₦airaland Forum

"A dog that will be lost will not listen to the hunter's whistle" is a Yoruba proverb (Ajá tó máa sọnù kì í gbọ́ fèrè ọlọ́dẹ) meaning people determined to go astray or ruin themselves will ignore wise advice and warnings from those with more experience, leading to their eventual downfall.

The sobering truth about human nature is that when a person has already set their heart on a path, counsel (no matter how wise or well-intentioned) often sounds like noise rather than rescue. This proverb does not mock ignorance; it warns against willful deafness. It reminds us that ruin is rarely sudden or accidental, but usually preceded by repeated refusals to heed warning, correction, and experience. In every generation, the tragedy is the same: guidance is available, but it is ignored until the consequences arrive.

There are many who in spite of the facts that will be provided here will still choose to go the wrong way.

The Dark Foundations of Pentecostalism/Charismatics/Word of Faith - Part one (1)

Pentecostalism, or its variants Charismatics, Word of Faith, or Prosperity Gospel, (these will be used interchangeably) came into the church only in the last little over 100 years. The adherents would readily admit to this. Before then it never was in the church. The word "Pentecostal" comes from the "Pentecost" - the day when the gift of speaking in other languages (that is what tongues mean) was first expressed. "Charismatic" comes from the Greek word for gift - charisma. The word of faith and prosperity gospel are later expressions derived from the same origin or roots. So same roots, different expressions.

What many who follow it today do not know is that Pentecostalism took its teachings NOT from the Bible or any earlier church traditions BUT from another source entirely apart from the Bible or anything known to the church.
In this thread we will look at its origins to show where it came from. We will also look at specific teachings to see how they deviate from true biblical positions.
Pentecostals are LOUD and use the MEDIA very effectively. As a result many are carried away by these displays and easily fall prey. Also, because majority of people hardly think for themselves nor do they use the Bible to think through whatever teachings are presented to them they get carried away by their teachings.

The Azusa Street "Revival"
The Azusa Street Revival is widely recognized as the prominent starting point of modern-day Pentecostalism. The origins of the revival can be traced to Charles Fox Parham, who ran a Bible school in Houston, Texas. In 1903, William Seymour, a Black man, who studied under Parham became persuaded that the baptism of the Holy Spirit should be accompanied by the evidence of speaking in tongues. Seymour ended up in California on a preaching engagement and pushed this his conviction in a series of meetings. Seymour's teacher Charles Parham when he visited the meetings was reported to have expressed shock at what he saw. This is a report of that visit:

"Charles Parham visited the Azusa Street Revival in October 1906, but quickly condemned the meetings, calling them a mix of "fleshy" emotionalism and "spiritualistic" fanaticism. As the theological mentor to leader William J. Seymour, Parham tried to take control of the mission but was rejected by Seymour, who dismissed him after only a few sermons."

There was a lot of emotionalism at the meetings which made many other Bible teachers who witnessed the meetings talk about them in very negative light. It was reported that scandals and infighting eventually led to the decline of the movement. Within a few years splinter groups resulted (based on what doctrine to believe or not believe) which led to the formation of other groups. Several prominent figures (including Parham) were also charged with various forms of financial and sexual misconduct. It should be noted that this Azusa Street meetings brought Pentecostalism belief to global attention and became the catalyst for the emergence of numerous Pentecostal denominations.

Pentecostalism's original "tongues"
The revivalists initially believed that their gift of tongues they were speaking were actual human languages unknown to the speakers just like it happened on the day of Pentecost. This belief led them to think that it would be useful in reaching or evangelizing people in foreign mission fields. There was the case of some who believed that they were given the gift of speaking in Chinese. When they were sent out as missionaries but discovered that they could not speak the languages of the people in their foreign fields they had to return home. The movement changed its position on what "tongue" was. This is what eventually changed to the current popular position that it is largely a supernatural or heavenly language that is spoken. It was not so at the beginning of the revival.
This is important to note because it can be seen that right from the early start of the movement there the shifting of positions on issues as no concrete or clear objective biblical basis was used to guide their position. Pentecostals do not all even agree on details of teaching about their doctrine on baptism in the Spirit.
There was also the denouncing of each other because one party felt that the other one that held a different view or doctrine was heretical. In many cases many "Pentecostals" refused to identified with other "Pentecostals" because of what they considered as "extreme" of the other. For example, the "third wave" has dissociated itself from the errors of the Word of Faith movement as well as other forms of the so-called "Health and Wealth" or "Prosperity" gospel all of which are offshoots of the Pentecostal movement.

John G. Lake (1870–1935) and his influence on Pentecostalism
John G. Lake was a Canadian-American Pentecostal faith healer and missionary who became an influential figure in early Pentecostalism. Though admired by followers for reports of numerous healings, later historical investigations (particularly those by B. Morton) argue that Lake fabricated key elements of his life story, exaggerated his ministry’s effectiveness, and employed claims of miracles as a means of soliciting financial support.
Charles Parham (Azusa Street's William Seymour's teacher) and John G. Lake were associated in ministry and a number of negative issues were linked to them. There were significant controversies involving accusations of financial misconduct, sexual scandal, faked healings and deceit, misrepresentation, neglect of family, death of followers in violent exorcisms and racial issues. In addition, both of them claimed to be Elijah.

E. W. Kenyon's influence on Pentecostalism
Essek William Kenyon (1867–1948) was a Baptist pastor – not a Pentecostal – but his ideas exerted major influence on 20th-century Pentecostal and Charismatic theology, especially the Word of Faith movement. His emphasis on “positive confession” and the “finished work” of Christ, particularly in relation to faith and healing, was later absorbed and popularized by figures such as Kenneth E. Hagin.
Hagin was accused by Kenyon's own daughter, Ruth Kenyon Houseworth of plagiarising Kenyon's books. Hagin's teachings became the foundation for many of America’s best known TV evangelists as well as other Pentecostal leaders in other parts of the world. He taught that faith was a living force, and on the power of spoken words to bring about spiritual and physical results among other things. Kenyon's theology has been linked by some to Christian Science, New Thought, and Unitarian ideas.

