Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s Prophetic Fallacies

By

Rev. Suleiman Dankano, Ph.D.

dan2kano@yahoo.com

 

I have been very troubled by some of the utterances of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, one of the most prominent ministers in Nigeria and worldwide. I feel a need to go to a territory where many are afraid to go in the belief that perhaps some body who is close to him might read this and call his attention to it. It is saddening to note that a minister of Pastor Adeboye’s standing will be so careless with what comes out of his mouth. I have followed Pastor Adeboye’s preaching for some time and came to have a lot of respect for him as well as praise God for what he has used him to accomplish in his kingdom here on earth. But in recent times he seems to have have fallen prey to the political correctness of our day and to the praise singers and hallelujah brethren worldwide.

 

It pains me to write about a humble minister and God’s anointed servant in the person of Pastor Adeboye but I also feel I will be violating God’s command if I failed to do so. Being a fellow minister and theologian I feel it is necessary to correct the error he seems to be promoting. Prophecy is no small assignment when one studies biblical and church history. I feel I must challenge him on two prophecies he has made, one in 2000 and the other just this last week. In January 2000, Pastor Enoch Adeboye prophesied that Jesus will come back by the end of this century. This couldn’t be far from the truth and contradicts Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:36 where Jesus said neither him, nor the angels in heaven but only God the Father knows that day. For Pastor Adeboye to have made such prophecy is quite out of tune with scriptures. One of the hallmarks of true biblical prophecy is that it comes to pass. Was pastor Adegboye suggesting that because none of us, at least not even children born in 2000 were not likely to be alive to verify this prophecy that was why he made it? Other wise, how could such an anointed minister of God miss such important passages on eschatology? All I can say here is that the respected man of God needs to be cautious before he comes down as one of those false prophets that are emerging. This has a great potential for destroying his ministry.

 

Last week, precisely Nigerian Tribune of November 10, 2007, Pastor Adeboye once more prophesied that God told him Nigeria will be the greatest nation on earth. For God’s sake, where and when did God tell you this? Were you hallucinating or receiving prophecy from God? I don’t doubt that Nigeria has the potential of being one of the greatest nations on earth but to say that is will be the greatest nation on earth is outright fallacy. It could happen but probably not in this century. Again, Pastor Adeboye ties this false prophecy to the one in 2000. Every one knows that with the way things are going in Nigeria and the corruption that is endemic with no sign of an end in sight, it will take perhaps the next two centuries for Nigeria to become the greatest nation on earth if ever, unless you are referring to being great in corruption and crime. The sad part of this is the fact that Pastor Adeboye is General Olusegun Obasanjo’s bosom friend and yet couldn’t influence this monster to do right. The true mark of a prophet is his ability to confront the king and prophesy against the sins of the King. Yet for the eight years Obasanjo was in government, we never heard such prophesy coming from Pastor Adeboye. All we heard was Obasanjo singing praise at the pastor’s 60th birthday party. The Bible clearly says, woe unto those who say thus says the Lord when the Lord has not spoken. It is no secret that General Obasnajo brought the clock of development 100 years backward is the most corrupt and brutal leader Nigeria has ever had. General Sani Abacha was a saint compared to Olusegun Obasanjo. Pastor Adeboye check for yourself the next time you organize your Holy Ghost Convention if electricity will remain constant throughout the convention. Don’t use generators and then tell us when Nigeria will be great. I have lived long enough to know and you know this too that in the 1970s to 1980s, we never thought of anything going bad in the refrigerator because power has gone out neither did we ever imagine going to the petrol station without finding petrol or knowing what it will cost. The next time you go to the petrol station, ask yourself, what Nigerians are paying for petrol and when next in Dubai; I know you have a branch of the Redeemed Church there and ask how much it costs to fill up the tank there. Compare Dubai and Lagos, your base to determine the potentials of Nigeria being the greatest country on earth. Or go to any of the Middle East countries where gasoline costs about 25 cents per liter and then compare them with Nigeria where it costs 95 cents if at all you find it a petrol station. Your bosom friend Obasanjo failed to fix the refineries so that he could import refined petrol and make more money in his pocket and so he did through his cronies including his son Gbenga. When he was leaving, he sold the refineries to himself as scraps and yet he called himself a born-again Christian. Haba, Adeboye, talk to your friend. While I cannot visit the sins of Obasanjo on you but a prophet that you claim to be should be bold enough to confront sin publicly. Where are the Nathans of our day?

 

 While the Church in South Korea has made an impact on the society, we cannot say the same of Nigeria because our ministers would rather dine and wine with corrupt government officials and stand before their parishioners to tell them how important they are and how they met with the president of honorable this and that, the very things the prophets of old condemned. Nigerian ministers would rather carve out empires, build castles and empires, ride on the latest Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) made in America; they call them Jeeps in Nigeria or take all sort of names. In fact, it is no secret now that highly placed ministers do isolate themselves, seeing themselves as supper ministers. They now call themselves apostles or the apostolic leadership meeting. Of course, we know that the real apostles were missionaries and not name seekers like we see today.  

 

Finally, I wish to caution here that the tendency for most “big” ministers in Nigeria to believe they are above board and cannot be corrected is real. Pride goes before destruction so the Bible says. May be a few examples in the Bible will suffice. When a vessel becomes arrogant to the extent that he/she can no longer control his/her mouth, God is no longer interested in such a vessel. Good examples abound in the Bible where people who thought they were untouchable by God lost it all. Moses whom God called the humblest of all humankind (Numbers 12:4-10) lost it all when he cursed the people of Israel and disobeyed God (Numbers 20:10-12). God is no respecter of person and this is what the likes of Adeboye and his followers must understand. Elijah, who was a firebrand prophet thinking he was the only prophet in town said to God, “ I have had enough, take my life for am not better than my ancestors. I am the only prophet left and they seek to kill me” (1 Kings 19: 4, 10-18). God said to Elijah go and anoint Hazel king and Elisha to succeed you. From that moment on, Elijah’s ministry ended. There is no body that indispensable to God.

 

Some readers might be saying who is this that dares to challenge Baba Adeboye? Well, for me, he is simply an ordinary sinner saved by grace and I could care less if one billion people attend his Holy Ghost Convention. God is not pleased with any minster that would open his moth carelessly to prophecy falsely. I maintain that the prophecy is false. Pastor Adeboye must be told in clear terms that he cannot continue to prophecy falsely; for doing so marks the beginning of the end of his ministry. If you love Pastor Adeboye, pass this piece to him after you’ve read it rather than be led by emotions and pray God’s curses on the writer. God is no respecter of persons. The Pentecostal shame that was unleashed to Nigerian Christians in 2006 should serve as a reminder to those who think they have arrived. Ask Benny Hinn if he would love to return to Nigeria soon and he will tell you, unless the Lord specifically directs so. I hope Nigerian “big” ministers can focus on the true Word of God rather than being led by emotions and seeking political correctness.