and loosing, his elaborate demonology, and his teaching about believers’ authority provide theological foundation for NAR practices. When NAR apostles claim to issue decrees that bind demons and release angels, they’re applying Dake’s interpretations. When they practice “strategic level spiritual warfare” against territorial spirits, they’re following his demonology.

C. Peter Wagner, considered the father of the NAR movement, acknowledged the influence of earlier Pentecostal teachers who used the Dake Bible. The movement’s emphasis on taking dominion over “Seven Mountains” of culture (religion, government, education, media, arts, business, and family) reflects Dake’s interpretation of the dominion mandate in Genesis.

The Prophetic Movement

Contemporary prophetic movements, with their emphasis on personal prophecy, prophetic activation, and prophetic intercession, often rely on Dake’s interpretations of biblical prophecy and spiritual gifts. His detailed charts of end-times events, his interpretations of Daniel and Revelation, and his teachings about the gift of prophecy influence modern prophetic practice.

When modern “prophets” claim to receive detailed information about people’s futures, command angels, or decree changes in nations, they’re operating from a theological framework influenced by Dake. His teaching that every believer can operate in the same supernatural power as biblical prophets has contributed to the democratization of prophecy in these movements, where everyone is encouraged to “prophesy” regardless of biblical guidelines or accountability.

The Inner Healing Movement

Some streams of the inner healing movement, which focuses on emotional and psychological healing through spiritual means, incorporate Dake’s teachings about the nature of humanity and spiritual authority. His trichotomist view of human nature (body, soul, and spirit as three separate parts) influences how some practitioners approach inner healing.

When inner healing ministers claim to heal “soul wounds” separately from spiritual issues, or when they teach about binding “generational spirits” that have attached to family lines, they’re often working from categories influenced by Dake’s systematic (though often unbiblical) categorization of spiritual and psychological phenomena.

Specific Examples of Dake’s Ongoing Influence

To make this influence concrete, let’s examine specific contemporary examples of Dake’s theology being taught and practiced today.

Joel Osteen and the Soft Prosperity Gospel

While Joel Osteen represents a “softer” version of the prosperity gospel compared to teachers like Copeland or Dollar, his theology still shows Dake’s influence. Osteen’s teaching that God wants everyone to live their “best life now” with health, wealth, and success echoes Dake’s interpretation that all biblical promises of blessing apply to every believer today.

When Osteen declares, “God wants you to live in abundance,” he’s applying Dake’s principle that prosperity is God’s will for all Christians. While Osteen avoids the more extreme “little gods” teaching, his emphasis on positive confession and speaking things into existence reflects Dake’s mechanistic view of faith that was developed further by Word of Faith teachers.

Bill Johnson and Bethel Church

Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and his associated movement emphasize supernatural manifestations, healing, and believers’ authority in ways that show Dake’s influence. Johnson’s teaching that believers can operate in the same anointing as Jesus Christ, performing the same miracles, reflects Dake’s interpretation of believers’ authority.

Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry, which trains students to operate in miraculous gifts, uses theological categories influenced by Dake’s systematic approach to the supernatural. When students are taught to command healing, decree prosperity, or engage territorial spirits, they’re applying principles that can be traced back through the Word of Faith movement to Dake’s biblical interpretations.

Todd White and Street Healing

Todd White, known for his street healing ministry and distinctive appearance, demonstrates Dake’s influence in his approach to divine healing. White teaches that every believer has the same power to heal that Jesus had, that sickness is never God’s will, and that healing should be expected every time believers pray.

These teachings reflect Dake’s interpretation that healing is guaranteed in the atonement and that believers have absolute authority over sickness. When White declares, “God has given us the same power that raised Christ from the dead,” he’s echoing Dake’s teaching about believers’ supernatural authority. His practice of commanding body parts to be healed reflects the mechanistic view of faith and authority that Dake promoted.

The Damage Assessment: Real-World Consequences

The influence of Dake’s errors is not merely theoretical—it has real-world consequences that damage lives, destroy faith, and dishonor God. Understanding these consequences is essential for grasping the seriousness of the problem.

