Derek Prince

Peter Derek Vaughan Prince (born August 14, 1915 in Bangalore , † September 24, 2003 in Jerusalem ) was an internationally known Bible teacher , whose daily radio programs Today with Derek Prince (also known as Keys to successful Living ) by half of the world's population in numerous Languages could be received. The program was broadcast in English , Arabic , Spanish , Croatian , Russian , Malagasy , Tongan , Samoan and four Chinese dialects , among others . He was best known for his teachings on demons and Christian Zionism . He was mainly known in Pentecostal circles, even if his teachings were deliberately kept denomination- independent. Derek Prince Ministries worked under the slogan " Reaching the unreached and teaching the untaught ".

Youth and education

Derek Prince was born in India to British parents and attended Eton College and King's College (Cambridge) . He studied Greek and Latin as well as philosophy at Cambridge, specializing in logic and studying with Ludwig Wittgenstein . His master's thesis entitled “The Evolution of Plato's Method of Definition” earned him a scholarship at the age of 24.

Under the influence of Vice Chancellor Charles Raven , Prince refused to use the weapon during World War II and instead took part in the medical field. After being sent to Scarborough for training , he attended a Pentecostal church and had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. From this encounter he drew two conclusions: on the one hand, that Jesus Christ was alive, on the other hand, that the Bible was a true, relevant and current book. These conclusions fundamentally influenced the future course of his life. Following his training, he was sent to North Africa, where he served in Egypt , Sudan and Palestine .

Getting married and developing his ministry

While serving in Palestine, Prince met Lydia Christensen , a Danish woman who ran an orphanage in Ramallah and who had adopted eight girls. Although Lydia was 25 years older than Prince, they got married. Prince vigorously supported the establishment of the State of Israel , which he saw as the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy, but left Jerusalem with the last British convoy to return to Britain.

In the UK, Prince performed at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park , London , calling on people to attend a Pentecostal church he presided over in Notting Hill . In 1957 he moved with Lydia to Kisumu , Kenya , where he became headmaster and adopted a Kenyan baby. He claimed to have raised two people from death during that time with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

In 1962 the Prince family moved to Canada , after which they went to a pastorate at the Peoples Church in Minneapolis and became US citizens. From here they moved to the Broadway Tabernacle in Seattle. During this time Derek Prince gained his first further fame through a tape cassette service with Bible studies and soon worked with the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International (in Germany: "Businessmen of the full gospel"). This led to a move to Faith Tabernacle in Chicago and then to Ft. Lauderdale in Florida . His son-in-law David Selby soon supported him in his service.

to teach

Demons and deliverance

As a Pentecostal, Prince believed in the reality of spiritual powers that rule the world and the power of demons to cause illness and mental health problems. According to his experience, demons and evil spirits regularly spoke from those seeking help in personified form. Prince makes this clear, for example, in his book "They Will Cast Out Demons" when he was summoned by a Baptist pastor to exorcise a parishioner while he was in Seattle . Through several experiences he came to the certainty that demons can also influence Christians if they were consciously or unconsciously granted access through tolerated sin or generational curses. This differed from the more common Pentecostal idea that demons could only affect non-Christians. Prince believed that his deliverance ministry was using the power of God to fight demons.

Christian Zionism

Prince also believed that the State of Israel was the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and that the collapse of the British Empire was caused by Britain's lack of support for Israel in 1948. He saw Islam as demonically influenced and shortly before his death he expressed fear that Great Britain could become a Muslim country.

Controversy over the Shepherding Movement

In 1968, Prince joined the Holy Spirit Teaching Mission (HSTM), which he and three other charismatic Christian pastors in Ft. Lauderdale brought in contact: Don Basham , Bob Mumford and Charles Simpson . The HSTM was founded by businessman Eldon Purvis , but after Purvis' homosexuality became known, Prince founded the Christian Growth Ministries (CGM) with the other three pastors . In 1974, CGM developed an extreme teaching in the charismatic movement that emphasized the authority of a few shepherds over their “sheep”. The group was joined by Ern Baxter , the five men known as the Fort Lauderdale Five , their ministry known as the Shepherding Movement .

The excessive emphasis on subordination in the CGM caused controversy. Lydia Prince distanced herself and as abuse reports emerged, the movement was clearly condemned by Pat Robertson , Kathryn Kuhlman, and the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International. Lydia Prince died in 1975. When Prince later wanted to marry Ruth Baker, his fellow shepherds forbade him. They later gave their consent, and Prince remarried in 1978. In 1983 he separated from the movement and stated that, due to his intensive travel activities and his suffering after Lydia's death, he would never have been fully involved in the events there. In addition, he publicly repented of his membership in this group and commented critically on the movement in several of his sermons.

