_….the disciples came onto him privately, saying tell

us when shall these things be and what shall be the

sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And

Jesus answered and said unto them, for many shall come

in my name saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive

many_-Matthew 24:3-11

….By the fleeting time, surely man is in a state of

loss, except those who believe and do good works, and

exhort one another to accept truth, and exhort one

another to be steadfast.-Quran103:2-4

The Holy Bible and Quran quoted above both agreed on the signs of end time. While the Bible is more precise about the signs of the end of the world, the Quran spoke about it in parables in the above chapter-Al-Asr. One should therefore not be too surprised about the activities of ‘men of God’ like Rev. King. What is surprising is the level of bestiality of such fake prophets. Emeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Rev. King leader and founder of Christian Praying Assembly located in Ajao Estate, Lagos was recently sentenced to death by hanging by a Lagos high court for the murder of Ann Uzor a member of his church whom he set ablaze for committing fornication. Rev. King was also sentenced to various jail terms for the charge of attempted murder of five other members of his congregation. In the course of the trial which lasted for six months, gory details of Rev. Kings’ unbelievable activities came to the fore. Apart from having a ‘standing army’ for executing his orders, King is held in great awe by members of his congregation after he had given them concoctions to drink. Such members will forget their parents and will only accept king as their father and this explains why all members of the church answer ‘King’ as surname. His meals were served by a woman who must be naked, he slept with any woman of his choice in his church whether married or single, and he had annulled some marriages of members of his congregation by directing that a woman must leave her husband and vice -versa. Rev. King is the custodian of all evil things one can think about. The point should be made however that men like Rev. King are not limited to Christianity but are also found in Islam. There are fake Alfas who would take advantage of women looking for one spiritual assistance or the other.

Stories had been told of how some Alfas have ended up sleeping with married women looking for the fruit of the womb. The issue of fake prophets is therefore not limited to a particular religion. The point should also be noted that as long as people remain gullible especially as a result of excruciating poverty occasioned by the harsh economic condition in the country, evil men like Rev. King will continue to have a free reign. It is left for individuals to be wary of so called ‘men of God’ in seeking for spiritual assistance. Most Nigerians have become extremely stupid as a result of religious bigotry and this has been taken to a ridiculous extent such that an ailment like ordinary headache is interpreted to mean a spiritual attack. Fake pastors and Alfas have destroyed many marriages. While agreeing that there may be some forces and principalities which may necessitate being prayerful, this should not be taken to a ridiculous extent where one will subject himself to the manipulations of dubious characters, idiots and criminals parading themselves as men of God. Most problems afflicting Nigerians are not spiritual but physical. In most cases, one only needs to change his approach to issues and to life. When Chinwoke Mbadinuju was Governor of Anambra State, he owed his civil servants about 9 months salary, then, Reinhard Bonnke an International Evangelist came to Anambra, for a crusade, the civil servants asked Bonnke to conduct a special vigil for them so that Mbadinuju could pay their salary. This request sounded funny to Bonnke who immediately told them to confront Mbadinujuphysically in their multitude rather than asking for vigil. Bonnke was very realistic with them.

A man who wakes up early on Monday morning and goes to church or mosque for the whole day instead of going to work has created problem for himself because the Bible says in James 2:14-17 that..’even though faith, if it hath not work is dead being alone’. The symbiotic relationship between poverty and religious fundamentalism has been aptly described by Karl Max when he said ‘religion is the opium of the masses’. This was also corroborated in the judgment of Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High court while sentencing ‘Rev King’….’It is sad that the Nigerian society is bogged down with severe problems ranging from poverty to corruption, both in the economic and the spiritual sense, which has rendered many of its vulnerable elements susceptible to the wares of religious highway men such as the accused person here who offers them stone when they deserve bread, and

scorpion when they demand for fish.’ We have heard elsewhere in the world how evil men like Rev. King have hypnotized members of their congregation into committing mass suicide. In 1978, Jim Jones, leader of Peoples Temple Charismatic Church in Guyana, South America laced soft drinks with cyanide (poison) and sedative and forced members of

his congregation to drink. In all, about 914 people including 276 children died after which Jim Jones shot himself. In 1994, in the village of Cheiry, north east of Geneva, 48 bodies of cult members suspected to have been involved in mass murder were found. The deaths were linked to the apocalyptical Order of the Solar Temple Sect founded in 1984 by Dr. Luc. Jouret and Joseph di Mambo. The order of the Solar Temple condones the stockpiling of weapons to prepare for the end of the world. Mass suicide was then committed by

the members of the sect by burning themselves inside a building. The above precedents in other countries made the activities of men like Rev. King worrisome. The judgment and the speed with which the case was dispensed with is highly commendable. The judgment will serve as a deterrent to the remaining Rev. Kings and fake Alfas. The judgment is also Biblical because the Bible says in Revelation 22:12′ ….And behold I come quickly: and my reward is with me, to give everyman according as his work shall be’.

The best antidote against such evil men like Rev. King is for individuals to be extremely careful about the congregation to join for worship and for spiritual fortification. This applies to Muslims and Christians alike.

The government should play a more regulatory role in religion by liaising with recognized religious bodies such as Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Suprem Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA). Parents should closely monitor the religious activities of their wards so that traits of fundamentalism should be nipped in the bud. Religious fundamentalism in any form should be discouraged by Christians and Muslims alike. The remaining members of Rev. King’s congregation should be taken for a psychiatric treatment because many of them still believe King is Jesus Christ. Rev. King is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and his likes are many. He is a fulfillment of the prophesy of end-time by both religions. No wonder when Jesus was addressing the Pharisees and his disciples, he asked them in Luke 18:8….Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’. But nobody answered him.