Financial Exploitation

The prosperity gospel, reinforced by Dake’s interpretations, has led to massive financial exploitation. Desperate people seeking healing or financial breakthrough give money they can’t afford to lose, believing promises of hundredfold returns. When the promised blessing doesn’t come, they’re told they lacked faith or gave with wrong motives, adding insult to injury.

A study by the Trinity Foundation found that the largest prosperity gospel ministries collect billions of dollars annually, much of it from poor and vulnerable viewers. The six largest prosperity televangelists have combined net worths exceeding $300 million, while many of their donors struggle to pay basic bills. This exploitation is theologically justified by Dake’s teaching that financial prosperity is God’s will for all believers.

Medical Tragedies

The extreme healing teachings influenced by Dake have led to preventable medical tragedies. Parents have withheld insulin from diabetic children, cancer patients have rejected proven treatments, and people with mental illness have stopped taking medication—all believing that seeking medical help demonstrates lack of faith.

In one documented case, a couple following Word of Faith teaching let their infant son die of a treatable infection rather than seek medical care. They believed, based on teachings influenced by Dake’s theology, that taking him to a doctor would be a confession of unbelief that would prevent God from healing him. The baby died needlessly, and the parents were convicted of negligent homicide.

Spiritual Shipwreck

Perhaps the most common damage is spiritual shipwreck when the promises fail. A believer fully embraces the teaching that God guarantees health and wealth. They positive-confess, give sacrificially, and exercise faith. But then they get cancer, lose their job, or face financial crisis. The theological system they’ve built their faith on collapses.

Many such believers don’t just leave the false teaching—they leave Christianity entirely. If the promises they were taught to claim unconditionally turn out to be false, they conclude the entire faith must be false. The testimony of former believers who’ve abandoned Christianity after prosperity gospel disappointment is heartbreaking and common.

Church Division

Dake’s influence has contributed to significant division within Christianity. Churches split over prosperity teaching, spiritual warfare practices, and views of believers’ authority. Families divide when some members embrace Word of Faith theology while others reject it. The body of Christ is fractured along lines that often trace back to Dake’s interpretations.

Denominations struggle with how to handle ministers influenced by Dake’s theology. Should they discipline pastors who teach that believers are little gods? Should they defellowship churches that practice extreme spiritual warfare? These difficult questions create ongoing tension and division.

The Subtle Influences: Beyond the Obvious

While we’ve focused on obvious examples of Dake’s influence, his impact extends to subtle areas that are harder to detect but no less significant.

Hermeneutical Damage

Dake’s hyperliteral interpretive method has influenced how many Christians read the Bible, even those who’ve never heard his name. His approach—taking figurative language literally, ignoring context, and creating elaborate systems from isolated verses—has become normative in some circles.

When Christians build entire doctrines on single verses taken out of context, they’re following Dake’s hermeneutical method. When they interpret poetic language as literal description or read their own experiences into biblical narratives, they’re applying his interpretive approach. This hermeneutical damage affects biblical interpretation far beyond his specific doctrinal errors.

Theological Method

Dake’s systematic approach—creating detailed categories and charts for everything from angels to end-times events—has influenced how many approach theology. The desire to systematize and categorize every spiritual reality, even when Scripture provides little information, reflects his influence.

When contemporary teachers create elaborate hierarchies of angels and demons, detailed maps of heaven, or specific formulas for spiritual warfare, they’re following Dake’s theological method even if they reject his specific conclusions. The assumption that everything in the spiritual realm can be charted and categorized like a scientific taxonomy comes from his influence.

Expectational Framework

Perhaps most subtly, Dake has influenced what many Christians expect from their faith. The expectation that Christianity should provide health, wealth, and success; that believers should exercise supernatural power; that faith can control circumstances—these expectations, even when not explicitly taught, create a framework that shapes Christian experience.

When believers are disappointed that their Christian life doesn’t include regular miracles, supernatural encounters, and material prosperity, they’re measuring their experience against expectations influenced by Dake’s theology, transmitted through decades of Word of Faith teaching.

The Resistance and Response

Not all of Christianity has been passive in the face of Dake’s influence. Various individuals and movements have recognized and resisted his errors, though often with limited success.

