Dear Cait:

I moved your question from the Defending the Faith Q&A to here as your question does not refer to defending the faith issues.

Jesse Duplantis grew up Catholic, but is now a Pentecostal evangelist. He has been under criticism and controversy for his lavish and conspicuous display of wealth (that he received from his "ministry").

In May 2009 Lee Zurik, a reporter for the local Fox 8 News reported Duplantis's 35,000-square-foot mansion is being constructed in Destrehan, Louisiana and his Falcon 50 jet, both owned by the ministry. Fox 8 News reported that when Duplantis took a vacation to Hawaii the cost of the jet fuel, flying, and hanger fees cost the ministry around $40,000.

His doctorate is not earned but a honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from Oral Roberts University.

Duplantis one of the many people who preaches a "properity gospel." On Duplantis website is found a video/audio entitled, When Will We Yield To the Anointing of Wealth? The promo for this recourse states:

"The world will not be won and the Kingdom will not be advanced if we fail to yield to this important anointing. Wealth is a gift from God and I believe that He can show you how to get it, how to keep it and how to use it for His purposes to establish His covenant in the earth." - Jesse Duplantis

In this powerful message from Jesse Duplantis, you will gain a new perspective on Christian wealth as you learn the value of yielding to the anointing of God. Through personal stories and holy scripture, you will discover the purpose of godly wealth and the power that resides within you to get it and keep it.

You have a reason to be wealthy. You have a purpose beyond what you think. Learn to yield to the anointing of wealth and obtain what you need to be blessed and establish God's covenant in the earth!

"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..." (Deut. 8:18).

It should be noted that this translation of Deuteronomy 8:18 is from the King James Bible and is misleading out-of-context.

The Douay-Rheims has a better rendering: "But remember the Lord thy God, that he hath given thee strength, that he might fulfill his covenant, concerning which he swore to thy fathers, as this present day sheweth."

The "power to get wealth" is the means of the strength God gives, but this "wealth" is not necessarily talking about money.

According to the Strongs Hebrew Dictionary, the one Protestants use all the time, the word "wealth" is the Hebrew word, chayil. The definition given by Strong's is:

probably a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength: - able, activity, (+) army, band of men (soldiers), company, (great) forces, goods, host, might, power, riches, strength, strong, substance, train, (+) valiant (-ly), valour, virtuous (-ly), war, worthy (-ily).

Duplantis, of course, being a "prosperity gospel" and in need to support his castle of a mansion and private jet, limits his interpretation of this verse to "monetary wealth". As Protestant's often do, this interpretation is taken way out of context of the teachings of the Bible, and particularly Jesus on the subject of wealth.

Does not Duplantis remember the words of Jesus when He said:

(Matthew 19:23-24)  And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

In addition, the interpretation of Duplantis is not even in context to the surrounding verses in Deuteronomy. The message of verses 7-20 is about the teaching that God is not to be forgotten in the time of plenty. The wilderness experience of the Israel was terrible. God is telling them now that they are in the Promised Land and no longer in the wilderness they are not to forget Him. If we forget God in time of plenty, we will be lost.

Verses 19-20 state:

And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you this day that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

As the Navarre Bible Commentary states:

They only thing they [Israel] need to guard against is glorying in it [prosperity], as if they merited this good fortune. If ever they did give in to that temptation, they would be lost...

The ease with which men (and nations) forget God once they become rich and prosperous is something readily proved from history. And when that happens the threat contained in Deuteronomy in vv. 19-20 inevitably becomes a reality...

Finally, Duplantis, as a Pentecostal charismatic, has all the doctrinal errors that Pentecostals have about the charismatic experience.

Bottomline: This man preaches the religiously abusive and doctrinally erroneous  prosperity gospel (mostly to enrich himself as all these people do).

The Prosperity Gospel is materialism masquerading as theology. It believes God reward those who are faithful to Him with riches through Postive Confession (name it and claim it). This is a false Gospel.

Others, in addition to Duplantis, who are preaching the false Gospel of Positive Confession/Prosperity include:

In addition, Duplantis holds serious other doctrinal errors that are typical among Pentecostals, and believes in the major and serious errors Pentecostals hold about the charismatic experience.

As for the question if he is a real minister, it is interesting that his wife has the title "Reverend" implying that she is ordained, but Jesse does not use that title. I presume he, too, is ordained by the Pentecostals.

One does not have to be ordained to be an evangelist and to preach. This is even true in the Catholic Church. Laymen may evangelize and preach to the public (but they cannot preach in the Mass; only a priest or deason can preach in Mass).

Duplantis has a world-wide ministry, and it looks like he does some good work in what we would call the apostolate. His ministry is a multi-million dollar endeavor. Here is the story from Fox News 8 and another story from Fox 8.

Here is the TV video report:

My recommendation is to avoid this man like the plague.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary