Rival pastors in unholy row over prediction of imminent disaster
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They prefer to be known for preaching about peace and loving thy neighbour, but Ghana's celebrity pastors are becoming embroiled by a rather ungodly row. A well-known pastor has sparked outrage amongst his colleagues by making what Ghanaians are describing as an "earth-shattering" prophecy, that the president John Dramani Mahama, will die this year. The reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah, founder of one of Ghana's burgeoning new charismatic churches, the Glorious Word Ministry International, says that the message came to him directly from God. Owusu Bempah, who first announced the prophecy on New Year's Eve and has repeated it several times on local radio, has also cautioned that the president's refusal to meet him might hamper attempts to avert the disaster. "I have not been able to meet the president and inform him. A similar thing happened when I prophesied about the late President John Atta Mills (who died last year), but they turned me away," he said. But senior figures from other churches have hit back at the prediction, claiming it was unethical, and did not meet the criteria of a genuine prophecy. "According to the new testament, if you give prophecy, it should edify, exalt or confirm," said Bishop Dr Charles Agyin Asare, founder of the Word Miracle Church International and former vice ." |
president of the Ghana Pentecostal and Chariasmatic Council. "The scripture says we should judge prophecies to see whether they be of God, not that we should swallow them hook like and sinker. If I were to judge this prophecy, I would judge it incorrectly," Agyin Asare added. Dramatic prophecies are not uncommon in Ghana, where churches are big business and celebrity pastors compete to fill conference centres, theatres and arena for special weekend long services and prayer gatherings. Agyin Asare, one of Owusu Bempah's main critics, says he himself was called to ministry after hearing the audible voice of God in 1983 calling him to "heal the sick, raise the dead, preach the kingdom continued |
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