Academic Response

Evangelical scholars have consistently critiqued Dake’s theology. Gordon Fee’s “The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels,” D.R. McConnell’s “A Different Gospel,” and Hank Hanegraaff’s “Christianity in Crisis” all address errors that trace back to Dake’s influence. These academic responses provide thorough biblical and theological refutation of his errors.

However, academic responses often don’t reach the audiences most influenced by Dake. People watching prosperity preachers on television rarely read theological journals. Churches using the Dake Bible may distrust academic scholarship as “unspiritual” or “liberal.” The academic response, while important, has limited impact on grassroots acceptance of his teachings.

Denominational Statements

Some denominations have issued statements rejecting prosperity theology and Word of Faith teaching. The Assemblies of God, despite being Pentecostal, has published position papers rejecting the prosperity gospel and the “little gods” doctrine. The National Association of Evangelicals has similar statements.

Yet these denominational statements have limited effect on independent churches and ministers who aren’t accountable to denominational authority. The very independence that allowed Dake to continue ministering after his expulsion from the Assemblies of God continues to protect ministers who teach his errors today.

Popular-Level Critique

More recently, popular-level critiques have begun reaching broader audiences. The documentary “American Gospel: Christ Alone” exposes prosperity theology to a wide audience. Social media critics create viral videos refuting Word of Faith teaching. Podcasts devoted to theological discernment address Dake-influenced errors.

These popular-level responses are encouraging, but they face an uphill battle against the massive media presence of prosperity gospel proponents. For every critical video, there are dozens promoting the very errors being critiqued. The financial resources of the prosperity gospel ensure its message reaches far more people than its critics.

Case Studies: Tracing Specific Doctrines

To fully understand how Dake’s influence operates, let’s trace specific doctrines from his Bible through successive generations of teachers to contemporary expression.

Case Study 1: The Evolution of “Little Gods”

Dake (1949): “Man is in the God class of being, a god under God” (Note on Genesis 1:26)

Kenneth Hagin (1980): “You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ was.”

Kenneth Copeland (1987): “You don’t have a god in you, you are one.”

Creflo Dollar (2002): “If horses get together, they produce horses. If God’s together, they produce gods.”

Contemporary Expression: Believers claiming they can create reality, control weather, and exercise unlimited authority over circumstances.

Notice how each generation takes the error further. Dake’s “God class” becomes Hagin’s “incarnation,” which becomes Copeland’s “you are one,” which becomes Dollar’s reproductive theology. The error doesn’t remain static but evolves and intensifies.

Case Study 2: The Authority Teaching

Dake (1949): “Every believer has the same power and authority over demons and diseases that Jesus gave to the twelve apostles.”

Kenneth Hagin (1979): “You have the same ministry that Jesus had. You have the same authority.”

Charles Capps (1987): “You have the same creative power in your tongue that God has in His.”

Bill Johnson (2005): “Jesus gave us an example to follow. He didn’t do anything we can’t do.”

Contemporary Expression: Believers claiming to raise the dead, control natural disasters, and decree changes in nations.

Again, we see progression. Dake’s authority over demons and disease becomes authority to do everything Jesus did, then creative power equal to God’s, then unlimited miraculous ability.

Case Study 3: The Prosperity Promise

Dake (1949): “It is God’s will for all saints to prosper and be in health.”

Oral Roberts (1970): “God wants you to have the best of everything.”

Kenneth Copeland (1985): “Poverty is a curse. Prosperity is a blessing. Choose blessing.”

Leroy Thompson (1999): “God wants you to be a millionaire.”

Contemporary Expression: Preachers promising private jets, luxury cars, and millionaire status as signs of faith.

The modest prosperity Dake mentioned has become lavish wealth. What began as “prosper and be in health” has become divine entitlement to extreme luxury.

The Global Impact Assessment

To understand the full scope of Dake’s influence, we must assess its global impact across different cultures and contexts.

Africa: The Prosperity Explosion

In Africa, where poverty and disease are endemic, Dake-influenced prosperity theology has exploded. Nigerian megachurches teaching that poverty is a curse and wealth is a sign of faith draw hundreds of thousands. Pastors like David Oyedepo, Chris Oyakhilome, and T.B. Joshua build massive empires while their followers struggle in poverty.