The influence of Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin on Pentecostalism
Oral Roberts (1918–2009) and Kenneth E. Hagin (1917–2003) were influential but markedly different figures within the 20th-century Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, both based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and each playing a significant role in reshaping the movement. Roberts, often described as a “son of Pentecostalism,” became famous for pioneering televised healing crusades and promoting “seed-faith” giving, whereas Hagin is widely regarded as the “father of the Word of Faith movement,” teaching that spoken words, when activated by faith, can bring about concrete outcomes. These two significantly influence the direction Pentecostalism moved in the 20th century and going forward.

Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich
Many advocates of this movement, from its early days to the present, have drawn heavily on the teachings found in this book. Consider the following excerpt.
In CHAPTER 14 titled THE SIXTH SENSE - THE DOOR TO THE TEMPLE OF WISDOM Napoleon Hill talks about a principle he said is the apex of the philosophy (of thinking and growing rich). He talks about the SIXTH SENSE. He wrote "The sixth sense defies description!" He goes on to say: "Understanding of the sixth sense comes only by meditation through mind development from within. The sixth sense probably is the medium of contact between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence, and for this reason, it is a mixture of both the mental and the spiritual. It is believed to be the point at which the mind of man contacts the Universal Mind."
Going on he says: "Long before I had ever written a line for publication, or endeavored to deliver a speech in public, I followed the habit of reshaping my own character, by trying to imitate the nine men whose lives and life-works had been most impressive to me. These nine men were, Emerson, Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln, Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, and Carnegie. Every night, over a long period of years, I held an imaginary Council meeting with this group whom I called my "Invisible Counselors."
Again this: "Some six months after I had discontinued the practice I was awakened one night, or thought I was, when I saw Lincoln standing at my bedside. He said, "The world will soon need your services. It is about to undergo a period of chaos which will cause men and women to lose faith, and become panic stricken. Go ahead with your work and complete your philosophy. That is your mission in life. If you neglect it, for any cause whatsoever, you will be reduced to a primal state, and be compelled to retrace the cycles through which you have passed during thousands of years."''
Note this: "Nearly all great leaders, such as Napoleon, Bismarck, Joan of Arc, Christ, Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammed, understood, and probably made use of the sixth sense almost continuously."
Notice that he claims that even the God-man, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh used what Napoleon Hill called "Sixth sense". John 1:1 is clear about who Christ is. Colossians 1:19 says the fullness of God dwelt in him. When Jesus Christ is reduced to using a "principle" then accepting that makes it easy to see every man as being in the same level. Christ is not seen as unique in any way. All people need to do is seek this "sixth sense" to be on the same level of accomplishing what Christ accomplished.
Notice that he was meeting with "Invisible Counselors" involving some dead men. The Bible condemns contact with the dead. When anyone who professes to be a Christian sees no issue with relying on a book written by a man who claimed a "sixth sense" and contacts with "Invisible Counselors" then the real question is whether that person is genuinely committed to the truth of Scripture.

So called "revelation knowledge"
Because Pentecostals do not interpret the Bible in context, they resort to what they term "revelation knowledge" or anything phrased along the same line to purport that it is a kind of new understanding given to them by the Holy Spirit (they usually would prefer using "Holy Ghost" - the King James Bible rendition in some portions of the Scripture of Holy Spirit).
In their "name it and claim it" doctrine (which is phrased by them in other ways also) they can pick up a verse like "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" and impose that on whatever position they want to present. No reference is made to how that phrase is used in context in the portion where it was taken from. No reference is made as to how "tongue" is used in other portions of the same book of the Bible or even in other books of the Bible. The aim is to begin from a position and then look for a Bible verse or so to stamp on it. This is why majority of Pentecostal pastors hardly do a verse by verse exegesis of the Bible. Those who appear to do so would ignore every other thing and focus on the word or phrase or verse that they want to superimpose on their preconceived position.
All the early Pentecostal leaders ran by this extra biblical "knowledge". Today's crowd that run with the same roots do the same. As a result, anything that is presented as coming from God (even if no clear biblical basis can be found for that) is regarded as spiritual and is expected to be accepted as gospel truth.

The evil about this position is that includes:
• Encourages Heresy and False Doctrine: It can lead people to accept ideas that contradict the Bible, often under the guise of direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit.
• Subjectivity and Lack of Accountability: Because revelation is claimed to be personal, it is often not subject to the same scrutiny as traditional, Bible-based teachings.
• Dismissal of Rationality: Some proponents of this type of knowledge may suggest that it transcends the need for human logic, reason, or intellectual effort.
• Abuse of Power: The concept of exclusive, "revealed" knowledge can be used (and has indeed been used) by leaders to control or exploit followers.
• Ignoring Context: It can be used to ignore the historical, cultural, and literary context of the Bible in favor of a "new" or "hidden" meaning.

It is this appeal to so-called “revelation knowledge” that enables proponents within Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word of Faith, and Prosperity Gospel circles to generate novel doctrines and practices – such as (1) praying to draw blessings from water, graves or cemeteries, trees, forests, or particular locations; (2) engaging in prayers directed against perceived enemies; and (3) relying on physical objects like anointing oil, handkerchiefs or prayer cloths, mantles, prayer shawls, staffs or rods, sand, soil, earth, stickers, wristbands, and bracelets. These practices are then insulated from critique by the claim that they originate from a fresh word from God, rendering biblical warrant secondary – or even irrelevant – in their evaluation.

