The election of Donald J. Trump as the president of the United States of America on 8^th December 2016 by the American people has exposed a lot of false prophecies BIG TIME in Africa. In the history of the children of God, prophecy is one of the tools God used to reveal His plans. Some prophecies are immediate while others are far into the future. For example, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is far into the future. And why does the Christian believe it will happen? That’s because God is unchangeable and prophecies of old have come into pass. It is on this foundation of the immutable nature of God all prophecies from God are trusted, (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). So, you can imagine the negative impact on Christendom when people make prophecies in the name of God and they turned out to be false.

Before I continue, there is one question that comes to mind. Why are African pastors and prophets the ones making prophecies into major political elections? Christians are all over the world: Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas. Have you seen, heard or read any famous pastor or prophet from any of the continents apart from Africa made predictions about UK Referendum, the US Election or any other election? I stand to be corrected, but I haven’t seen, heard or read one.

Now, how do we know a prophecy is a false or fake? It’s simple! If the thing the person said will come to pass doesn’t happen then it’s false prophecy.  God speaking to the children of Israel through Moses said that He would raise a prophet who is like Moses, (Deuteronomy 18:18). And because the ministry of prophecy is a serious one, He went on to tell them how to spot a false prophecy. This is what the LORD God Almighty said:

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him”, (Deuteronomy 18:22, Emphasis mine)

Thank to Jesus we are not living under the Old Covenant, because false prophecy carried the Death Penalty in the Old Testament, (Deuteronomy 18:20).

Now, when T.B. Joshua prophesied that Hilary Clinton would win the US election, he did so in the name of God. But as it turned out to be false, IT CAN NEVER BE GOD who gave him that prophecy. TB Joshua spoke presumptuously according to the above Bible verse. It’s important to note that God can never contradict Himself – He is unchangeable, (Malachi 3:6). TB Joshua did prophesy a lot in the past: some came to pass whilst others failed. For example, he prophesied in 2014 that all the kidnapped Chibok girls would be returned immediately and unharmed (never happened) and that missing Malaysian jet would be found in 2014 (never happened).

A popular pastor in Ghana by the name of Rev. Owusu Bempah also prophesied that Hilary Clinton would win the election and it never happened; he has currently prophesied that the main opposition in Ghana will win December 2016 elections. A Zambian pastor by the name of Isaac Amata and another Nigerian pastor by the name of Dr. Pastor Chris Kwapowe all prophesied Hilary Clinton would win.

Now, it is not our job to defend false prophecies because, false prophecy makes mockery of God hence it’s embarrassing if the person doesn’t apologise and make it clear that it was his own prediction. I am more concerned about false prophecy leading to people ridiculing and mocking God than the image of the person who gave it. Worst is if a Christian is seen as defending it.

It is also important to note that the fact that a pastor or a prophet gave false prophecy does not necessarily mean that he is a false prophet. What we do know is that God isn’t the author of those failed prophecies. And pointing out false prophecies of famous pastors shouldn’t be misconstrued to mean that people are jealous or envious of them – material things should not be the motivation of the Christian and all glory goes to God, not man. Lastly, false prophecy should not be used as basis to insult and label pastors or prophets as criminals, thieves and cheats – remember “touch not my anointed”, (1 Chronicles 16:22). Whether a prophet is fake or not, I don’t know but I do know God knows His own. I can only use the Word of God to judge actions, because “he that is spiritual judgeth all things”, (1 Corinthians 2:15).

Finally, there are serious implications for false prophecy in the modern world. Imagine a world-renowned prophet prophesying in the name of God about upcoming Ghana elections and prophesying in the name of God that a certain political party will win but it turns out that that another party wins? Do you know that people could use that prophecy as basis and start violence in the name of rigged elections? That is why there is the need to apologise for failed prophecy if you truly believe that you are called by God. And going forth if God has not revealed a thing to you, say nothing. It is not compulsory to predict political elections!

Thank you and stay blessed.