I love the ‘evil’ of Prophet T.B Joshua

Prophet TB Joshua

As we bury T.B Joshua today, we must not bury some of the Christ-like virtues that made him outstanding.

I kept thinking throughout the night – was this how Jesus came, performed miracles, fed the poor, healed the sick and did other good works, but the people despised, hated and killed him? I am not equating any man to Jesus, but T.B Joshua demonstrated more Christ-like virtues than many “God’s Chief Registrars, Chiefs of Staff to Jesus, Assistant God, Deputy God” parading our pulpits today as “masters of the universe”.

They told us how ‘evil’ he was, but were silent on his matrimonial success. He had just one wife and they were married for 31 years… This is Christ-like.

They told us how ‘evil’ he was, but were silent when he fed the poor, built hospitals and schools, responded to humanitarian needs on our streets… This is Christ-like.

They told us how ‘evil’ he was, but kept mute on his humility to board the same coastal bus with his team to go for outreaches. This is Christ-like because even Jesus Christ boarded the same boat with his disciples.

They told us how ‘evil’ he was but kept silent when he brought peace to South Sudan. He was a peacemaker. “Blessed are the Peacemakers…”. This is Chris-like.

Not until his death did I know his wife and even children because he never projected his family. His life and preachings projected Christ more than anything else.

He was Christ-like more than many of his critics whose followers know the “Man of God” than they know the God of men. Whose followers know their ‘father in the Lord’ than they know Christ.

People of the World, please show me one T.B Joshua’s enemy. The same people calling him fake have fellow brethren they call enemies. The same people calling him false prophet have fellow ‘genuine’ pastors that they are not in talking terms with. The same people calling him ‘evil’ have fellow Christians they wish death upon… Between these people and T.B Joshua, who is more like Christ?

If Prophet T.B Joshua was ‘evil’ and he healed the sick, fed the poor, built hospitals, schools and houses for the needy, brought peace to nations of the earth, then I like his kind of ‘evil.’ 

Rest in Peace Prophet T.B Joshua!

Enenche EnencheAbuja, Nigeria 09/07/2021

NEWSPAPER INTERVIEW WITH PROPHET TB JOSHUA

Here are excerpts from an interview which Prophet TB Joshua had with some journalists several weeks ago at The SCOAN Prayer Mountain. It was published today in This Day Newspapers.

QUESTION: What motivated the vision to create this Prayer Mountain, a ‘wilderness’ in an urban area?

ANSWER: This is where I started. I must have a library and a place where I can enjoy nature, not the air condition or fan, just nature as God created it. So, having nature around you is very good. God is nature Himself and without nature, you cannot understand the Bible. Because the Bible is not history; when you are reading the Bible, you are reading the Holy Spirit. So, if you don’t allow nature when you are reading, you will be reading history. You need some places like this – where you leave everything outside and come and hear the cocks’ crow. But outside of here, whatever they are doing, you can’t hear because of the noise. So, this place is very important to me – this is where I live, this is where I sleep and do everything.

If I want to meet people outside of here, I go outside. There is a time for that because the Bible says that there is time to rest and a time to work. Time to rest is time to receive from God and time to work is time to give what you receive from God. When you talk of time to rest, this is the best place to rest, not in the midst of technology or going to New York or travelling about but you rest in the midst of nature.

QUESTION – How did this Prayer Mountain start, given that this place was once a swamp?

ANSWER – This swamp is the rejected stone. God spoke to me and brought me here. I have been following God’s vision, God’s mission. When I am out of God’s mission, I am finished. That is why you cannot see me outside of here; you cannot hear me.

God’s time is the best and I always follow God’s time. So, I have been following God’s time; that is why you will not see me preach every Sunday or go on television to preach every day. I must hear from God before saying anything. Every time can be good for you and every time can be the best time for you but for me, I must have a corresponding grace or power because the Holy Spirit must suggest what to do before I do them. If not, I will not be able to have God’s result.