Fascination with spiritual "power"
From the Azusa Street incidences it should be clear to many that a major attraction for Pentecostalism, Charismatics, Word of Faith, or Prosperity Gospel crowd is the display of power. Programs with titles such as "Power as of old!" is a common theme in this movement. The desire to exercise "power" as men of God in the Bible did is a burning passion with proponents of the movement.
Fascination with spiritual power becomes spiritually harmful when believers begin to desire power more than God. Power becomes the object of pursuit rather than the by-product of knowing and obeying God. Scripture warns against seeking power for its own sake. Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:18–23) wanted the apostles' ability to impart the Spirit. Peter rebuked him sharply because his desire was not for God but for power. His sin was fascination with spiritual ability rather than submission to God. The narrative shows that wanting spiritual power without a transformed heart is spiritually dangerous. Unfortunately, this is the thrust of this movement right from the onset. The unsuspecting who are themselves drawn to the miraculous and the supernatural end up falling prey to leaders in this movement who pursue this path. The pursuit and claim of supernatural experiences is tied to this captivation with the miraculous and the supernatural. Human experiences are elevated to level higher than the Bible without any attempt to test or validated them by Scripture.

What is the name of your own church?😀

You people just wake up condemning one church or another as if people must not gather for worship again yet you can't present your own. Does this mean you don't worship anywhere or you just don't want people to gather for worship anymore?😀

When we tell you people that Jesus was installed as King in heaven in the year 1914 (some 100 years ago) you will say Jehovah's Witnesses are false prophets simply because disciples of Christ back then had wrong expectation regarding the fulfillment of Bible prophecy just as it has always happened to God's servants in all generations.

Well if you must know after Jesus was crowned as king in heaven the first thing he did was to drive Satan and his demons out of heaven that is why false prophets claiming founders of churches began increasing in numbers because Satan realized that his time is getting closer {Revelation 12:7-12} this was what Jesus meant at Matthew 24:7-14

So a separation work started some 100 years ago as Jesus began restoring his group by picking faithful individuals from different religions and gathering them in another group which everyone know today as Jehovah's Witnesses! Isaiah 65:15🙂

MaxInDHouse:
So a separation work started some 100 years ago as Jesus began restoring his group by picking faithful individuals from different religions and gathering them in another group which everyone know today as Jehovah's Witnesses! Isaiah 65:15🙂

Jesus Christ loved children. He would never have anything to do with a religious group that protects child abusers.

MrEar:
Jesus Christ loved children. He would never have anything to do with a religious group that protects child abusers.

Go, then, and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came to call, not righteous people, but SINNERS .” Matthew 9:13
And have you forgotten that those child abusers are sinners shey?

Sometimes i wonder if you people usually read the Bible at all!😟

Satan is fighting God's organization using all sorts of lies against God's holy gathering and you people are so blind to use your mind's eyes.
How many child abusers have you seen in your area that are Jehovah's Witnesses?
Do you know of any group of people in whose gathering you won't find child abusers?
Meanwhile when they say child abusers most of you don't even know know that ordinarily screaming or beating your own child is child abuse in those places.

Yet that is what Satan is using to cover your eyes from thinking! Matthew 5:11-12 compare to 2Corinthians 4:4🙂

MaxInDHouse:
And have you forgotten that those child abusers are sinners shey?

You can forgive them but that doesn't mean you protect them from getting arrested by the police.

MrEar:
You can forgive them but that doesn't mean you protect them from getting arrested by the police.

So who told you not to report any child abuser you know?
When they are using the media to tell you lies it's just a pity that you swallow it hook line and sinker.🤔

MaxInDHouse:
When they are using the media to tell you lies it's just a pity that you swallow it hook line and sinker.🤔

You have changed mouth now. You went from they are sinners that should be forgiven to it is a lie from the media

So when it is any other religious group, it is TRUTH. But when it is Jehovah Witness, the news report must be a lie?

Anyway, back to the discussion. Jesus Christ loves children. Any religious group that protects child abusers is demonic and not from christ.

I have made this clear to your members when they come to discuss with me. They always come with the intention of trying to make me become a Jehovah Witness but I end up making so many of them go home disappointed about their Jehovah organisation that protects child abusers and drags abused kids to court.

You don't believe the Bible so there is no need wasting my precious time with you.
I asked you:

How many JWs child abusers have you caught since you were born?

How come such reports only comes from far away Europe?

What stops anyone from leaving one religion that's evil for a better one?

Try to be honest with yourself?🙂

MrEar:
You have changed mouth now. You went from they are sinners that should be forgiven to it is a lie from the media
So when it is any other religious group, it is TRUTH. But when it is Jehovah Witness, the news report must be a lie?
Anyway, back to the discussion. Jesus Christ loves children. Any religious group that protects child abusers is demonic and not from christ.
I have made this clear to your members when they come to discuss with me. They always come with the intention of trying to make me become a Jehovah Witness but I end up making so many of them go home disappointed about their Jehovah organisation that protects child abusers and drags abused kids to court.

MaxInDHouse:
You don't believe the Bible

I never told you I don't believe in the bible. Please learn to stick to the discussion.

MaxInDHouse:
How many JWs child abusers have you caught since you were born?

If you can call news report from BBC lies then you would say I am lying if I told how many I have caught.

MaxInDHouse:
How come such reports only comes from far away Europe?

Because these are civilised countries made up of educated people with very effective laws. Harming a child over there is a very serious crime.

You don't hear of it in Nigeria because:

1. Nigeria is lawless and court processes are slow and expensive.
2. A lot of your members here are not educated.

Finally and MOST IMPORTANTLY,

3. Your members here rarely report cases involving another member to the police. Reporting a member is like a sin. They handle the matter internally and from what I have gathered, When a member feels a case is not settled properly, he or she is free to leave to another congregation but NEVER reports the incident to the police.