The promise of escape from poverty through faith is particularly powerful in economically challenged contexts. When people have little hope of economic advancement through conventional means, the promise of supernatural prosperity becomes irresistible. Dake’s teaching that God wants all believers to prosper, transmitted through American televangelists and reinforced by local prosperity preachers, shapes the faith of millions of African Christians.

The damage is profound. Resources that could address real needs are diverted to build palatial churches and support lavish lifestyles of prosperity preachers. Young people abandon education and career development, believing that faith alone will bring wealth. When prosperity doesn’t come, many abandon Christianity entirely, seeing it as another form of exploitation.

Latin America: The Authority Appeal

In Latin America, where Pentecostalism has grown explosively, Dake’s teachings about authority and spiritual warfare have particular resonance. In cultures already familiar with spiritual hierarchies from indigenous and Catholic traditions, his elaborate angelology and demonology find ready acceptance.

Churches practice elaborate spiritual warfare rituals based on Dake’s territorial spirit teachings. Cities are “prayer mapped,” demons are “bound,” and believers claim authority over governments and institutions. The G12 movement, started in Colombia and spread throughout Latin America, incorporates many Dake-influenced concepts about authority and spiritual conquest.

The emphasis on authority can become particularly problematic in cultures with histories of authoritarian politics. When religious leaders claim divine authority to command reality, it can reinforce patterns of authoritarianism and abuse. The little gods doctrine, translated into Spanish and Portuguese contexts, creates personality cults around charismatic leaders who claim divine status.

Asia: The Syncretistic Danger

In Asia, where Christianity often exists alongside other major religions, Dake’s errors can syncretize with non-Christian beliefs in dangerous ways. His teaching that God has a body can blend with Buddhist or Hindu concepts of divine embodiment. His elaborate spirit hierarchies can merge with animistic beliefs about territorial spirits.

In South Korea, where Christianity has grown remarkably, some churches influenced by Dake’s theology through American missionaries have developed unique hybrid theologies. The emphasis on material blessing as a sign of divine favor resonates with Confucian concepts of heavenly mandate. The authority teachings blend with cultural concepts of spiritual power.

The Philippines, with the largest Christian population in Asia, shows significant Dake influence through both American missionary work and media. Filipino televangelists trained in American Word of Faith schools return home teaching prosperity gospel and little gods doctrine to audiences eager for economic advancement and spiritual power.

The Media Evolution: From Print to Digital

Dake’s influence has evolved with changing media technologies, each new platform amplifying his reach.

The Print Era (1963-1990s)

Initially, Dake’s influence spread through physical Bibles and books. The Dake Bible was expensive and substantial—a serious investment that believers treasured and studied carefully. Its physical presence on shelves in homes, churches, and Bible schools gave it authority and permanence.

During this era, influence was slower but deeper. People who owned Dake Bibles typically studied them intensively. The comprehensive nature of his notes meant that users often relied on his Bible exclusively, absorbing his entire theological system rather than just isolated teachings.

The Television Era (1980s-2000s)

Christian television transformed Dake’s influence from direct (reading his Bible) to indirect (hearing his interpretations through televangelists). Teachers influenced by Dake reached millions who had never heard his name. His theological DNA spread through the denominational genome of media Christianity.

Television’s visual and emotional power made abstract theological errors concrete and appealing. When viewers saw prosperity preachers’ apparent success—large crowds, beautiful facilities, expensive suits—it seemed to validate their theology. Dake’s promise that God wants all believers to prosper appeared confirmed by the prosperity of those teaching it.

The Digital Era (2000s-Present)

The internet has democratized access to Dake’s materials while also fragmenting his influence. Anyone can download his Bible free, but they might only read portions that interest them. Social media allows his quotes to circulate without context, sometimes making his errors seem more reasonable than they are when seen systematically.

Digital influencers with no formal theological training can build massive followings teaching Dake-influenced theology. A charismatic personality with video editing skills can reach more people than trained theologians. The algorithm-driven nature of social media means that sensational content—like claims to be little gods or promises of miraculous wealth—gets more engagement and thus more distribution than careful biblical teaching.

