Jimmy Swaggart Destroyed Jim Bakker. Then THIS Happened

In 1987, Jimmy Swaggart was the most powerful televangelist in America, a Baton Rouge preacher whose ministry took in around $150 million a year. When Jim Bakker's PTL empire collapsed in the Jessica Hahn scandal, Swaggart reportedly called him "a cancer in the body of Christ," Bakker's camp accused him of plotting a "hostile takeover" of PTL, and Bakker's lawyer warned him in front of the press that he would bring the pillars of the temple down on his own head, like Samson. Seven months later, a camera hidden behind a black cloth in Room 12 of a motel on Airline Highway was waiting for him. Jim Bakker died on October 5, 2026, at 86, fifteen months after Jimmy Swaggart. This is the full story of the Jimmy Swaggart vs Jim Bakker rivalry: Marvin Gorman and the 1986 exposure that started it all, the Travel Inn stakeout, Debra Murphree, the 1988 "I have sinned" confession, the Assemblies of God defrocking, the defamation trial, the 1991 traffic stop in Indio, California, "The Lord told me it's flat none of your business," Swaggart's death in 2025, and the phone call that turned the whole rivalry upside down. 🔔 Subscribe for the real stories behind the legends, every week. 💬 Do you believe Jimmy Swaggart got what he gave Jim Bakker, or did he redeem himself in the end? Tell us in the comments. #JimmySwaggart #JimBakker #Televangelist