Of prophets and lame prophecies

It’s coming to that time of the year when all the pastors and prophets will start releasing their prophecies for the coming year.

They all claim to speak to God directly and he reveals everything to them about what lies in stock for us next year, even though it’s strange that none of them were forewarned about the 2020 Covid pandemic last year.

By the end of the year, many of their predictions would have failed to materialize and they’ll start coming up with excuses for their failures.

God can talk to anyone and not just his ‘self-appointed’ prophets: a prophecy is just a prediction of what might happen. Two plus two equals four and anybody with the right facts can make a prediction, for instance, Manchester City is widely predicted to win the 2021 English Premier League.

Religion is big business, to some, and the prophet who can make the most predictions (- that come true) will be seen as a true ‘Man-of -God’ and more people will flock to their churches.

Most of these prophets use what I call ‘predictive coding’ a process whereby the person analysis the world and circumstances around him or her and by using the power of probability are able to ‘predict ‘the future, for instance, given Nigeria’s abysmal aviation record there will be plane crashes next year, where and when the ‘prophet’ won’t be specific.

Everything is supply and demand and a great many people go to church to know what the future holds for them and it's very easy for a prophet to ‘package’ a prediction for them, for a fee tailored to their specifications.

Don’t get me wrong, there are actually some prophets who do actually see future events before they happen but not in the way the popular do. Most of the time divine predictions received by a recipient aren’t for the whole world to know about.

It is for the recipient to act upon. For example, if a prophet sees a terrible accident about to happen it's up to him to try and avert it spiritually – and privately without making any noise. It’s the reason true Men of God disappear into the wilderness or go to Mountain tops (without a camera crew!) to meditate and pray to avert calamities. It is not something you make a song and dance about and tell the world.

As I write there are people who are quietly communing with God for the emancipation of Africa from its problems, you’ll never see or hear of them. These are the ones who see the future. It’s a great privilege to be able to see future events before they happen and it's not information to be shared with just anybody, let alone for commercial or PR purposes.

A true Man of God who has the ability to communicate with God and receive prophecies doesn’t need tithes, offerings, or seeds in the same way Jesus Christ never asked anyone for a penny: The Lord God provides for all their needs hence the true predictions they receive – and act upon.

So, 2022 is just around the corner and pastors are going to be using ‘predictive probability’ to fool their gullible followers: Arsenal won’t make the Top Four in the English Premier League, Joe Biden may resign over growing health concerns, Buhari will not resign amidst growing health concerns, Covid will mutate into new variants and a plane or two will crash in Nigeria – all are predictable events given current trends and are not divine prophecies, just pure guesswork!

So, if you’re in the habit of going from church to church to see what the future holds you’re are better off staying at home praying and meditating to see what God has in stock for you and the rest of the world for nobody is that anointed that they can see a 100% of what is going to happen in the future.