The Psychological Dimension

Understanding why Dake’s errors appeal to people requires examining the psychological dimensions of his influence.

The Appeal to Pride

The teaching that humans are in the “God class” appeals to fundamental human pride. From Eden onward, humans have wanted to “be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). Dake’s theology offers this forbidden fruit wrapped in biblical language. Instead of humbling ourselves before an infinite God, we can see ourselves as junior partners in divinity.

This appeal to pride is particularly powerful in cultures that emphasize self-esteem and personal empowerment. The message that “you are a god” resonates with cultural messages about unlimited human potential and the power of positive thinking. Dake provides theological justification for cultural narcissism.

The Promise of Control

Life is uncertain and often painful. Dake’s theology promises control over circumstances through faith, positive confession, and spiritual authority. Instead of accepting suffering and trusting God’s sovereignty, believers can supposedly command their circumstances and create their desired reality.

This promise of control is particularly appealing to people who feel powerless in their natural circumstances. The poor can claim wealth, the sick can command healing, the oppressed can exercise spiritual authority. The theology offers an escape from helplessness, even if that escape is ultimately illusory.

The Simplification of Complexity

Life and theology are complex, but Dake’s system offers simple formulas. Faith equals prosperity. Positive confession brings positive results. Spiritual warfare solves problems. These simple equations are easier to grasp than biblical paradoxes about suffering and sovereignty, weakness and strength, already and not yet.

The human mind prefers certainty to ambiguity, and Dake provides certainty. His detailed charts, specific interpretations, and systematic categorizations give the impression of complete understanding. In an uncertain world, this false certainty is psychologically comforting even when theologically dangerous.

The Ecclesiastical Impact

Dake’s influence has shaped not just theology but ecclesiology—how churches are structured and function.

The Celebrity Pastor Phenomenon

The little gods doctrine and authority teaching have contributed to the celebrity pastor phenomenon. If the pastor is a “little god” with special authority and anointing, then they deserve special honor, unquestioning obedience, and generous financial support. This creates personality cults where the pastor’s word carries more weight than Scripture.

Churches influenced by Dake’s theology often have authoritarian structures with little accountability. The pastor’s special anointing means they shouldn’t be questioned. Their prosperity is seen as evidence of divine favor rather than potential exploitation. Their moral failures are covered up to protect the “anointing.”

The Minimization of Discipleship

When faith is reduced to formulas for getting blessings, discipleship suffers. Why study Scripture deeply when you just need to claim promises? Why pursue holiness when you just need to positive confess? Why develop Christian character when you already are a little god?

Churches influenced by Dake’s theology often emphasize experiences over education, manifestations over maturity, and blessings over obedience. The hard work of discipleship—studying Scripture, developing character, serving others—is replaced by techniques for obtaining personal benefits.

The Distortion of Mission

The Great Commission becomes distorted when filtered through Dake’s theology. Instead of making disciples who observe all Christ commanded, churches focus on spreading prosperity teaching. Instead of serving the poor, they teach the poor to positive-confess wealth. Instead of bearing witness through suffering, they promise escape from all suffering.

Mission work influenced by Dake’s theology often creates dependency rather than discipleship. New believers are taught to expect miraculous provision rather than to work diligently. Churches focus on building impressive facilities rather than developing mature believers. The gospel of the kingdom is replaced by the gospel of personal benefit.

Hope Amid the Ruins

Despite the extensive damage from Dake’s influence, there are encouraging signs of resistance and recovery.

The Rising Discernment

A new generation of believers is developing biblical discernment. Through online ministries, podcasts, and social media, young Christians are learning to identify and reject false teaching. They’re asking hard questions about prosperity theology and demanding biblical answers.

Former members of Word of Faith churches are sharing their testimonies, warning others about the dangers they experienced. These testimonies carry special weight because they come from insiders who know the teaching intimately. Their courage in speaking out despite criticism helps others recognize and escape error.

The Return to Biblical Authority

Many churches are returning to expository preaching and biblical theology. Instead of building doctrine on isolated proof texts as Dake did, they’re teaching Scripture in context. Instead of promising health and wealth, they’re preparing believers for suffering and service.