This is why you are not seeing me out there – at weddings, social occasions, coming to your offices to grant interviews. This is the only church – The SCOAN here in Ikotun. There is no other branch anywhere else in the world but it touches everywhere in the world. I am waiting for God to let me know if there will be branches or not; the important thing is that we should focus on building the people and not the church.

QUESTION – Why don’t you open up this place for tourists?

ANSWER – The people will soon get to know about it. We are just waiting for God’s time. There are many things to be done in this place. We are at about a 70 per cent completion rate. So, if people should know about this place now, we would not be able to complete this job because it will cause distraction. When we are at about 95 per cent completion level, we will let people know. It is going to be by grace. It is not something you pay money for; you can come and see people moving and praying. So, people will get to know; we are waiting for God’s time.

QUESTION – What do you have to say about your family and their involvement in the ministry?

ANSWER – I am very happy about this question. I have a wife and I have children. My first daughter is doing her PhD and my second daughter is doing her master’s degree. In all, I have three daughters. The last one is still in secondary school. I would have loved my wife to be like me but I cannot make her what I am; it is God. I can’t anoint her; God is the one that anoints people. This is not a biological issue; it is an inheritance from the saints – being a partaker of the inheritance from the saints. So, therefore, I should not use anything in my biological life to stop my spiritual life.

As for my divine nature, I am a partaker of the inheritance of the saints. This is an apostolic ministry; it is not a ministry where you read the Bible, go to theology school, get your certificate and you start preaching! No. It is purely divine. So, it is so difficult for me to display my wife, she has to be ready for God. As much as you are ready for God, God will display you.

QUESTION – How do you take such criticism that your ministry has faced?

ANSWER – It is always good if at the beginning they don’t see what is good about you. If they don’t see your journey at the beginning, they will criticise you. It is good for you in the end. So, if they praise you from the beginning, it is not encouraging. If Nigerians have been accepting me right from the beginning of my mission, I think that would have affected my mission to the world.

I have gone all over the world. I am the first minister of God that went to Nazareth, Israel where Jesus was born and organised a revival there and the news was carried in newspapers all over the world. After the crusade, a certificate was given to me by the State of Israel. That is the greatest joy for any minister of God!

QUESTION – But why was there so much controversy about the Nazareth Crusade?

ANSWER – Because it happened to Jesus, I cannot be greater than my Master. A tenant cannot be greater than his landlord. If the landlord is criticised, who is a tenant? That is exactly what happened to Jesus. They said no. The Muslims were on the streets protesting along with Christians, Catholics and all. But I let them know that God sent me to do the revival in Israel. And top Israeli government functionaries came. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sent his representative.

SOURCE: This Day

End SARS: Revolution in Nigeria, ‘everybody will be ready to die’ – How T.B Joshua warned

Prophet TB Joshua

As the protests over police brutality engulfing the nation of Nigeria steadily grow in momentum, a video of TB Joshua prophesying a ‘revolution’ instigated by Nigerian youths has resurfaced on social media.

The video, which was originally aired seven years ago on July 14th 2013, shows Joshua sharing a revelation to the congregation of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), which he titled ‘Carry Your Youths Along’.

“I am seeing a revolution,” the cleric bluntly began, adding that “every revolution starts by protests”.

“I’m seeing people taking to the streets,” he continued, adding that the authorities would attempt unsuccessfully to quash the protests with police.

“You can stop protests but you cannot stop revolution. When it becomes a revolution, everybody is ready to die, so you can’t stop it,” he stated.

“It might be stopped at the beginning. Eventually, it will become so big that it cannot be stopped. This I see happen. Nigeria, pray,” he stated in the clip.

The cleric, however, proffered a solution, calling on the Nigerian government to actively engage its young people, recognising they are the “leaders of tomorrow”.

“God has given us the way out. The way out – job creation for the youth and the creation of a new social value system,” he said.

“No matter the education the youth have, they feel they have no place in politics and there is no job to keep them busy,” he continued, calling for a “new orientation” especially in the political sphere.