I know you don't care about the innocent children that have been abused and you will continue to defend and forgive the child abusers

MrEar:
Your members here rarely report cases involving another member to the police.

So how come the reports are only coming from far away countries yet they say they are not expected to report?😀

Well if you must know those people are xjws so just as many disciples turned their backs on Jesus and never wanted to walk with him again {John 6:66} many are dropping out of God's organization.

Now think of what such ones could say against an organization they couldn't see anything to say against?🙂

I thought I was wasting your precious time. I guess your time wasn't precious after all.

MaxInDHouse:
So how come the reports are only coming from far away countries yet they say they are not expected to report?😀

Good question. Because Europeans and westerners are educated civilised people who know their rights! So even though your leaders warned them not to report, they know their rights and they disobey. That's the power of education. A power your leaders want to take any from you.

MaxInDHouse:
Well if you must know those people are xjws so just as many disciples turned their backs on Jesus and never wanted to walk with him again {John 6:66} many are dropping out of God's organization.

LIES. They are not exjw. They were devout members who trusted the elders or brothers that abused them and even after reporting nothing was done to them. You members forgave them and they kept abusing kids. that is why you were telling me in the beginning of our discussion that we should forgive them. What a shame!

MaxInDHouse:
Now think of what such ones could say against an organization they couldn't see anything to say against?🙂

They took action. They sued your organisation and your organisation paid them millions. Their action has changed things in your organisation. Am sure they have warned you not to preach to a child if the parents are not around.

Jesus loves children and he will continue to expose religions that harm children!

Thank you my Lord Jesus 🙏

MrEar:
Am sure they have warned you not to preach to a child if the parents are not around.

So how many outsiders have reported that JWs molested their children if those reports aren't coming from exjws who wanted to blindfold honest hearted ones from listening to the GOOD NEWS?🙂

MrEar:
Thank you my Lord Jesus 🙏

You that you were siding someone who doesn't believe in the Good News that Jesus said we should preach globally to all the nations yet you want to claim the same Jesus is your Lord!🤣

MrEar:
When you saw that he debated you with proof from the scriptures you decided to run.Typical behaviour of Jehovah witness.

MaxInDHouse:
What is the name of your own church?😀

You people just wake up condemning one church or another as if people must not gather for worship again yet you can't present your own. Does this mean you don't worship anywhere or you just don't want people to gather for worship anymore?😀
When we tell you people that Jesus was installed as King in heaven in the year 1914 (some 100 years ago) you will say Jehovah's Witnesses are false prophets simply because disciples of Christ back then had wrong expectation regarding the fulfillment of Bible prophecy just as it has always happened to God's servants in all generations.
Well if you must know after Jesus was crowned as king in heaven the first thing he did was to drive Satan and his demons out of heaven that is why false prophets claiming founders of churches began increasing in numbers because Satan realized that his time is getting closer {Revelation 12:7-12} this was what Jesus meant at Matthew 24:7-14
So a separation work started some 100 years ago as Jesus began restoring his group by picking faithful individuals from different religions and gathering them in another group which everyone know today as Jehovah's Witnesses! Isaiah 65:15🙂

So your response to a write-up is: "You people only wake up..........?"
Have Nigerians become so sallow in their thinking and calloused in their hearts?
Concerning one of the things you mentioned check this out:
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." Rev. 1:7
Where did your 1914 fit in there?

sagenaija:
So your response to a write-up is: "You people only wake up..........?"
Have Nigerians become so sallow in their thinking and calloused in their hearts?
Concerning one of the things you mentioned check this out:
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." Rev. 1:7
Where did your 1914 fit in there?

Read Matthew 24:7-14 and tell me which country on planet earth people will say they are not seeing these signs.
Well that's what Jesus meant but as for seeing him physically even the shape of the earth should tell you that people can't see someone globally at the same time in a physical sense but as for all the things Jesus said everyone on this planet can see it since 1914 till today!

MaxInDHouse:
Read Matthew 24:7-14 and tell me which country on planet earth people will say they are not seeing these signs.
Well that's what Jesus meant but as for seeing him physically even the shape of the earth should tell you that people can't see someone globally at the same time in a physical sense but as for all the things Jesus said everyone on this planet can see it since 1914 till today!

MaxinDHouse, Is comprehension difficult for you? That verse did not say it is signs. Did you see the portion I bolded? Here it again:
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." Rev. 1:7.
"EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM" means just what it says. It did not say every eye will see signs. You will be reinterpreting the Scripture to say that. Wise up, man!

This is the opening words of Revelation:

A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place. And he sent his angel and presented it in SIGNS through him to his slave John. Revelation 1:1

Jesus is the same person {Hebrews 13:8} who always present serious issues using illustrations when it involves the general public! Matthew 13:13


Are those who pierced Jesus still alive today?

So if you are expecting what Revelation says to mean word for word ọmọ i'm sorry for you!🙂

sagenaija:
MaxinDHouse, Is comprehension difficult for you? That verse did not say it is signs. Did you see the portion I bolded? Here it again:
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." Rev. 1:7.
"EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM" means just what it says. It did not say every eye will see signs. You will be reinterpreting the Scripture to say that. Wise up, man!

MaxInDHouse:
This is the opening words of Revelation:

Are those who pierced Jesus still alive today?

So if you are expecting what Revelation says to mean word for word ọmọ i'm sorry for you!🙂

Let's take this your statement:
"If you are expecting what Revelation says to mean word for word…."

Can you use that to answer this your question?:
Are those who pierced Jesus still alive today?

