False Preacher: Peter Popoff

False healer. Scam-artist. Con-man. Charlatan. Scum bag. These descriptions are what me and others think of when they think of the Reverend Peter Popoff. Who has been scamming people for quite some time, using fake miracles, lies, silly “anointed” trinkets, and living rich off of his followers. He even LOOKS like he could pass for a used car salesman! Here’s a little history on Peter Popoff.

Peter Popoff is a televangelist who first became popular in the 1970’s through radio then went to TV in the 1980s. He preached on prosperity, sold books, appeared to have healed people after he called out their names, addresses and sickness they had during his crusades and lay his hands on the sick, thanks to communication with God. And he sold trinkets such as prayer handkerchiefs, through his mail orders, claiming one could be healed by them because they were a point of contact from God Himself. Popoff also claimed to have sent Bibles to Communist countries in Eastern Europe, using balloons. (No real evidence of this though) Popoff seemed legit to his followers. It appeared God was actually supernaturally or divinely communicating with Popoff at the time to go directly to certain people to heal them. How was Popoff able to do this? A man who was able to hear directly from God? It seemed too good to be true. Which it was.

Famous skeptic and magician James Randi knew something was up. So he and a friend went to one of Popoff’s crusades, set up a radio transmitter and they could actually hear who was really talking to Peter Popoff : through an earpiece, his wife Elizabeth. She gave the information of people who needed help to her husband by reading through the prayer cards they had received through their followers. And even made sure she read the cards in a certain order. For the full details on the whole story check here: [link]

To make the story short James Randi then went on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1987 and blew Popoff’s scam wide open for millions of Americans to see. The audience cheered. Popoff then declared bankruptcy. Or more like go into hiding really since most people knew who he was and he was still rich.

I think this is how scammer preachers like this work. They get caught, exposed big time, they go into hiding for several years. Then when it seems they are forgotten by almost everyone, it’s time to try the tricks again. But with a new audience. In this case, African Americans struggling. Because apparently most of them are not aware of Popoff’s past,even though most of the audience looks old enough to remember that they should know how Popoff and other infamous televangelists during the 1980s and early 1990s got exposed and disgraced. Maybe they didn’t have a TV set at the time to know what was going on? Or their mind was on other things?

Popoff now appears late night on channels such as Black Entertainment Television, at about 4 a.m. or so. And he’s still doing his tricks. Deceiving people who need help. Giving them false hope. Or at least using actors it appears to trick people such as them being healed or getting checks in the mail. Sometimes there’s even a long board covered filled with crutches, wheelchairs and other things people used to have that held them down and Popoff shows off these things as though they were trophies. As through this “wall of fame” is proof that the healings are for real.

Here’s a video of people from the group Think Again: Center For Inquiry visiting one of Popoff’s crusades. This group consists of skeptics, atheists and freethinkers. This secret footage even shows a man who requests healing by Popoff to one of the bodyguards but then is rejected and told to go back to his seat.

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At about 8:11, the skeptics start handing out flyers to those who are leaving. The flyers explain Peter Popoff’s history of fraud. I think it’s pretty sad that it had to take non-believers to do most of the exposing of Peter Popoff instead of most Christians. This makes the skeptics seem like they are the really smart ones and know what’s up and that they can better discern than Christians. Popoff’s organist even told those guys that he hoped they get cancer. Very Christian of him huh?

Since Popoff holds most of his church services in Upland, California, not too far away from me, I have wondered if I should go there personally and hand out flyers to those attending his church, to help them know Peter Popoff’s past and using Bible verses, how Jesus warned of people like him. Also show links to YouTube videos like I show here.

Here’s Peter Popoff’s official YouTube channel with the user name “ministrynews”. Notice how just about every video doesn’t allow users to comment and that they all have a large amount of Thumbs Down:

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Here’s one of many Miracle Manna infomercials Popoff uses. The bread is supposedly made using the same ingredients used in Ezekiel 4:9. Someone from Waco, Texas claims to be healed by touching that Miracle Manna. Also Popoff offers his book on how to become more wealthy.