“In politics, the youth should be considered for important positions such as assistants to elders. While the elders are ministers, the youth should be junior ministers,” he advised. “By doing this, we are training them to take over tomorrow.”

The prominent cleric further reiterated his ‘shocking’ vision. “Revolution is a weapon of change that is coming. This is the vision I saw – revolution is coming when people will take to the streets because life has no value anymore to the people,” he said, adding that the “coming ominous signs are disastrous”.

Joshua appealed to those in leadership to “carry your youth along” in “politics and administration, especially in ruling your country”, adding that Nigeria’s young people “want to see themselves represented in every area of life.”

“When we carry the youth along, whenever there is a revolt, they will be available to readily speak to their colleagues,” he also noted.

The cleric insisted the revelation was “the voice of God” and “none of this will go without being fulfilled”.

“As sure as God lives, I, TB Joshua, will tell you only what God says. If I am hated, persecuted or intimidated because of my accurate prophetic messages, blessed be to God who gives the prophecy. The day will declare who is in the right and who is in the wrong, says the Lord,” Joshua concluded.

Since the outbreak of #EndSARS protests, Joshua is yet to make a public comment and his official social media handles have not referenced the unrest.

The protests, which have drawn huge crowds throughout Nigeria’s major cities, have morphed from insistence on the abolition of the notorious SARS police unit to impassioned calls for good governance and accountability among Nigeria’s politicians.

Video:

By John Owen Nwachukwu

SOUTH SUDAN PRESIDENT SENDS OFFICIAL LETTER OF APPRECIATION TO PROPHET TB JOSHUA

President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan has written an official letter to Prophet TB Joshua, thanking him for the role he played in bringing peace to the nation and inviting him once again to South Sudan.

After receiving this letter, when asked by journalists why he was valued more abroad than in Nigeria, Prophet TB Joshua responded: “If I am appreciated in my country more, then I am not following the footsteps of my Master Jesus. He was despised by the same people He came to liberate. I am happy that I face the same persecution as Jesus.”

Here is the contents of the letter:

Dear Man of God,

REF: Invitation Letter

With due respect and honour, I am privileged to write to your highly esteemed prophetic office in reference to the above-mentioned subject.

First, I would like thank you, humble servant of the Most High God, for the higher grace and anointing upon your life, and for your love and humility by coming on your prophetic and historic visit on 12th November 2019 when the nation was in a desperate situation after experiencing civil war violence for many years.

The world organisations tried to negotiate peace but where human wisdom failed, God has the final answer.

You prophesied that it shall be a new beginning for the nation and we, the leaders, should overcome our divisions and differences to develop our youngest nation in the world

Hence, we the government and opposition have come together to implement the revitalised peace agreement and now the nation is at peace followed by the formation of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU), which signifies a new beginning indeed!

“For I am the Lord, I speak and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed…” (Ezekiel 12:25)

Secondly, based on the above-mentioned reference, I want to take this opportunity to invite you again to the Republic of South Sudan to harvest what you planted. The whole nation of South Sudan is ready to receive you once again.

“Being confident of this proverb, He who began the good work will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Please accept, dear Man of God, the assurance of my best regards.

Salva Kiir Mayardit,

President of the Republic of South Sudan

HIS MISSION SHOULD BE YOUR MISSION

The Bible describes our lives as a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). What is your mission for your short time here on earth? Is it to obtain wealth, position or power? Many are guilty of falling into the temptation to use wealth, position, power and prestige to measure their success in life but Jesus Christ was a soul-winner. That is what He was born for, lived for, died for and rose in power for.

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus stated His mission statement:

“’The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’”

Here we can see the ministry of Jesus was for the lost and broken-hearted. Thousands of years later, His mission of love is still changing the world. His mission should be your mission! The greatest way to use life is to spend it on something that will outlive it. For instance, love someone more dearly every day.