Of course we can use it to get the sense of what was written in the Bible book of Revelation because immediately after it says "all eyes will see Jesus coming in the clouds" what follows in the same verse is "including those who pierced Jesus" so definitely that statement is not literal but an illustration!🙂

You should answer the question instead of throwing it back at me.

Where are the Jewish religious leaders and Roman soldiers who pierced Jesus in the first century?😀

sagenaija:
Let's take this your statement:
"If you are expecting what Revelation says to mean word for word…."
Can you use that to answer this your question?:
Are those who pierced Jesus still alive today?

MaxInDHouse:
Of course we can use it to get the sense of what was written in the Bible book of Revelation because immediately after it says "all eyes will see Jesus coming in the clouds" what follows in the same verse is "including those who pierced Jesus" so definitely that statement is not literal but an illustration!🙂
You should answer the question instead of throwing it back at me.
Where are the Jewish religious leaders and Roman soldiers who pierced Jesus in the first century?😀

Your argument is that we should not take what Revelation says to mean word for word. Why then do you think we should expect that it means those who directly pierced Jesus are the ones to still be alive when he comes? Do you get to see what I was pointing out in your reasoning?

Part two (2)
"A dog that will be lost will not listen to the hunter's whistle" is a Yoruba proverb (Ajá tó máa sọnù kì í gbọ́ fèrè ọlọ́dẹ) meaning people determined to go astray or ruin themselves will ignore wise advice and warnings from those with more experience, leading to their eventual downfall.


"Name it and Claim it" theology". What it’s all about
Name it & claim it is a major practice of the Pentecostalism/Charismatics/Word of Faith (WoF) movement. In fact in many instances the movement is actually known or called by that name – "Name it and Claim it theology". The WoF redefined many issues and in the process creating a gospel that focuses on human potential for creating its own reality.
The Pentecostalism/Charismatics/Word of Faith adherents falsely claim that man’s spoken words will magically bring about whatever the speaker desires. Basically the idea is that if you say you’re going to be or have something, you’ll be it or have it. It is "You can have what you say" theology. The WoF slogans include “What you profess, you possess” and “Confession brings possession”. No matter how well-sounding those catchphrases are, you will not find them in the Bible.

Word of Faith teachers allege that what you say determines everything that happens to you. The WoF movement may claim they ask God for what they desire, but it is ACTUALLY the pronouncements they make that they believe decides the outcome of things. So rather than trust God and leave things to him to decide what is needful and what to give to His children they allege that the ‘spoken word’ does the magic.

Their logic for this is derived from their belief that man possesses the same intrinsic creative power as God. Therefore man can 'speak' things into being much the same way as God used spoken words to create as is recorded in the Bible. However, they fail to truly acknowledge that God completely transcends all creation, including man; therefore any comparison between God and man is only analogical and can never be on an equal basis.

What is now called ‘decreeing and declaring’ is simply Name It and Claim It theology repackaged with more authoritative language. We will look into that in more detail later.

See what some of the proponents say:
Paul Yonggi (David) Cho: “By the spoken word we create our universe of circumstances...." (Solving Life's Problems, p. 51)

Kenneth Copeland states: “By getting the Word deep into your spirit and speaking it boldly out your mouth, you release spiritual power to change things in the natural circumstances” (The Power of the Tongue, p. 15).
“You have the same creative faith and ability on the inside of you that God used when he created the heavens and the earth” (Copeland, Inner Image of the Covenant, side 2.)
Joyce Meyer states: “The Lord recently showed me that we can bless or curse the financial seed we sow. We can speak positively about our financial future, or we can say things like, ‘I can’t afford it’ . .. ‘Every time I turn around something happens to take my money’. . . . We should water our giving with the water of His word and expect an abundant harvest. Sow your seed and speak prosperity scriptures over your finances” (Joyce Meyer, “Your Mouth is a Weapon,” Life in the Word March 1997, p. 4.)

Implication: If ‘the spoken word’ does the creation of our circumstances then there is really no need to pray. But is that really what the Bible teaches or is that a spiritual practice found in some other religion.

Link with New Age Movement and others
The WoF movement misinterprets and misrepresents portions of Scripture, as a result they come up with teachings and positions that resemble those of cults and the New Age Movement. Many researchers into the WoF movement have come up with this conclusion.
These same concepts - controlling the ‘spiritual realm’ through visualization or words to bring about material results have been used by shamans, witch doctors and occultists for thousands of years.
So we see how what is called in the occult by different names but is simply that thoughts, spoken words, or visualization properly done will “manifest' in the physical world is carried into the Word of Faith teaching of speaking and confessing.
Motivational preaching which emphasizes the power of the mind and will over circumstances rather than looking to God has become more prevalent in WoF churches and others that have ‘imported’ their ideas. They may talk about ‘prayer’, ‘faith’ and other biblical issues but it is the daily rituals of ‘positive confessions’, etc which focus more on the spoken word that is the greater center of attention than anything else. These same concepts/teachings are what we find in the mind sciences and New Age Movement.

Link between WoF Proponents and New Thought
It is significant to note that the founder of the New Thought philosophy, Phineas Quimby, is the man E.W. Kenyon studied under and adopted Quimby's ideas. These same beliefs were later picked up and copied by Kenneth Hagin. Both Hagin and his devotee Kenneth Copeland made these teachings fashionable in the church. Their successive disciples have further spread this 'gospel' of name it, claim it.
Virtually every Pentecostalism/Charismatics/Word of Faith preacher has, in some form or another, been influenced by Kenneth Hagin.
One thing that should come out clear from this us that the teachings of these preachers have their links to whatever "theology" Hagin adopted as his model.
A look at Romans 4:17 – a scripture on which Name it, claim it hinges
Let’s look at how WoF preachers take Scripture out of context to mean something that was never intended.

