Opinion / Columnist
TB Joshua's prophetic prowess exposed, a sceptic's journey
14 Feb 2012 at 17:08hrs | Views
Rumours are very, very powerful. They spread like wild fire and are often lapped up quickly, just as a very hungry man would eat any food that comes his way without bothering to find out where it comes from. It is the easiest thing in the world to hear a rumour and begin to spread it around adding and subtracting from it according to what people want to hear, especially if it is tasty. It is a harder thing however to seek to find out the truth about something and respect that, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it. Right from time, man has loved to gossip; we all have itching ears, eager to hear the latest, especially if it is defaming someone's persona.
Prophetic revelations and predictions from 'men of God' are among the most tampered with, misused, assumed upon and spread through various media forms, particularly here in Africa.
The renowned prophet TB Joshua of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Nigeria is among those whose prophecies are grabbed, twisted, changed and spread round like there's no tomorrow. Why so much controversy? Why so much interest? Why is everyone talking about this man? Is he a false prophet or genuinely sent from God? One thing is clear, opinions vary widely. While some praise him from the housetops, others vilify him as if he is the cause of all evil and pain in this world.
TB Joshua is certainly unpredictable. Almost every week, he will speak of what God has revealed to him covering almost every aspect of life â€" from the death of a president, to the outbreak of protests, to the results of a football match!
Hearing so much about him and yet not actually witnessing anything firsthand,
I decided to check TB Joshua out in the clear cold light of day.
I started to watch his live broadcasts on his channel Emmanuel TV every week, taking particular note of the time for world prophecy. As the AFCON 2012 came closer, I was eager to hear what this man would say, as it seems as if in the past he has predicted the outcome of many matches in big tournaments, most recently saying that Nigeria would not qualify â€" something that was confirmed in their disappointing match
">against Guinea. Despite this seeming confirmation of prophecy, I was incredibly cynical of this man and saw any prediction I would witness as an opportunity to lash him and condemn him once and for all.Prophetic revelations and predictions from 'men of God' are among the most tampered with, misused, assumed upon and spread through various media forms, particularly here in Africa.
The renowned prophet TB Joshua of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Nigeria is among those whose prophecies are grabbed, twisted, changed and spread round like there's no tomorrow. Why so much controversy? Why so much interest? Why is everyone talking about this man? Is he a false prophet or genuinely sent from God? One thing is clear, opinions vary widely. While some praise him from the housetops, others vilify him as if he is the cause of all evil and pain in this world.
TB Joshua is certainly unpredictable. Almost every week, he will speak of what God has revealed to him covering almost every aspect of life â€" from the death of a president, to the outbreak of protests, to the results of a football match!
Hearing so much about him and yet not actually witnessing anything firsthand,
I decided to check TB Joshua out in the clear cold light of day.
I started to watch his live broadcasts on his channel Emmanuel TV every week, taking particular note of the time for world prophecy. As the AFCON 2012 came closer, I was eager to hear what this man would say, as it seems as if in the past he has predicted the outcome of many matches in big tournaments, most recently saying that Nigeria would not qualify â€" something that was confirmed in their disappointing match
Even before the tournament started, the internet and some newspapers in our country Zambia was littered with news that both TB Joshua and a South African Sangoma had predicted that Zambia would take the cup. I knew however that this was false as I had scrutinised his prophecies closely and he had not mentioned a word about the coming tournament. As I write, some still believe this report that TB Joshua agreed with a Sangoma. It reached the day of the match and TB Joshua had not yet spoken. I relaxed, assuming that God decided not to reveal the result to his "servant" at this time. It was Sunday February 12th 2012, I was watching Emmanuel TV but as soon as the match started, I excitedly switched over to watch it, eager to see my country performing. After about 5 minutes, I instinctively switched over to Emmanuel TV again to confirm if the service was over and literally could not believe my ears. TB Joshua was talking about the match! He said that he could see the victory coming to a country that was not expected, that it would make them smile because of the past record and the victims.
