https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/606318-bible-satan-not-god-sent-down-fire-when-elijah-prayed-nigerian-cleric.html

Abel Damina’s preaching challenges the belief held by several generations of Christians familiar with this story about Elijah.

A Nigerian cleric, Abel Damina, has stirred controversy by claiming that it was Satan, not God, who sent down fire when Prophet Elijah, a Biblical figure, prayed for fire during a contest between him (Elijah) and the priests of Baal.

The Biblical story, as told in 1 Kings 18:1 – 18, narrates a spiritual contest between Elijah, whom the Bible portrays as a prophet of God and another set of prophets – the prophets of Baal, portrayed as false priests.

Here is a simplified version of the story as presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

“The kingdom of Israel continued to suffer from having no water. King Ahab told the people to follow a false god named Baal.

“The Lord sent Elijah, the prophet, to meet Ahab. Elijah invited all the people to the top of a mountain. He invited the king and his priests to a challenge to see whether the Lord or Baal was the true God.

“Elijah explained the challenge. He and the priests would sacrifice a bull on an altar, but they, would not light a fire themselves. Instead, the priests would pray to Baal to start a fire. Then Elijah would pray to the Lord to start a fire. Elijah knew that only the true God would start the fire.

“The priests of Baal prayed to their god from morning until noon, but nothing happened. Elijah joked with them and said their god Baal must be asleep.

“The priests grew angry, jumped on the altar, and shouted into the evening. They hoped their god would answer, but there was still no fire.

“Then it was Elijah’s turn. He built an altar to the Lord, dug a trench around the altar, and prepared the sacrifice.

“Elijah asked the people to fill four barrels of water and pour them onto the wood of his altar three times. Water soaked the wood and the altar. It filled the whole trench.

“Elijah prayed to the Lord to show the true God’s power. The Lord’s fire came down and consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, and water. The people knew that Elijah’s God was the true God. Elijah prayed that the drought would end, and the Lord sent rain.”

Christians have known this Elijah story for generations, viewing it as proof of God’s power.

But Mr Damina, who is the founder of Power City International in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, said Jesus Christ would have shut Elijah up if he (Jesus Christ) was there when Elijah made the statement, adding that the fire in the Biblical story was from Satan, and not God.

In two different clips which addressed the same issue, Mr Damina, citing Luke 9:51, said it was Satan that sent down fire when Prophet Elijah prayed. He explained that Jesus Christ rebuked his disciples from emulating Elijah.

“If I be a man of God let fire, if Jesus (Christ) was there, he would have said stop that,” Mr Damina exclaimed, according to a video clip of the remark posted on the internet.

“Jesus would’ve told him (Prophet Elijah) (to) stop that. Shut up! Go and sit down, if you don’t know what to do. Jesus (Christ) would’ve rebuked Elijah. If he rebuked the disciples that wanted to copy Elijah. It means if he was there, he would have rebuked Elijah.

“That means it was not Jesus that answered Elijah’s prayer, it was Satan,” he said amidst cheers from the congregants.

Explaining further, Mr Damina said these are not the “days of Elijah” but that of the “manifestation of the sons of God”.

“It devilish,” he said.
Mr Damina told the congregants, “All those wicked books you bought, go and burn them this afternoon. Bring them out, pour fuel, I licence you (to) burn it to ashes; those books are demonic.”

It is unclear the exact books Mr Damina was urging the congregants to burn, but he may have referred to any book that supports the claim that it was God who sent down fire when Elijah prayed.

Mr Damina is not new to controversies, but the latest one has triggered mixed reactions from other pastors in Akwa Ibom, with some accusing him of heresies.

The state’s five million population is predominantly Christian.

Nyenime Andy, a pastor and founder of Holy Ghost Ambassador, Uyo, disagrees with Mr Damina’s position on who, between God and Satan, sent down fire when Elijah prayed.

“Attention, the Christian Community. Satan did not send down fire, but God did,” he said in a Facebook post, citing 1 Kings 18:22-39.

“Please read it carefully and thoroughly. But for the purpose of clarity, let me pick two verses of this scripture,” he said with emphasis on verse 38.

A Bible scholar and Bishop of the African Church in Akwa Ibom State, Ime Brownson, agrees with Mr Andy that it was God that sent down fire in response to Elijah’s prayers.