Joyce Meyer: “Romans 4:17 says God gives life to the dead and speaks of the non-existent things as if they already existed. He created the world with faith-filled words (see Genesis 1). We are created in His image, and we can also call things that are not as though they are. We can speak positive thoughts about ourselves into the atmosphere and thereby 'prophesy our future' (Joyce Meyer, “Your Mouth is a Weapon,”(Life in the Word March 1997, p. 4)

The WoF preachers, like we see above, quote part of Romans 4:17 for support of their assertion or twist the verse in its entirety. What is usually quoted is ““who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;” However, a good look at the portion shows that the person who does these things is – God. The portion is talking about God as the one who “calls those things which do not exist as though they did. But WoF devotees assign to themselves what has been attributed to God. Because they have deified man, and reduced God to the level of man, it is easy for WoF adherents to misapply scriptures like this one without ‘seeing’ their error. This portion of the Bible is a statement about God: It is neither a promise nor an instruction by God to believers.

Final Words
The name-it-and-claim-it theology has so much to do with occult and pagan practice and beliefs, including metaphysical and Mind sciences. Even though there is certainly some connection between our mental state and what we experience (e.g. the issue of psychosomatic illnesses, etc), and while a positive mental attitude definitely has its part to play in a person’s life, the Name it and claim it pack has gone way too far with this, turning it into some form of voodooism.

The idea that we can just name-it-and-claim-it to create our own reality is not biblical Christianity. Christians need to be quite concerned about this. Christians are to be dependent on the one who alone is omnipotent – God, and not think that man is self-sufficient and can bring about things on his own.

Those who pierced Jesus in the first century are gone but they have brothers in each generation {Luke 16:18} these are people who always oppose faithful servants of God and they are in different generations so when the Bible book of Revelations say those who pierced Jesus it is referring to apostates of pure worship who will be alive when all these signs are noticed globally.

sagenaija:
Your argument is that we should not take what Revelation says to mean word for word. Why then do you think we should expect that it means those who directly pierced Jesus are the ones to still be alive when he comes? Do you get to see what I was pointing out in your reasoning?

MaxInDHouse:
Those who pierced Jesus in the first century are gone but they have brothers in each generation {Luke 16:18} these are people who always oppose faithful servants of God and they are in different generations so when the Bible book of Revelations say those who pierced Jesus it is referring to apostates of pure worship who will be alive when all these signs are noticed globally.

You are not far from reality.

sagenaija:
You are not far from reality.

If you say so!

Part Three (3)
"A dog that will be lost will not listen to the hunter's whistle" is a Yoruba proverb (Ajá tó máa sọnù kì í gbọ́ fèrè ọlọ́dẹ) meaning people determined to go astray or ruin themselves will ignore wise advice and warnings from those with more experience, leading to their eventual downfall.

Nigerian Church’s Craze for “Decreeing and Declaring” Is Blasphemous and Outrightly Evil
In recent years, a disturbing theological fashion has swept through many Nigerian churches: the practice of “decreeing and declaring” outcomes into existence. Worship services, prayer meetings, and even casual Christian speech are now saturated with confident pronouncements—“I decree open doors,” “I declare favor,” “I decree no sickness,” “I declare wealth this year.” These utterances are often delivered with an air of spiritual authority, as though human speech itself possesses creative power independent of God’s sovereign will.
This trend is not merely an excess of enthusiasm or a harmless liturgical flourish. It represents a profound theological deviation. Properly examined, the doctrine of decreeing and declaring (as currently taught and practiced in many Nigerian churches) is blasphemous in its assumptions, evil in its effects, and corrosive to authentic Christian faith.
1. It Usurps the Prerogative of God
At the heart of decreeing theology is a fatal confusion: the assumption that what belongs uniquely to God can be exercised by man. In Scripture, decreeing is a divine act. God alone speaks reality into existence. “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made” (Psalm 33:6). When God decrees, it is not a wish, prayer, or aspiration—it is an act of sovereign determination. “He does according to His will… and none can stay His hand” (Daniel 4:35).
To place “decrees” on the lips of believers as a routine spiritual practice is to collapse the Creator–creature distinction. When Christians are told they can “decree” outcomes (health, wealth, protection, success) they are being subtly trained to speak as though they occupy God’s throne, rather than kneel before it. This is not faith; it is functional deification of man.
The Bible does not teach believers to decree reality. It teaches them to pray, ask, submit, and trust. Even Jesus, the eternal Son, did not decree His way out of suffering in Gethsemane. He prayed: “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). If the sinless Son submitted His will to the Father, by what logic do sinful men presume to override God’s will with verbal certainty?
2. It Rewrites the Nature of Faith
Biblical faith is trust in God’s character, not confidence in one’s speech. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Faith responds to what God has spoken; it does not invent reality and demand divine compliance.
Decreeing theology, however, shifts faith away from God and onto technique. Words become tools. Speech becomes mechanism. If the declaration is strong enough, frequent enough, or aggressive enough, it is assumed to be effective. This transforms prayer into incantation and faith into verbal magic.
This is not Christianity; it is baptized sorcery.
In Scripture, words have power only because God authorizes them. Prophets did not declare at will; they spoke “Thus says the LORD.” Apostles did not decree outcomes; they proclaimed the gospel and entrusted results to God. The modern culture of declarations divorces words from divine mandate, creating a theology where confidence replaces obedience and volume substitutes for revelation.
3. It Revives the Original Sin
The first lie in Scripture was not merely disobedience – it was the promise of godlike autonomy. “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Decreeing theology is a contemporary echo of that ancient temptation. It reassures believers that they can control outcomes, shape reality, and determine their future by speaking it into being.
This teaching feeds human pride while masquerading as spirituality. It trains Christians to relate to God not as Lord, but as executor of human decrees. God becomes the cosmic enforcement officer of our declarations, rather than the sovereign King who commands our obedience.
Such theology does not produce humility, repentance, or reverence. It produces entitlement, impatience with suffering, and disdain for mystery. When life does not conform to declarations, the believer is blamed – you didn’t decree hard enough, your faith was weak, your confession was polluted. Thus, the teaching both exalts man and crushes him.
4. It Makes Suffering Theologically Illegal
One of the most damaging effects of decreeing culture is its rejection of redemptive suffering. In Scripture, suffering is not an anomaly to be shouted away; it is often the furnace through which God sanctifies His people. Joseph was imprisoned, David was hunted, Job was afflicted, Paul was thorned, and Christ was crucified.
Yet decreeing theology treats suffering as evidence of spiritual failure. To be sick, poor, or persecuted is assumed to mean someone failed to declare properly. This not only contradicts Scripture; it spiritually abuses believers who are already in pain.
Paul did not decree the removal of his thorn. He prayed, and God said no (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). Job did not declare restoration until God spoke. Jesus did not declare angels in Gethsemane. The New Testament vision of faith includes endurance, lament, and hope—not constant triumphal speech.
5. It Produces False Prophets and Silent Scriptures
Finally, the craze for decreeing and declaring thrives where biblical literacy is thin and discernment is discouraged. Short slogans replace sound doctrine. Selective proof-texts are torn from context (often Job 22:28, spoken by Eliphaz—whom God later rebukes). The authority of Scripture is slowly displaced by the charisma of leaders who promise control over life’s uncertainties.
Where decreeing dominates, preaching shifts from exposition to motivation, from Christ-centered proclamation to self-centered affirmation. The cross is eclipsed by conquest, repentance by positivity, and truth by technique.
Conclusion
The Nigerian church does not need louder declarations; it needs deeper submission. It does not need believers who speak like gods; it needs disciples who fear God. The theology of decreeing and declaring is blasphemous because it assigns divine authority to human speech. It is evil because it distorts faith, weaponizes words, silences suffering, and enthrones man in the place of God.
True Christianity does not teach us to command heaven. It teaches us to pray to heaven, obey heaven, and hope in heaven—until the God who truly decrees all things brings His purposes to pass.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:6).

