By Tawia Acheampong
ACCRA-(MaraviPost)-I just watched a video on YouTube of Chinese residents speaking about the much-publicised (and maligned) prophecy from Prophet TB Joshua about the end of coronavirus by 27th March 2020.
My first question is – did Pastor Enoch Adeboye also watch it?
I pose this audacious query because the Redeemed Church GO has publicly made jest of Joshua in the past weeks over his prophecy of rain falling to wipe away the dreaded disease and the specificity of March 27th.
It’s evident that Adeboye – and indeed myriads of ‘social media warriors’ – merely jumped onto the vindictive bandwagon without actually listening to the complete prophetic message from TB Joshua and its context.
As an Emmanuel TV viewer, I was surprised to see the amount of negativity spewed and shared by individuals who seemed to ‘rejoice’ that 27th March passed and coronavirus continued its giddy spread worldwide – just because it allegedly ‘disproved’ Joshua’s proclamation.
However, the soundbite that went viral only highlighted a small section of Joshua’s words and was subsequently misconstrued by naïve onlookers to mean a global disappearance.
On 1st March 2020, the cleric spoke in his customary parabolic fashion, declaring that rain would fall to “wipe away all fears of the unknown”, specifying 27th March as a date of significance.
The following day on 2nd March 2020, he made it clear that he was referring to showers of rain in Wuhan, China – the original epicentre of the outbreak.
In the video I referenced earlier, smiling Chinese citizens affirmed that they returned to work on March 27th 2020 and heavy rain fell throughout the week of that date, coinciding with China’s declaration that no new domestic cases were found in Wuhan.
Within that same period, the lockdown in the region of Hubei was lifted – a distant dream at the time in which Joshua gave his prophecy – and life has returned to relative normalcy across the nation.
It is surprising and saddening therefore that an elderly and respected pastor such as Adeboye would lower himself to the degree of casting snide comments towards TB Joshua based on incorrect or incomplete information.
When did the pulpit turn to a place of malicious insinuations towards your fellow workers in the vineyard?
I am reminded of the time last year when Adeboye implied Joshua had plans to ‘eliminate him’ after a key ring with The SCOAN Founder’s picture placed underneath Adeboye’s was being sold in Redeemed Camp. “And you know what that means,” he bluntly told his congregants. “Please, don’t join hands with anyone who wants to kill me.”
Indeed, during Oritsejafor’s tenure as PFN Chairman, the Redeemed GO went on record to say he would not worship at TB Joshua’s church unless the duo came to a comprehensive understanding of salvation.
Nevertheless, the fact remains in this case that Adeboye was quoting what he heard in the media without taking time to adhere to the Scriptural principle of “making sure of all things before holding fast to that which is true” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Not only did he reveal his prejudice against his colleague, he missed the mark by publicly critiquing Joshua at a time where ministers of God need unity more than ever before to confront the pandemonium caused by this pandemic.
Tawia Acheampong is a writer on religious affairs based in Accra, Ghana
