Professor Jairos Kangira
A few years back, I wrote condemning false prophets and fake pastors in this column, and I received some threats in my email, most probably from some of the so-called men and women of God who felt that I had disclosed their lies and chicaneries. It was not my fault, I needed deliverance from the work of Satan, one of the writers commented on my article.
Today, readers, I come to you with a bleeding heart, a very heavy heart. This is mainly because recently, both the electronic and print media bombarded us with gory stories about how an infamous, melodramatic prophet by the name T. B. Joshua allegedly lied to and cheated unsuspecting followers of his church, and the whole world, by using false, choreographed prophesies.
I shudder to think about the blasphemy the self-confessed prophet committed, for the bizarre stories and actions were performed unashamedly in the name of God and the Holy Bible.
The rot that is coming up three years after the death of this filthy-rich prophet-cum-conman, is alarming. Equally, the faith of millions of his followers and those who sought assistance from him the world over was perplexing.
People from all walks of life believed in the staged prophecies and miracles as they thronged his Synagogue Church of All Nations, or watched his sermons and ‘religious deliverances’ on his television channel.
That he was able to fool and attract millions of followers and sympathisers across the world, some of whom have come up in the open disclosing the monkey business of this man on their volition, is a great cause of concern.
My great concern is twofold. First, in our society today, we have many false prophets and fake pastors who masquerade as men and women of God.
These charlatans or disciples of Jezebel, as one would describe them, have devised ways that instil fear and false hope mainly in the fickle minds of the people using the name of God and the Hoy Bible.
Second, there are many ills in our societies and people, as gullible as they are, tend to accept the lies of the false prophets and fake pastors, trusting that they will be delivered from their woes, and that they will be saved by God through the work of these pentecostal swindlers and their ilk.
One would ask, what is pentecostalism? Pentecostalism is “a movement in Christianity that accents the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit in the lives and communities of its members.
It traces its origin to the birth of the church on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 of the Bible.
Pentecostals believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out to Christ’s followers on that day, and that the miracles the apostles did in the first century, still continue. Most Pentecostals believe that miracles are possible today.
A good number go to church expecting to receive them.” There we are - miracles, miracles and miracles. While there may be nothing wrong with pentecostalism, it is the ways in which it is interpreted and practised by some false prophets and fake pastors that must be vehemently condemned.
Common sense informs us, for example, that it is wrong to make a thriving business by milking the ordinary people, using God’s name and the Holy Bible.
It is satanic for a prophet or pastor to perform fake miracles in order to lure followers in his or her church. What boggles my mind is that we see these false prophets and fake pastors performing these ghastly acts called miracles on a daily basis, and we do nothing about it. We witness them robbing their followers and other people in broad daylight in God’s name and the Holy Bible, and we do nothing to protect our people from these wolves who are clothed in sheep skin. For instance, some of these false prophets and fake pastors force their congregants to buy an assortment of products such as ‘holy’ oil, bangles, bricks, rings, scarfs and holy water from the pentecostal church in order to end their problems.
The floatsam and jetsam in our societies are usually the victims of these scandalous men and women of God in this regard.
Some of the male prophets and pastors have gone to the extent of raping girls and married women, and abusing children in God’s name and that of the Holy Bible.
We have read about some incorrigible liars who have attempted to show that they have the power to raise the dead and make the blind see again.
Some of these disciples of Jezebel have been implicated in ritual murders of people in our societies in the name of the Holy Spirit. Yet, other prophets have forced people to perform inhuman acts like eating grass and snakes to receive deliverance in God’s name and that of the Holy Bible. Eating grass and snakes to be closer to God?
My million-dollar question is: For how long shall we stand aside and look while these false prophets and fake pastors, the angels of Jezebel, continue to deceive and exploit our societies, using God’s name and the Holy Bible?
* Professor Jairos Kangira is a professor of English at the University of Namibia. The views expressed in this article are his own. E-mail address: kjairos@gmail.com