Part Three (4)
"A dog that will be lost will not listen to the hunter's whistle" is a Yoruba proverb (Ajá tó máa sọnù kì í gbọ́ fèrè ọlọ́dẹ) meaning people determined to go astray or ruin themselves will ignore wise advice and warnings from those with more experience, leading to their eventual downfall.

Faith in faith or Faith as a force

Think of this: If faith ON ITS OWN can effect anything then God is not necessary.
One of the foundational teachings generally held by WoF Movement is that of "Faith in faith".

Faith, they believe, is a force that can be used to create the reality the individual wants. The faith concept used is that of 'positive confession' where if the individual speaks "faith-filled" words he can get what he wants.

The Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word of Faith, and Prosperity Gospel movement believes that faith works like a great power or energy. Through that "faith", anyone can get anything he wants: health, wealth, success, anything. However, this "faith energy" or "force" is only released through the spoken word. Only by speaking the words of faith is power released to bring about the person's wishes.

The emphasis is on saying, 'seeing' or visualizing and doing whatever thing necessary (e.g. telling others) that will make you receive your wish. They believe once you 'plug in' correctly then you are bound to 'receive it'. In essence it is the individual's actions that bring about whatever he wants. God has set the "laws" in motion and stands apart from them letting the "laws" work on their own for whoever discovers and applies the correct steps. The generally held view of the movement is that the spoken word correctly expressed (positively expressed) releases power to actualize whatever reality one wants. This is where the title "Positive Confession" is also often put on this movement.

Statements by some WoF preachers
Kenneth Copeland: “Faith is a power force. It is a tangible force. It is a conductive force.”
Kenneth Copeland: “The force of faith is released by words. Faith-filled words put the law of the Spirit of life into operation.”
Charles Capps: “These principles of faith are based on spiritual laws. They work for whosoever will apply these laws.”
Kenneth Hagin: “Believe it in your heart; say it with your mouth. That is the principle of faith. You can have what you say.”

On the other hand WoF advocates claim that speaking 'negative' words or "negative confession" attracts negative consequences into such a person's life. The Biblical reference used in support of this position is the case of Job where he stated that what he feared had happened to him.

More statements by some WoF preachers
Kenneth Copeland: “Fear activates Satan, the way faith activates God.”
Charles Capps: “Job activated Satan by his fear when he said, ‘the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me’ (Job 3:25). Active faith in the Word brings God onto the scene. Fear brings Satan on the scene.”

David Oyedepo: Faith is clearly the most potent force in all the universe. Faith confers divinity on humanity. Faith is not a biblical philosophy. It's an ever winning spiritual force.

So to what extent are these positions of the WoF movement supported by the Bible?

The Position of the Bible

The Greek word translated "faith" - Pistis - has as one of its meaning trust or confidence in God and His word.

When the WoF movement is linked to groups with aberrant teachings on what faith is, it is because those wrong perceptions of what faith is has been adopted WHOLESALE by the WoF movement and adherents.

The "faith" of those cults and groups is actually a reference to what the "mind" (the human mind) can do. What happened is that their "power of the mind" has been replaced with the "force of faith" by the Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word of Faith, and Prosperity Gospel Movement.

When faith is seen as a 'spiritual law', 'universal principle' or 'universal law' like the 'law of gravity' it becomes a matter of man's personal mastery over those laws. If man can by speaking cause "things to come to pass" the nature of faith itself has been completely redefined. That redefinition of faith produces a 'faith' that is essentially not that of the Bible. A 'faith ' that is a FOCUS ON MAN and in man's ability to 'tap into', manipulate or control some 'universal law's or even God himself has nothing to do with SOLE trust in God, his power and promises: such a faith is therefore unbiblical.

