Lead pastor at the The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet TB Joshua, has been accused of makingdemonic predictions and declaring false prophecies, by Zambian Pastor, Conrad Mbewe.TB Joshua is known for making predictions that often center around politics, Nigeria's woes and even football.
Rev. Conrad Mbewe, the pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia, reportedly said all his miraculous claims are unverified, and his predictions are unholy.
He explains, "I want to say is that many of the stories doing their rounds about TB Joshua’s feats amount to fictitious stories that are unverified. They get passed on from one hearer to another and grow larger and larger until they become “real”.
"I am reminded of the many claims to healings that are made by “anointed” Charismatic preachers. Every week, there are tens of thousands of miracle services conducted across the country and the continent. When I say that these are just publicity and fundraising gimmicks, sincere Christians are often horrified at my saying so. When I then ask them to give me the name and address of one person whom they know who was once blind but now sees, or was a cripple (on a wheelchair or on crutches) who now walks, or was deaf and dumb but now speaks, they suddenly sober up and admit that they do not know anyone.
"There is such a thing as demonic predictions. So, we should never conclude that persons who can foretell events are de facto God’s anointed servants; which is the extrapolation I seem to be hearing about “Prophet” TB Joshua.
Perhaps the clearest example of a person who had such demonic powers in the New Testament is found in Acts 16. The Bible says, “As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.’ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers” (Acts 16:16-19).
"Fortune-telling abilities have been with mankind for a very long time. They are a form of prophecy because they foretell the future, but they are not from God. In fact, in the Old Testament, God commanded that fortune-tellers must be stoned (Exodus 22:18). God expressly forbade enquiring from them about the unknown (Lev.19:31, Deut. 18:14).
"Here is something else worth noticing. In the Bible, prophets were prophesying about future events related to the consequences of the obedience or disobedience of God’s people. The prophecies were, therefore, meant to bring God’s people back to himself in repentance and faith, or to encourage them to remain faithful to God in dark times.
"They were not simply telling football teams whether they would win or lose a football match. Imagine Elijah, or Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Daniel telling us who was to win some match in the great games of their day. Come on; give me a break! That is totally preposterous!"
It is not surprising that this declaration has met with much disagreement and heated argument from ardent followers of Pastor TB Joshua. Many have accused Rev. Mbewe of only trying to seek relevance and attention with this controversial message, while others maintained that the Reverend was merely jealous of TB Joshua's success.
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