True and false prophecy in ‘all Christian practical praying band (ACPPB)’, Ufuma, in the light of Jeremiah 27-28

Abstract

Jeremiah proclaims a message of God’s judgment against the rulers and the people of Judah because of their violation of the religious and the legal traditions of the nation but Hananiah opposed him preaching a message of peace and salvation and predicted the nation’s deliverance from the hands of their enemies. Both claim to have God’s authority. Jeremiah 27-28 provides a window into the problem of discerning a true prophet from a false one. Christians are also being challenged with such opposing prophecies by prophets and visioners in All Christian Practical Praying Band (ACPPB), Awka who all claim that their prophecies come from God. This study adopts exegetico-hermeneutical method of interpretation in the application of the narrative message of Jeremiah 27-28 to the fact of truity and falsity in prophecy in ACPPB. It is discovered that prophecy is a call, and not all comers’ affair. Prophecy lacks empirical proof and is sometimes manipulative and susceptible to barratry. The study further discovered that true Prophets claim to prophesy by the Spirit of God while false Prophets prophesy from their own mind but also claim to do so by the spirit of God. True prophets are consistent in their prophecy while false prophets change their words to fit the situation of the moment. Just like Prophet Hananiah, there are prophets who could be genuinely called but have refused to stay within their call because of loss of focus and desire for material gains The prevalent worldview of our people concerning easy solution to life’s problems that leads to abuse of prophetic consultations needs to be changed.

Keywords: True, False, Prophecy, Christian, Practical, Praying, Band