In Biblical faith the focus of the one exercising faith is on God or His word. Throughout the Bible what we find are accounts of men and women who anchored their faith in God not in themselves. The often quoted but misinterpreted and misapplied Hebrews chapter 11 by WoF adherents contains account of those who exhibited faith in God not in some 'law' which only the "initiates" understand.
In the also often quoted Mark 11:22-24 we are told that when we pray "it will be done for you". It is God, to whom the prayer is made, who gets it done for you. Since it is not to a 'force of faith' that we are to pray, it follows logically that it is the one to whom we pray who brings about the results.

Nowhere in the Bible do we find that we can command whatever we wish into being on our own. What we find is that we must have continual dependence and trust in God no matter the outcome of the answer to our request.

Faith is to be anchored on God and on nothing else. Biblical faith is not a trust placed on WORDS or placed in "positive confession". It is a trust placed ALONE in God and his WORD.

Faith as Redefined by The Pentecostal, Charismatic, Word of Faith, and Prosperity Gospel Movement

1. It Replaces Trust With Technique
Biblical faith is relational trust in a sovereign, personal God (Rom. 4; Heb. 11).
Word of Faith theology often turns faith into a spiritual technology—a method that, if properly applied, produces guaranteed results.
That shift is not small. It moves faith from:
• Trusting God to Managing spiritual laws
• Submitting to God’s will to Controlling outcomes
• Receiving grace to Activating power
When faith becomes a method instead of dependence, it ceases to be biblical faith.

2. It Diminishes the Sovereignty of God
In many Word of Faith formulations, faith is described as a spiritual law that even God must operate by. That subtly places God inside a system rather than over it.
Scripture presents God as absolutely sovereign (Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:11).
He is not bound by metaphysical principles activated by human speech.
Any theology that implies God is constrained by human declarations undermines divine sovereignty.

3. It Attributes Creative Power to Human Words
Word of Faith teaching often treats words as containers of spiritual power capable of creating reality.
But in Scripture, only God creates by speaking (Genesis 1).
Humans speak to communicate, not to generate existence.
When human speech is treated as inherently creative, it blurs the Creator–creature distinction. That is not merely inaccurate—it is theologically dangerous.

4. It Distorts the Nature of Faith Itself
Biblical faith:
• Has an object (God and His promises)
• Operates according to God’s will (1 John 5:14)
• Coexists with suffering (Heb. 11:35–40)
Word of Faith's "faith":
• Focuses on desired outcomes
• Assumes guaranteed health and prosperity
• Treats continued suffering as evidence of weak belief
This redefinition contradicts the witness of Scripture and the lived experience of faithful believers across history.

5. It Produces Spiritual Cruelty Toward the Suffering
This is where the issue becomes morally serious.
If someone remains sick or poor, the implied message often becomes:
• “You didn’t believe enough.”
• “You spoke negatively.”
• “Your faith failed.”
That adds guilt to grief. It burdens the already afflicted.
The New Testament, however, comforts sufferers (2 Cor. 1:3–7). It does not accuse them of defective faith simply because deliverance has not yet come.
When a theology systematically shifts blame onto the suffering, it moves from error into harm.

6. It Encourages a Subtle Form of Idolatry
If faith becomes the power that produces results, faith itself can become the focus. Instead of trusting God, believers begin trusting their level of faith.
The attention shifts from:
• God’s character to My confession
• God’s will to My declaration
• Christ’s finished work to My activation of principles
When confidence moves from God to one’s own spiritual performance, faith has become self-referential.

7. It Reduces the Gospel
The biblical gospel centers on reconciliation with God through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Word of Faith preaching often centers on:
• Financial increase
• Physical health
• Personal advancement
When material outcomes become the primary evidence of faith, the cross is displaced by prosperity. That is a fundamental misalignment of priorities.

MrEar:
Jesus Christ loved children. He would never have anything to do with a religious group that protects child abusers.

The newspaper headline you in your screenshot never made the false claim you posted.
Oga,you are deceiving yourself.
Oga,can't you read and understand simple English?

sagenaija:
MaxinDHouse, Is comprehension difficult for you? That verse did not say it is signs. Did you see the portion I bolded? Here it again:
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." Rev. 1:7.
"EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM" means just what it says. It did not say every eye will see signs. You will be reinterpreting the Scripture to say that. Wise up, man!

Acts 1:9-11, Every eyes didn't see Jesus ascension to heaven.
He's coming in the same manner he ascended , Acts 1:9-11 says so.
Jesus coming will cause grief & WAILING to all tribes of the earth.
Why?
Jesus comes with angels to execute destruction on the wicked & bring relief to Jehovah's servants, 2 Thess 1:6-9. Rev 21:3-5.

People of the earth won't see Jesus and the angels he leads to execute the wicked ,rather they would see the effects/results of his action.
The Egyptians saw the results of angels striking their firstborn ,king Pharoah saw the results of his sinking army & defeat in the red sea .
King Senacherib saw the results/effects of the destruction of his military might.
In these biblically instances,the people didn't see the angelic spirit beings who carried out the assignment.

Study Rev 19:13-21 to get a preview of Jesus forthcoming assignments on the wicked.

If una think say nah perpetual torment in a fiery furnace,una dey wait in vain.
2 Thess 1:6-9 & Rev 19:13-21 debunks that fallacy fed from the pulpits of Christendom.

Janosky:
JW's do NOT & NEVER harm children. [/b]

Read and learn Oga.

At least you should process information before swallowing it.
If JWs are harming children do you think people around will give us their children to teach them?
Funny liars!😀

MrEar:
Read and learn Oga.