Sanction False Prophets ―Rev Isaac Opoku Tells Gov’t

The Founder of the In Him Is Life Church International, Reverend Isaac Opoku has called on government to mandate religious regulatory bodies to sanction men of God for any form of misconduct.

This he said would prevent the frequent proclamation of public prophesy on the untimely deaths of public figures.

According to Rev. Opoku, though the state allows churches to be gazetted with the Registrar General’s Department, no further regulations are given to them regarding their mode of operation adding that this is the reason for the abuse of the freedom of worship by some religious leaders.

For the reverend, the primary goal of these men of God is not to relay the information but to gain political favor or to exploit the vulnerable as and when these prophesies come to pass.

At a press conference held in Accra, yesterday, the gospel minister bemoaned the rate at which men of God use media platforms to create fear and panic.

“Such public prophetic declarations have the tendency of putting individuals into a state of fear which is likely to result in heart attack and eventual death,” he remarked.

Rev. Opoku added that, once such prophecies are put in the public domain, spiritual men and women who use voodoo powers take advantage of the situation to kill the victims.

“Not all prophecies are for public consumption,” he said adding that, most of the revelations are for the personal consumption of pastors to enable them work on issues spiritually through prophetic wisdom.

Recommendation

He suggested that the aides and managers of public figures and celebrities make themselves more accessible to men of God so as to prevent them from putting such prophecies in the public domain.

The reverend indicated that per his findings, media platforms have increased in number thus, a decline in professional standards―leading to the parading of men of God who can pay the airtime fees and are using fraudulent means extort people.

He hereby admonished media houses to be more circumspect in the admission of pastors to air programs on their networks.

He also suggested that bodies like the Christian Council and the Pentecostal Council be up to task in checking the conducts of men of God.

Reverend Opoku also cautioned that if government fails to pay heed to his advice, he, along with other pastors, would demonstrate against the certification of men of God who negatively exploit their congregants and conduct themselves wrongfully.

By: Brenda Osei Karikari