Seminary education is becoming more accessible through online programs, giving pastors tools to evaluate teachings like Dake’s. Biblical languages, hermeneutics, and systematic theology provide framework for recognizing and refuting error. As more pastors gain theological education, fewer are susceptible to Dake’s influence.

The Global Correction

Indigenous theologians in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are developing contextual theologies that address prosperity teaching from within their cultures. They understand both the appeal and the danger of Dake-influenced theology in their contexts and can speak with authority their communities respect.

Networks of biblical churches are forming to provide mutual support and accountability. These networks help isolated pastors resist pressure to adopt prosperity teaching for church growth. They provide resources for biblical teaching and models for faithful ministry that doesn’t depend on false promises.

Conclusion: The Ongoing Battle

Finis Dake’s influence on modern movements represents one of the most significant theological challenges facing contemporary Christianity. His errors haven’t remained confined to his Bible’s margins but have metastasized throughout the body of Christ, spreading through movements, media, and missions to affect millions worldwide.

The Word of Faith movement’s “little gods” doctrine, the prosperity gospel’s health and wealth guarantees, the spiritual warfare movement’s elaborate demonologies, and countless other errors can trace their genealogy back to Dake’s theological innovations. Each generation of false teachers has built on his foundation, taking his errors further than he did, creating increasingly elaborate systems of deception.

The damage is real and ongoing. Financial exploitation robs the poor to enrich false teachers. Medical tragedies occur when sick believers reject treatment. Spiritual shipwrecks happen when false promises fail. Churches divide over prosperity teaching. The gospel’s witness is damaged when Christianity becomes associated with greed and manipulation.

Yet there is hope. Truth is more powerful than error, light overcomes darkness, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against Christ’s church. As believers develop discernment, as pastors return to biblical preaching, as theologians continue to expose error, Dake’s influence can be overcome.

The battle isn’t easy. Error backed by billion-dollar media empires, celebrity endorsements, and emotional manipulation is formidable. But God’s Word remains true, His Spirit still guides into truth, and His people are learning to test all things and hold fast to what is good.

Understanding how Dake’s errors have influenced modern movements is essential for recognizing and resisting them. When we see the “little gods” teaching, we can trace it back to Dake’s “God class” and refute it from Scripture. When we encounter prosperity promises, we can identify their source in Dake’s interpretations and correct them with biblical balance. When we observe extreme spiritual warfare practices, we can recognize Dake’s influence and return to biblical simplicity.

The task before us is clear: we must continue to expose error, teach truth, and help those influenced by Dake’s theology find freedom in biblical Christianity. This isn’t about winning arguments but about rescuing souls from deception. It’s not about theological superiority but about pastoral compassion for those led astray.

As we conclude this examination of Dake’s influence on modern movements, we’re reminded that theological vigilance is not optional for the church. Every generation must guard the good deposit entrusted to it (2 Timothy 1:14), contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), and protect the flock from wolves in sheep’s clothing (Acts 20:29-30).

Finis Dake has been dead for decades, but his errors live on. They’ve evolved, adapted, and spread far beyond what he probably imagined. They’ve damaged countless lives and distorted the gospel for millions. But error cannot ultimately prevail against truth. As the church continues to stand for biblical truth, teach sound doctrine, and expose false teaching, Dake’s influence will eventually wane.

Until then, we must remain vigilant, compassionate, and faithful. We must teach our people to read Scripture carefully, think theologically, and test all things. We must provide sound alternatives to false teaching and patient correction to those who’ve been deceived. Most importantly, we must keep proclaiming the true gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone has the power to save and transform.

The influence of Finis Dake on modern movements is a cautionary tale about the long-term consequences of theological error. One man’s false teaching, published in a study Bible and spread through various movements, has affected millions worldwide. It reminds us that what we teach matters, that theology has consequences, and that the church must always be vigilant against error.

May God grant His church wisdom to recognize error, courage to confront it, and grace to restore those who’ve been deceived. May He raise up a generation of believers grounded in biblical truth, immune to the false promises of prosperity theology, and committed to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. And may the errors of Finis Dake finally be recognized, rejected, and replaced with the truth that sets people free.

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