Nigeria’s controversial preacher, T.B. Joshua of The Synagogue Church Of
All Nations (SCOAN), has declared that the killer disease Ebola
currently ravaging West Africa is from ‘the pit of hell’.
According
to Mr. Joshua, who, on Sunday, led his congregation in prayer for the
nations and individuals affected by the disease, time was up for the
‘strange ailment’ and life would soon return to normal for the affected
countries.
“The so called strange ailment coming from three
nations – Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia… satan is the manufacturer, the
source,” Joshua defiantly declared to the faithful.
“Begin to
capture the covenant of that strange sickness,” the cleric then enjoined
the congregation. “Command that strange ailment to come out and go to
the pit of hell, in the name of Jesus Christ!”
“Because of
Christ, people of Liberia, Sierra Leona, Guinea, you are released,” Mr.
Joshua said,
accompanied by the vibrant congregants in a service
believed to have been viewed by millions worldwide through Joshua’s
Christian television station Emmanuel TV.
The controversial
pastor boldly declared that God had spoken to him to pray for the
nations affected by Ebola as its reign of fear was close to closure.
The
pastor, cited to be one of Africa’s most influential individuals,
decried the toll Ebola had taken on society, especially in the areas of
kinship and kindness.
“People are no longer their brother’s
keepers because of this strange disease,” he lamented, adding that if
someone publicly collapsed from any form of sickness, people would
likely abandon the invalid as opposed to lending a helping hand.
“Once
satan takes love out of people, he has taken life. Satan is not happy
that we are one; he is against oneness. He knows when we are not one, we
can be defeated,” he fumed.
“The weapon satan is afraid of is love,” Mr. Joshua continued. “Satan can fight anything but he cannot fight love.”
The
cleric then cited a poignant question asked by Jesus in Luke 18:8:
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
He
added that the prayer Jesus offered for His followers’ faith not to fail
indicated challenges would arise in the last days which would make many
‘abandon their faith’, Ebola being one of such challenges.
Mr.
Joshua made headlines this week in local and international media for
sending 4,000 bottles of ‘Anointing Water’ to the Ebola-stricken nation
of Sierra Leone on the request of the government, alongside $50,000 in
humanitarian aid.
Last week, Mr. Joshua debunked a rumour
attributed to him that went viral in Nigeria claiming that bathing in
salt water could prevent the disease.
With over 1.2million followers on Facebook and 90,000 YouTube subscribers, the preacher has a huge social media following.
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