World Figures Confirm TB Joshua’s 2020 Prophecy on Humility

TB Joshua Sends Prophetic Warning to Us President Donald Trump on “SECURITY ISSUES”

The outbreak of COVID-19 has “brought this nation to its knees,” Dr Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, admitted on Tuesday.

According to Redfield, who spoke during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, America was likely going to spend about $7 trillion “because of one little virus.”

“We’ve all done the best that we can do to tackle this virus,” he stated, confessing coronavirus had humbled the entire nation.

Redfield’s words appear to be in correlation with the prophetic declaration of Prophet TB Joshua almost a decade earlier.

On October 16th, 2011, Joshua prophesied about a looming crisis that would bring every nation “on their knees.”

“Everyone will be humbled,” he explained. “There is something God wants to achieve concerning this – God wants to achieve humility to the core. He wants everyone to be on their knees, every nation to be on their knees. After that, the solution will come.”

Three years earlier on December 28th, 2008, Joshua had warned in a ‘long-term’ prophecy about a worldwide ‘economic crisis’ and called on countries who “rely on mineral resources like oil” to “quickly look beyond oil”.

“It’s coming and it’s everywhere. You will be forced to be humble,” he clearly stated, calling on people to prepare for such a time.

On the eve of 2020, Joshua declared it “the year of humility”, stressing that God would “humble us with our challenges”.

“This year will be a year of HUMILITY. This year, the Lord will humble us with our challenges. Challenges can be affliction.… Let us move closer to God,” he stated on December 28th, 2019 after an extensive time of prayer at an undisclosed ‘prayer mountain’.

Last month, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus equally echoed TB Joshua’s prophecy, stating that the coronavirus outbreak pandemic is teaching the world humility.

“If this virus is teaching us anything, it’s humility. Time for humility. For all the economic, military, and technological might of nations, we have been humbled by this exceedingly small microbe,” the former Ethiopian Minister of Health said, whilst addressing the World Health Assembly.

Similarly, USA Chief Justice John Roberts told graduating seniors at his son’s high school last month that the coronavirus has “pierced our illusion of certainty and control” and turned the world upside down.

“Humility. The pandemic should teach us at least that,” Roberts said in a seven-minute video message posted on the website of the Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut, where his son, Jack, is a senior.

In the first week of May whilst delivering a message titled ‘Get Ready for Life After COVID-19 Lockdown’, Joshua had prophesied his words would soon “become a point of reference”.

“By the ending of June to the first week of July, this will begin to become a point of reference: ‘This man said this; that man said it’ – but it is God that said it,” he stated.

Supporters of the cleric on Facebook were quick to point out the timing of these statements from Redfield, Ghebreyesus and Roberts coincided with the specific dates he mentioned.

A video recounting their statements was published to the YouTube channel of Emmanuel TV, which has nearly 1.7 million subscribers and 600 million views.

Ihechukwu Njoku is a freelance Nigerian writer…

GET READY FOR LIFE AFTER THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN – A WORD FROM TB JOSHUA

If you don’t get your job back or you don’t get a proper job or a full-time job or you run into loss or lose a loved one after this lockdown, don’t despair; don’t doubt your Guard. God is about to establish you. Ask any successful man or woman and they will tell you about how much disappointment and setback they had to endure to come to a new level in life.

For many, it was a sack letter, an accusation, a petition against them and they lost their job – but today they are established. I want to believe the similar signs I am seeing now will happen to many while others may lose loved ones or run into loss.

I can see beyond many of our situations at hand. That is why I am telling you that behind that situation lies your future. After the lockdown, whatever disappointment you will receive or whatever happens – think deeply and you will see the reason why this is happening to you. Remember, many successful people today once had the same experience and they were moved to a higher level in life thereby.

Ordinarily, you would not want to leave your position or status and say you want to establish yourself without a situation like this. Something must happen – and that seems to be happening now. Sometimes God allows situations like this – I mean disappointment or something more serious – so that you can take your proper position and possessions. Sometimes it is to enable you to get to where you belong. I know where I belong!

