Jimmy Swaggart, an All-American Prophet of Baal

While Jimmy Swaggart died in 2025 at the beginning of July, many people only know him because of his public scandals of being caught with prostitutes in 1988 and then again in 1991. But before those revelations that heralded the decline of his influence, he was an internationally known preacher on TV and radio, making around $150 million per year, who had spent nearly 40 years building his ministry and perfecting the techniques that had brought him wealth and status as a celebrity preacher. In this episode, we want to look at Jimmy Swaggart’s message and the techniques he used in his ministry and ask some questions about his success. It’s so easy to dismiss false teachers and to think that we cannot be tricked by them. But in doing research for this episode, Charles went back and listened to some of Swaggart’s old sermons and was surprised to realize how much he sounded like an old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone preacher that would have preached in many churches he grew up in. Swaggart consistently refined his preaching techniques to the point that when he began his ministry, he sounded much like Billy Graham, and toward the end, he sounded much like Joel Osteen. False prophets will always be a threat to the flock, but we can protect ourselves and others by being aware of how they lead men astray and by keeping our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Please join us as we discuss this important topic. Thumbnail image by Jntracy75 via Wikimedia under CC BY-SA 3.0 Timecodes 00:00:00 Entertainer 00:17:10 The Trinity 00:20:24 Speaking in Tongues 00:22:32 Red letter Bible 00:25:30 Cross Idolatry 00:26:43 Strange Ideas 00:38:42 Pride 00:42:56 Swaggart's Fall 00:51:43 Why People Followed Him 00:57:48 Changing Appeal 01:03:17 Appeal to Sinners 01:09:34 Graham on Swaggart Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC Permanent Hosts - Dan Horn, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn Technical Director - Timothy Kaiser Theme Music - Gabriel Hudelson