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And another:

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And another:

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That manna doesn’t even look good. According to this video here, it smells like feet….

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I rather eat the Ezekiel brand bread you can find in supermarkets, because at least that uses the same ingredients according to Ezekiel 4:9 and it tastes good. I eat it often, using the bread for my sandwiches and I recommend it. Popoff’s so called Miracle Manna just comes in a little plastic bag without ingredients shown. And it smells like feet? Who knows what it’s made out of? I wouldn’t even taste it.

Miracle Spring Water infomercial with false miracles. The Miracle Spring Water is probably Popoff’s most popular product now:

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Here’s a link to what the letter Popoff sends for with his miracle spring water looks like. It looks unprofessional and cheap. All that messy handwriting and lines everywhere?

Read the letter and more here:

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“[Name] our prayer center received your phone call… I have been praying on your behalf non-stop ever since the operator gave me your name. [Name] did I spell that correctly? When you called perhaps you thought it was by accident… I feel that A HIGHER POWER directed you to call. I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU… SO PLEASE READ ON.”

I really doubt Popoff really prays for every single person he receives mail from.

Popoff also claims 7 prophetic events to those on his mailing list. The exact same ones for everyone?

Here’s the steps needed to be taken for that Miracle Spring Water:

“[Name], there are 3 more IMPORTANT Prophetic events that are yet to be revealed…HOWEVER… I must obey God in this. YOUR OBEDIENCE IS THE KEY! I CAN ONLY REVEAL THEM TO YOU IN MY ANSWER…Obey God in this!”

He’s gotta put those sentences in ALL CAPS because they are sooo important…

“[Name], in Jesus’ name, GET A GLASS OF WATER…I believe that God will let his angels trouble this water as you sleep tonight. Place it by your bedside tonight...BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP…place the UNOPENED SEALED ENVELOPE IN YOUR PILLOW SLIP…tonight only!”

Why does it matter where the envelope is placed?

“In the morning…take 7 sips from the glass in Jesus’ name. After you obey God in this…OPEN THE SEALED ENVELOPE.”

Yes, take 7 sips because that equals 7 prophetic events…seriously? How do these link together? See, scam preachers like Popoff like to use numbers, claiming that numbers are very important to God, linking objects to other objects that have nothing to do with each other. And you can’t open that envelope as soon as you get it, it HAS to be after drinking the water because this envelope is soooo special!

“According to St. Luke 6:38…you MUST QUALIFY YOURSELF for a Supernatural Blessing…Yes, this harvest of a great INCOME….”

Actually Luke 6:38 doesn’t say that.

“When you OPEN the Water Packet…anoint your hands for MONEY MIRACLES in Jesus’ Name. Then anoint a Holy Consecrated Seed of Great Harvest Offering of $17.00. NO, I don’t want you to send $37 or $77… No, SEND EXACTLY $17.00. Because 1 is the number of the Father…and 7 is the Father’s number of perfection. When you return the page inside the sealed envelope to me… I will send you all of the ‘7 SECRET PROPHETIC EVENTS.’ These anointed words will guide you to the RIGHT PLACE at the RIGHT TIME…and help to hook you up with the RIGHT PEOPLE to receive the Miracle harvest of God.”

Yeah, you can’t send just any amount of money. It HAS to be $17.00! Because 1 and 7 put together has some kind of mysterious holy power or something. Numbers are so important here and they have to be used properly or else you won’t get those 7 prophetic events in your life! See how Popoff makes his followers fear him? As though he’s a great man of God and he knows what he’s doing?

Here’s one of the messages in this “special envelope”. Which is really frightening. According to this letter Popoff’s followers receive in the mail, that Miracle Spring water is taken from southern Russia. Near Chernobyl, Ukraine. The site of the famous nuclear power plant explosion in 1986. Or at least close to that area. Here’s a direct quote from that letter.