The last few years

Derek met the future Ruth Prince in Jerusalem, and from then on he lived there for six months every year. Together they founded a worldwide mission program that made materials of his ministry freely available to pastors around the world. A missionary named Ross Paterson arranged for his teachings to be broadcast on the radio in China, where Prince became known as "Ye Guang-Ming" ("Clear Light").

Ruth Prince died in 1998, Derek in September 2003. He spent his last days in Jerusalem with his friend Eliyahu Ben-Haim .

Publications

Derek Prince has published numerous books and recorded over 400 teaching sermons. Among others, he wrote the books The Grace of Yielding , The Foundations Series , The Destiny of Israel and the Church , The Last Word on the Middle East and Faith to Live By .

German editions (selection):

The marriage covenant , 1983
Living by Faith , 1987
The weapon of prayer and fasting , 1987
Biblical Foundations , 1989
Does the Antichrist come from Europe? The end-time prophecies of Jesus , 1993
Biblical Prophecy and the Middle East. Israel - God's hand on the world clock , 1994
Do not be seduced / It is important to choose 1995
The three end time goals of God / Without fear into the end time , 1995
The Path from Rejection to Adoption / Fatherhood , 1995
Riot in the community. A personal testimony and Bible study of laughter, rest in spirit, and other "new" manifestations in the body of Christ , 1995
What We Owe Israel , 1996
God's Medicine , 1996
Praying for the Government , 1996
Philosophy, the Bible and the Supernatural , 1996
The Exchange on the Cross , 1996
The Future of Israel and the Church , 1997
An understanding woman is from the Lord / How to find the right partner , 1997
Your Calling Is Sacred / How to Find Your Place , 1997
Anti-Semitism - Christian / Israel's Share in the Crisis , 1997
Cornerstones. A solid foundation ... a healthy foundation , 1998
You will cast out demons. What You Should Know About Demons, Your Invisible Enemies , 1998
Forgiveness / Return to Unity , 1999
Study Guide, In Search of the Truth , 1999
God's Plan for Your Finances , 1999
God Makes Marriages , 1999
Healing and Health / How do you see your body? , 1999
The “Prayer Orchestra” / The Power of Proclamation , 1999
Does your tongue need healing ?. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18, 21a) , 1999
Biblical Basics for Deliverance Service , 2000
Husbands and Fathers , 2000
Why Israel? / The Return of Israel , 2000
Truth, Faith, Love - Goals God gave me / What it means to be a man of God , 2000
You and Your House / The Last Command of Christ , 2000
Thanksgiving, Praise, and Worship , 2000
Prayers and Proclamations , 2000
Protection from Seduction , 2000
The seduction of humanism , 2000
Sounds from David's harp , 2000
The Holy Spirit in you , 2000
Biblical Foundations, Vols. 1-3 , 2001
Who cares for orphans, widows, the poor and the oppressed? God takes care of them - and we? , 2001
Atonement - Your Personal Encounter with God , 2001
Who am I? - Discover yourself in the mirror of God , 2001
Judge. When? Why? How? , 2002
Prophetic view for our time. Counter crises with fasting. , 2002
There is no generation gap for God. Glad you asked in 2002
Christ rules in the midst of his enemies. With authority in the spiritual battle , 2002
Blessing or curse. The choice is yours , 2003
The way up leads downwards. The Grace of Bowing , 2003
Bitter oases. Appointments with God in the desert , 2003
I forget you, Jerusalem , 2003
You refresh my soul , 2003
Spiritual conflict. Lucifer challenges God , 2003

literature

Stephen Mansfield: Derek Prince: A Biography (Lake Mary, Charisma House, 2005) A biography review : Review by GJMatthia

Web links

supporting documents

↑ Linda Howard A New Beginning (Charisma magazine, April 1984) 38, S David Moore The Shepherding Movement (T&T Clark International, 2003) 165, 175
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CfzflZ9bJbY

personal data
SURNAME	Prince, Derek
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Prince, Peter Derek Vaughan (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	English preacher, Bible teacher
DATE OF BIRTH	August 14, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bangelore
DATE OF DEATH	September 24, 2003
Place of death	Jerusalem

[1] Linda Howard A New Beginning (Charisma magazine, April 1984) 38, S David Moore The Shepherding Movement (T&T Clark International, 2003) 165, 175

[2] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CfzflZ9bJbY