THE CHRISTIAN Council of Ghana and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference have condemned in no uncertain terms the recent so-called death prophecies by some pastors.
Recently, Founder and Leader of the Glorious Word and Power Ministries International Church, Rev. Isaac Owusu Bempah, made death prophecies concerning a number of prominent persons namely the National Chief Imam, Shiekh Nuhu Osman Sharubutu; the vice president, Mahamadu Bawumia and ex-President John Mahama.
His death prophecy about the Chief Imam infuriated some Muslim youth who later attacked his church located at Busia in Accra.
Rev. Bempah later had to go beg the Chief Imam, calling the eminent Muslim leader his father.
But the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) in a joint statement signed by Rev. Francis Lzarus Anondee, Secretary General of GCBC and Rev. Dr. Cyril Fayose, General Secretary of CCG, described the death prophecies and incidents that followed as “unfortunate and unwarranted.”
According to the statement, “it is important to state that the prophet as a spokesperson of God is tasked with the responsibility of speaking on behalf of God and provide interpretation from God’s perspective about past events, present circumstances and future possibilities and not what will inevitably happen.”
It added that “prophecies are therefore meant to bring people closer to God as well as to redeem and not purposely for destruction or doom as it is being pronounced by “some prophets” in recent times. God has the prerogative to change any prophecy.”
Appeals
The two Christian bodies called on “these men and women of God who are noted for being proponents of such prophecies of doom to desist from such utterances since these unguarded statements only breed tension and division among citizens and therefore threaten the peace and stability of our dear nation.”
It further indicated “we would also want to appeal to those who feel offended by the pronouncements of Rev. Owusu Bempah not to take the law into their hands by vandalizing property and threatening human life but address their grievances through the appropriate channels.”
BY Melvin Tarlue