“This packet contains water from the spring in Southern Russia where the pastors and Christians were led by the Holy Spirit to drink during the horrible Chernobyl nuclear accident. (I warn you, something so anointed and sacred can't be taken lightly.) As I walked to this very spring through the dark dawn . . . when I got there, it was like a light from heaven lighted up the entire area. As I knelt trembling under the awesome presence of God the Angel of the Lord commanded me to bring this Miracle Spring Water back for you to use as a powerful point of contact from many miracles in your life (the spring represents the flow of the spirit.)...No one drank from this spring died from nuclear contamination. No one who followed divine leading and direction sufered illness. NOT ONE BELIEVER SUFFERED HARM. NOT ONE BELIEVER DIED. ALL WERE MIRACULOUSLY SPARED although tens of thousands were contaminated and even died.” (Letter from Peter Popoff, 2006)

To this day, just about nothing in that area is safe to touch or even drink because of extremely high levels of radiation. If it’s really true that this is where Popoff’s miracle spring water comes from, that makes Popoff a much more sick and evil man than he already is. Sending people water filled with radiation? Seriously?! And I don’t think the Holy Spirit would ever tell someone to drink water poisoned from radiation anyways. Then again, it’s probably too much trouble to get water from that area so Popoff probably just got his miracle spring water from his own kitchen sink faucet or garden hose.

The directions to use the Miracle Spring Water are to anoint your forehead with it, then anoint your hands and whatever part of your body needs healing. Anoint the doorknobs of your house also for protection from all evil. Though it looks like it’s too late anyways.

Then claim the miracles you need, ask God for help and send back prayer requests to Popoff.
Scammer teachers like Popoff love to use the “Point of Contact” gimmick on their followers and sell or give out for free all kinds of trinkets and claim the power of God is in these objects. Popoff has not just used water and manna but also prayer bracelets and even a prayer necklace with Holy Water & Holy Dirt from Jerusalem, as though the dirt and water there is somehow more holy since it’s from Jerusalem as shown here:

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Even books and CD’s about getting richer!

Scammers like these will refer to Acts 19:11-12 as proof since Paul used point of contact objects, in this case, handkerchiefs and aprons to heal people and cause evil spirits to leave. But giving Paul money had nothing to do with making this work. Paul never asked for money to make these miracles work.

And Peter gives Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:20 this warning to Simon for being impressed with the miracles and wanting to buy them with money so he could use them: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” Thankfully Simon asked Peter to forgive him.

A Letter from 1997. Notice how cheap it looks like the last one. Looks even more cheap since it looks like lined notebook paper was used.

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Peter Popoff was even featured on Inside Edition:

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2:29 Tax returns in 2005 were about $23 million dollars.

2:43 Popoff drives a Porshe worth about $100,000

2:46 Popoff’s house is worth about $2.1 million dollars.

3:30 “You see, it’s not the water that releases the power, it’s your obedience to the instructions of the prophet of God.”

It’s so sad that people feel pressured to believe that Popoff is such a great man of God that they need to send him money to expect miracles, instead of praying to Jesus.

At 3:56, the news reporter Matt Meagher finds Peter Popoff and wants to ask a few questions. And Popoff is so desperate to drive off and avoid those questions that he closes his car door on Matt Meagher’s arm! Popoff refuses to talk and drives off.

2 Peter 2:1-3 says:

"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber."

Isn’t that verse among others is what describes Peter Popoff? I don’t think I have to show much of Peter Popoff for you to see that he’s one of the lowest of the low of scammers? He should be in prison for fraud and getting rich off of people. And possibly even poisoning people with radiated water. Watch out for Peter Popoff and warn people of who he is and his techniques. There’s other scammer preachers like this out there, using similar techniques, and they also like to appear on TV in the middle of the night. And like Popoff, they often target African Americans. Thanks for reading and look forward to the next false teacher.