There is a Prophet of the Lord in SCOAN

As we celebrate the 58th Birthday of the Man in the Synagogue, Prophet TB Joshua, many of us already know him as a Prophet of the Lord. Today, just as in the days of King Ahab of Israel there are many self-acclaimed prophets in every town. Remember that Jesus Christ is the Forever Prophet and He has appointed some prophets for our time too. 

In 2 Chronicles 18, we read a very interesting story about King Ahab and his guests. The king of Judah at that time was Jehoshaphat, very wealthy and greatly respected. Jehoshaphat had made an alliance by marriage with Ahab, and after several years went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle to honour Jehoshaphat and those who came with him. He persuaded him to join in an attack against Ramoth Gilead. King Ahab of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I will support you; my army is at your disposal and will support you in battle.” Then Jehoshaphat added, “First seek an oracle from the Lord.” So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” They said, “Attack! God will hand it over to the king.” But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord still here that we may ask him?”  The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord’s will. But I despise him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but always a disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say such things!” The king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah". As it turned out the first 400 prophets were false, prophesying only property, what people want to hear, but prophet Micaiah was a prophet of the Lord.

As of June 12, 2020, the number of self-proclaiming prophets from various Christianity sect alone operating in Lagos State, Nigeria, Africa or globally is unknown but could be in hundreds of thousands. The king Ahab in various State headquarters worldwide raised many of them and paying them. In Daniel chapter 1 we come across Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who built a house for his god, created a King's College to train his eunuchs, people skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace. Daniel was among them. Every generation needs prophets of the Lord. A prophet is a person who receives a divine message and speaks to other human beings on behalf of a deity. They are called by God to serve God, they are humans like others though may have their unique areas of interest and characteristics. In the order of hierarchy, we have as topmost the God Head (where Jesus belongs), the Holy Angels of God, fallen angels (where Satan is head), the Holy Prophets of the Lord, then the Apostles, etc. We don't know where to classify the fallen angels since the Holy prophets have power over them and can cast them out. We witness Prophet TB Joshua of SCOAN doing this casting out and pulling down the gates of darkness. He does his own in a scale that resembles the days of the early Apostles. People who work close to him are taping in the anointing.

How did King Jehoshaphat of Judah recognise that they needed to hear from a prophet of the Lord after listening to 400 prophets of King Ahab, his in-law? How can we recognise the prophets of the Lord today? Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 that, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?"

We are celebrating TB Joshua because he is a lover of people, a helper to the helpless, a preacher and teacher of the Word, and so on, including the fact that he is a Prophet of the Lord of time. Anyone may wish to study the number of very difficult cases TB Joshua had solved for many individuals, between families, within and between nations. We think that if he had been appointed a national chairman of eg COVID-19, like Joseph who solved a famine for Egypt, or like Daniel who interpreted dreams with solutions, or Elisha who helped a widow overcome her debt, Prophet TB Joshua could solve such national problems. Being a prophet isn't just future telling or forecasting and predictions that are done in mathematical sciences using models, but hearing from God and telling the public what was heard. Science may be wrong many times because the underlying conditions on which our models are built can change, but the prophets of the Lord are always right. EMMANUEL!!!

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