Goes for the Big Score
Whether he got lucky or it was planned, Joshua’s prophecy of the death of an African leader is a fraud, a monument to his ego and ambition for power. Beware, simple ones, lest you join him in his fate, the fate of all liars and false prophets.
Victor sent an informational email to his address book and received a response from Arthur Ssajjabi of Uganda. Arthur has been in touch with us periodically over the years, hoping against hope we would support him and his ministry, though we have told him several times that he has no ministry from the Lord, explaining how and why. But Arthur, being an unrepentant liar and flatterer, brushes off the truth and comes back every now and then to see if the wind has changed to a more favorable direction for his agenda. (God doesn’t change, however.)
Here is Arthur’s reply to the email:
“Dear Victor! Thank you for the video, I have watched it and the article.
have you heard how the malawi government has called two pastors from nageria who gave a prophecy about the death of their Malawi president and what will follow, and everything came to pass as it was prophesied. one pastor is called Joshau, they are needed now.”
No, we hadn’t heard, so we looked it up and found this report of the incident regarding one of those who prophesied, T.B. Joshua:
“At the news of the death of Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, one of the things that sprang to the minds of many was a much publicised prophecy from Nigerian Prophet T.B. Joshua about the impending death of an African Head of State.
On Sunday 5th February 2012, Joshua stated live on his Christian television station, Emmanuel TV, ‘In April… we should pray for one African head of state, president, against a sickness that will likely take life – sudden death. It is a sickness being kept in the body for a long time.’ The declaration sparked debate and speculation within many African countries with numerous media outlets reporting on the prophecy.
Earlier this week on Sunday 1st April, T.B. Joshua reiterated the prophecy, saying, ‘What I’m saying is very close now. Whether you like it or not, pray for your leaders. A head of a nation, I’m seeing sudden death as a result of sickness. Pray. This is Africa, not even West Africa.’ In line with the prophet’s prediction, Mutharika died suddenly of a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning, just four days after Joshua had said the event was imminent.
The incident is being seen as a verification and vindication of Joshua’s prophetic gift, as well as sparking online debate about the role and relevance of prophets and prophecies in today’s age.” (source)
There are several telltale signs that this prophecy isn’t from God, but from the prince of darkness.
1) There is no individual named. There are 47 countries on the continent of Africa (not including island nations off the coast). It is a calculated roll-of-the-dice prediction, not a specific Word from God, that one leader will die of sickness in the near future, particularly given the fact that many of them are elderly and not in great health (if it wasn’t an actual known plot to murder, while making it look like a predicted sickness).
2) There is no reason given for the sudden death. Is the person being taken because of wickedness? What is the point of this proclamation? God doesn’t just dispense information to titillate people’s imaginations or to arouse their curiosity. He’s not playing games with people’s lives – or deaths. He speaks to judge and instruct. Neither is present here. This is classic Satan, giving “signs and wonders” as part of his deceitful campaign that causes the naïve and foolish to marvel and follow him.
3) The exhortation to prayer is undefined, both in who is being told to pray and for what they’re supposed to be praying. Are all Africans being asked to pray for their leaders – Muslims, Catholics, along with many other unbelievers? Will God hear their prayers?
“But we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31 MKJV).
Is Joshua talking only to professing believers? Doesn’t he know that all men are to pray for their rulers regardless of whether the rulers will die soon?
“First of all, then, I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2 MKJV).
So why the prayer in particular for this ruler who is supposed to die suddenly? Is the prayer to prolong the leader’s life? If so, why wasn’t Joshua’s prayer effectual, as it’s clear he included himself in those who should be praying?
Where in the Scriptures are there any examples of prophecies like this? There are none, because God and His prophets don’t behave this way. But charlatans like T.B. Joshua do, as we will see in yet more of his dark and evil ways.
Who shall bear responsibility for the unanswered prayer, T.B. Joshua or the people he asked to pray for this late African leader?
Let’s compare T.B. Joshua’s prophecy to the well-known one of Elijah. Did Elijah ask the people to pray with him for drought and rain in King Ahab’s day, or was he a prophet whom God answered as an individual (1 Kings 18)? The Scriptures give him the credit for his faith and prayer, and none other:
“Elijah was a man of like passion as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for the time of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to sprout” (James 5:17-18 MKJV).
If Joshua’s prayer was for the Malawi leader’s recovery, it wasn’t answered, although nobody knows what the purpose was because Joshua didn’t say. And the prophecy comes across as a declaration of an easily-known status and a natural potential occurrence. T.B. Joshua is a deceiver, and those who believe and follow him are as he. He is no man of God, and his so-called prophecy condemns, not justifies, him.
After Mutharika died by heart attack, Joshua claimed to have a letter from the leader (he showed the header and signature, but not the contents, on TV), which stated Mutharika knew the prophecy was about him. Joshua said: “Nine days ago I received a letter from his excellence Malawian president. He sent it to me because he knew I was talking to him.”
Joshua also said, “When prophecy is made the one talked about always knows,” adding this about the prophecy’s purpose: “When a prophet says I can see death he is simply telling you to put your house in order.” (source)
According to Joshua, Mutharika “answered God’s call” and now rests.
Does God kill a man with a heart attack whose house is in order? I don’t think so. The Word of God says otherwise:
“If you will carefully listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His Laws, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the LORD Who heals you” (Exodus 15:26 MKJV).
A man whose house is truly in order dies peacefully and rests; he doesn’t die violently and rest.
“But the wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:20-21 MKJV).
Consider: A man who has heart disease and isn’t well, with sin on his conscience, may be susceptible to the suggestion of a “voodoo man,” like Joshua, who says God will suddenly take the life of a person among his small peer group. Mutharika may very well have “volunteered” for the role, precipitating his own death.
Aren’t human beings susceptible to suggestion, borne out by the well-known placebo effect? It’s also reported that one of Mutharika’s cabinet ministers, Yunus Mussa, made an animal sacrifice to ensure the prophecy didn’t come to pass. And why wouldn’t people take very seriously words reported to be from God, especially when they don’t know that the words aren’t true? There’s no doubt the things we say can be very powerful, for good or for evil.
“Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. Behold how little a fire kindles how large a forest! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So the tongue is set among our members, spotting all the body and inflaming the course of nature, and being inflamed by Hell” (James 3:5-6 MKJV).
Whether there was a letter from Mutharika or not, and whatever was said in it, it seems that either Joshua cast his net, caught a fish, and gets all the glory for himself, or he plots with others to promote himself and them to their profit and glory. Men fear (honor) him, not God, Who has nothing to do with this prophecy.
Arthur Ssajjabi flatters us, calling us “men of God,” but he doesn’t believe a word we say (example: our posting on Joshua as a false teacher). Arthur’s boast is in men, not God, saying of such as Joshua, “They are needed now.” This is Baal worship, which is what T.B. Joshua and his fellows are all about, vaunting and depending on corrupt flesh that is presented as the arm of God. The Destroyer has been having his way there in Africa, but the fire of God comes to put him and his lies away.
As it turns out, Mutharika’s successor, Joyce Banda, is a Joshua follower. She personally visited him and his church in Nigeria at the end of 2011. “I have found (TB Joshua’s temple) to be the best place for me to get in touch with God,” she said. (source) She had a falling out with Mutharika and was kicked out of his party, making her only route to the presidency his death. Was there foul play here?
Shortly after taking office, Banda traveled to Nigeria to meet with “the Prophet” for “special prayers.” Yes, it doesn’t smell good, because power in this world with men is what these scammers are after, however they can obtain it. That includes the other Nigerians on our list and Dr. David Owuor, another self-exposed fraud.
Victor Hafichuk