What is your dark moment? It may be to make you see clearly where you belong, I mean to prepare you for your future. I know where I belong! It is time to know where you belong; that is why all this is happening now.

Don’t forget everything big starts little. If something big starts big, it calls for concern. Starting little with a sincere heart is evidence that you will grow. Everything genuine likes to start little. You have to be ready to start little, cut your coat according to your cloth and endure temporary pain. You know what I mean – the type of life you live must be in accordance with little. It may cause you to withdraw from the city to a rural life or to do away with some of your properties. You will have them back at the right time but let them go now for preparation to grow. Many things you have now may not be necessary for the journey, may not be relevant to the situation that is coming. Let them go and believe this word you are hearing. It is a word from God.

Ask your family members to cut their coat according to their cloth. If any of them was living big before, they have to prepare to adjust now to the situation that is coming. Check your store and bring out the things you may need to sell. Right now, you need to be living modestly.

Women that married men because of affluence or men that married women because of affluence – divorce should not be the order of the day. We just need to adjust. You may likely need some new friends because not all of your friends will be able to cope and adjust. The future is still there but only calls for adjustment.

Many things we are seeing now will go and many new things will come. If you know you got anything by injustice, such will not be able to stand. Whatever you might have received by injustice will go. It is only our genuine sweat that will see us through while nature is ready to take its course. God just started this judgment somewhere. It will soon get to me; it will soon get to you. Let us be ready.

All that I am saying does not mean you are down but this is just what has come in our own time. Every age has its own challenges. People of yesterday had their own challenges in a different way. Others have gone through so-called challenges in their own way. Today, those who adjust will be able to overcome and those who are unable to adjust will go by the level of their challenges – down, fall, death.

Something must happen every 100 years to affect the whole world. This is what has happened in our own lifetime. It has been like that for generations. Those who respond to the demands of the age will end up as overcomers, victors, winners. However, those who fail to respond to the demands appropriately will eventually go down with the times, either by disappointment, failure, death. It is unchangeable; it must happen. The nature of the challenge may be different. Irrespective of how it happened, the nation that caused it, the person that caused it – it had to happen; something just had to cause it.

By the ending of June to the first week of July, this will begin to become a point of reference: “This man said this; that man said it” – but it is God that said it.

Good morning and win today!

God’s Intervention in the Affairs of Men

In the Old Testament, we read that Prophet Jeremiah was called to prophetic ministry by God. He was called to give a prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction that would occur by invaders from the north. This was because Israel had been unfaithful to the laws of the covenant and had forsaken God by worshipping false gods. Jeremiah condemned people burning their children as offerings to idols. In his prophecies, Jeremiah was guided by God to proclaim that the nation of Judah would be faced with famine, plundered and taken captive by foreigners who would exile them to a foreign land, etc. Like today, Jeremiah’s ministry prompted plots against him. Whilst Jeremiah was prophesying the coming destruction, several other prophets were prophesying peace. His prophecies came to fulfilment but the prophet suffered great persecutions.

For over 12 years prophet TB Joshua of Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has been warning about the entire world coming economic downturn to the extent that individuals may be richer than a whole nation. The fulfilment of that prophecy may have just started.  We don’t know the proportion of the population that have listened to him, or that had listened and are taking appropriate steps to protect themselves and asset. What we do know is that what the prophet has been saying repeatedly has come to reality. The global coronavirus pandemic is the vehicle conveying the herald of the coming “economic pandemic”. There are a few lessons to learn but we first need to appreciate God for giving us a prophet at this time that can speak correctly to individuals, to groups of people, to nations or the entire world. I have always found Prophet TB Joshua a man that has separated himself from frivolous activities that are just self-entertaining but devoting himself to total service to God and humanity.