But Idy James, a pastor at Salt of the Earth Ministry, Uyo, agrees with Mr Damina.

Mr James, in a Facebook post, presented his argument in support of Mr Damina’s controversial remarks.

“That you are ignorant of a particular subject should not be blamed on another who has refused to remain in your position. It is a choice,” he said in the post.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Mr James said the cleric, Mr Damina, would have been a celebrated figure if he was not from “this part of the world”.

He supported Mr Damina’s teachings, including the warning against paying tithes to pastors and the one about Noah not being asked by God to build an ark..

Not new to controversy
Mr Damina has made many controversial remarks in the past. In 2017, he preached against Christians donating money to churches and expecting God to flourish them with riches in return.

He remarked that God did not tell Noah to build an ark but that Noah built an ark to communicate what God revealed to him.

PREMIUM TIMES in 2019 reported how Mr Damina blamed the church for the increase in suicide rates in Nigeria.

Reacting to the suicide of a 400-level student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in Enugu State, Chukwuemeka Akachi, who drank a deadly insecticide, Mr Damina said sermons in Nigerian churches were instilling greed and depression among Christians.

He said in 2022 that there was no fairness in politics and that elections were essentially about the “stealing of votes”, and added that men of God have no business prophesying to politicians because “God is not involved in politics”.

It was antichrist nonetheless but it was from the power that God put at Elijah's disposal.

That's why God is careful when empowering men because imagine what would happen today if all those calling fire from heaven to burn their enemies had the same power Jesus had?

That's why it's important for Christians to be Christlike and not follow whatever example or teachings they see in the Bible, even if they be those of true prophets and apostles if they go contrary to the teachings and examples of Christ as that of Elijah on that particular occasion.

By the way, I think the Op confused the fire he spoke about, which was that Elijah commanded from heaven to destroy those soldiers that came to take him, not that which he called from heaven to burn his offering.

God bless.

And people will dress , sit down and go to church every Sunday to listen to these nonsense. People are gullible sha

The preaching of salvation to all nations of the world is all that matters m

The man in question preaches heresies.

What Jesus meant was that they should reflect LOVE, simple.

Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Like someone said earlier, be careful what you listen to. Grow up!

Post the video first. Let us hear it from his mouth and we will respond.

There is nothing "antichrist" about what transpired on Mount Carmel.

There is nothing "antichrist" about what Elijah did to those who were sent to kill/capture him.

pipsplus2020:
The man in question preaches heresies.

What Jesus meant was that they should reflect LOVE, simple.

Like someone said earlier, be careful what you listen to. Grow up!

But Elijah was of God's Old Law and God demanded that all false prophets be eliminated in the Old Law - Deuteronomy 18 vs 1 - 14. So why judge Elijah by Jesus Christ and not by YHWH --- God's Old Law---- or am I missing something here?

Why cut off the scriptures quoted. Read those verses without bias and tell me if that has anything to do with what he said. I maintain that he preachers heresies. Eg: when he said that Hallelujah is not heavenly language.

Don't argue with me.

Have a blessed evening

pipsplus2020:
Why cut off the scriptures quoted. Read those verses without bias and tell me if that has anything to do with what he said. I maintain that he preachers heresies. Eg: when he said that Hallelujah is not heavenly language.Don't argue with me.Have a blessed evening

Simple! Because you quoted that passage out-of-context in this case. Jesus Christ is a different Law and context from that which Elijah lived under and so you cannot judge the Old by the New — Jesus Christ.

ZKOSOSO:
■ The preaching of salvation to all nations of the world is all that matters m

He can't preach a Truth that he and others know nothing of, can he?

Kobojunkie:
He can't preach a Truth that he and others know nothing of, can he?

He knows the gospel truth. The human nature in him may sometimes fine its way in his expressions.
God doesn't hold his human side from his utterances

ZKOSOSO:
■ He knows the gospel truth. The human nature in him may sometimes fine its way in his expressions.
God doesn't hold his human side from his utterances

He knows the Truth of God yet every utterance out of him is laced with lies? You recall that Jesus Christ warned that Truth(light) and lies(darkness) cannot mix as the result will always be darkness -- a little lie renders it all of lies. Or was Jesus Christ wrong?

Their pastor has gone mad again.