At this stage a few points must be made about this Coronavirus, also tagged COVID-19, that has covered the entire globe, has ruined economies, shutdown Church cathedrals living only empty pews, killing across races and ages. Prophet TB Joshua has said a lot on this COVID-19 and has been praying. The virus has moved to the community transmission level whereby it can get to everyone easily. It has defied any medication, only trials and errors treatment, and so on. It would take a long while getting a vaccine and hence the public should be ready to accommodate this virus for a while.

The second point to know is the coincidence with the prophecy of “A Year of Humility”, also prophesied by Prophet TB Joshua. The prophecy we recall came with conditions that are, “Turning to God in Repentance”. If the world had heeded the prophet and repented maybe by March 27, 2020, the rains would have washed the virus away. Everyone can listen to the prophecy over and again. It was conditional on our needed “changed attitude to the Living God”. Hence for the prophecy of humility to take its effect on a journey from Egypt to the Promised Land meant for about only 40 days may take 40 years, unless this generation is ready for God.

Our prayer points are many. We want God to keep talking to us and we don’t want our cathedrals filled with only empty pews. This generation can best be described as “Eye-service-Generation”, nearly everyone in it. Most of the popular pastors and church leaders are busy giving motivational speeches and entertaining the crowds like the days of Jeremiah. The humility regime, prophesied by TB Joshua, is going to start in the Church and amongst the Christians, in a long process. The world is already on its platform, un-repented, whilst the church is in disarray and disunity. Hence we pray for the move of the Holy Spirit for God’s quick intervention in the affairs of men.

Prof. R. A. Ipinyomi, University of Ilorin, Nigeria     

Pastor TB Joshua Reveals How He Gets Money for His Ministry

Prophet T.B. Joshua

Nigerian Pastor TB Joshua has revealed his position regarding asking for monetary offerings through his popular Christian television channel Emmanuel TV.

Although Joshua was not physically present during the broadcast of Sunday 3rd Mary 2020, his ministers responded to a question posed by a viewer about how the cleric raises funds as he is never heard preaching on the subject of tithes and offerings.

The cleric described giving offerings as “Scriptural” but emphasised that people should give as “God prompts their conscience”.

“They may not be many but people of conscience are giving – I mean, the right people are giving genuinely, for the salvation of their soul—and their giving is blessed of God,” he conceded.

“Wrong people have to be reminded many times before they can give because it is not from their heart,” he explained, clarifying that wrong people referred to “dubious” or “corrupt”individuals who “who got their money, their things from the wrong source.”

He elucidated that such people would give “to be seen, to be heard and to be praised here”, adding that if they later hit hard times, they would often write letters to the church reminding them of the money they had previously given.

He described that such people misguidedly felt their offerings were a form of “bargaining with God to get what they want” or a way of manipulating Him “to give approval to their selfish motives.”

“Giving is like serving. Both should be done with joy – without being reminded, because you don’t need to be reminded to do that which gives you joy,” he continued, adding that believers should ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in giving, receiving and asking.

“The force behind the money given determines the kind of money it is,” Joshua thoughtfully expanded. “When we inherit stolen wealth, we would live under a stolen future, thereby mortgaging our future. Remember, what comes from God goes to Him.”

The cleric stated he was “very careful” when it came to receiving offerings from congregants. “If I receive something from you, the source and the manner you give will determine whether it’s a blessing or a curse that I receive from you,” he posited.

Relating the question to the current situation in which churches have been shut worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, Joshua explained such a period “demands conscience”.

“If you give something from your heart, it will bless you that gives it and also bless the person or ministry that receives it,” the cleric concluded in the interactive program, citing Apostle Paul’s admonishment in 2 Corinthians to give as “each one proposes in his heart, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver”.

Joshua has gained a reputation for not focusing on money during his sermons, asking for offerings during his broadcasts or selling merchandise during his large overseas crusades.

With nearly 1.7 million YouTube subscribers, he is also one of the platform’s largest users who doesn’t monetise his videos with the placement of third-party advertisements.

During the global lockdown, his ministry has engaged in extensive humanitarian programs, assisting vulnerable citizens most affected by the economic impact of the crisis in nations spanning Europe, Africa, South America and USA.

Ihechukwu Njoku is a freelance Nigerian journalist…

Uproar Over TB Joshua’s Prayer Mountain Visit

I was mildly surprised recently to read a barrage of vitriolic tweets aimed towards none other than the amiable Pastor of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), TB Joshua. I use the term ‘mildly’ because I know he’s a controversial character whose actions usually tend to provoke strong reactions from both scales of the religious spectrum. However, the subject for this particular session of ‘online dragging’ by sharp-tongued critics was difficult to muster. Pictures and video had surfaced of the prominent cleric during a four-day prayer session at an “undisclosed prayer mountain”, in which he offered supplications regarding the world crisis, leaders, doctors, pastors and the coronavirus pandemic.

What baffles me is how the vicious scrutiny these ‘records’ received were so utterly disproportionate to their contents and the constructive message they conveyed. The main grouse of the ‘keyboard warriors’ was the fact that a cameraman followed the cleric for his prayers and such records were subsequently presented to the public. But such argument is an almost audacious display of ignorance. It’s pertinent to point out that TB Joshua is the founder of a massive media organisation called Emmanuel TV, which commands considerable worldwide viewership.

As an Emmanuel TV viewer myself, I can attest that one of Joshua’s regular programs is a session called ‘prayer for viewers’ in which he offers a variety of prayers for his listeners, the efficacy of which is seen in the multitudinous testimonies that follow. Why then should the fact that the cleric prayed publicly for his viewers – as is his customary practice – elicit such a strange backlash? It is entirely reasonable for a ‘man of people’ of TB Joshua’s stature to inform his viewers regarding his movements and offer reassuring prayers at such a time of uncertainty and fear.

Let me equally point out that ‘the man in the Synagogue’ has an almost giddy reputation for maintaining impeccable records of his life and ministry. The documentary of his life is itself an eye-opener. When the young cleric in several open-air huts surrounded by mostly children declared the beginning of his church in 1989 – a time when his name registered zero recognition – a camera was there to record The SCOAN’s birth. What prompted such a gallant conviction if not a vision of Divine origins?

The records faithfully written in the Bible serve as the basis and inspiration for the faith of millions of believers. The technological advancements of the 21st century have simply enabled an ‘upgrade’ in the manner in which records are kept – a secret TB Joshua has clearly unlocked and championed. Pushing religious inclinations aside, all lovers of technology would agree that the quality of Emmanuel TV’s broadcasting trumps every other local channel in Nigeria. Joshua has tapped into the extraordinary potential of media and social media to reach people with his message and mission. Instead of asking why the cleric would engage in such a broadcast, the question should rather be why wouldn’t he record the prayer for his 1.7million YouTube subscribers and four million Facebook followers?

Another set of moaners on this trending topic arbitrarily quoted the Scripture in Matthew 6 that calls on believers to pray in a secret place rather than the Pharisees who prayed “to be seen by others”. This argument also falls flat under minimal scrutiny. TB Joshua was at ‘the mountain for four days – at least 96 hours – and Emmanuel TV viewers will know he has visited such hallowed grounds for pilgrimage on numerous occasions without any attendant ‘noise’. So, why would anyone use a 15-minute clip to draw sweeping conclusions on the actions and motives of a man who sacrificed fleshly comforts in the wilderness for the purpose of prayer at a time of global crisis? Surely all citizens, regardless of their religious affiliations, desire the end to this pandemic and its associated repercussions and thus agree with the premise of his prayers?

Finally, I dare any diligent believer to watch TB Joshua’s sermons and deny that the man is not thoroughly grounded in God’s Word with remarkable spiritual maturity! The substance of TB Joshua’s teachings clearly flows from a heart deeply engaged with God. Simply put, TB Joshua is a man of prayer; what we saw in the viral photographs was the public overflow of private commitment – recorded and shown for the glory of God and shame of the devil.

Tawia Acheampong, Accra, Ghana