Two clergymen of Pentecostal churches in Akwa Ibom are engaged in war of words against popular television evangelist, Dr Abel Damina over alleged spread of heresies in the state.
Apostle Nyeneime Andy, the General Overseer of the Holy Ghost Ambassadors Ministry, Uyo has vowed to evict Pastor Damina who is the General Overseer of the Power City International Church, Uyo from the state.
On his part, Apostle Samuel Joshua, the Managing Director of Golden Thymes on his Facebook page on the title: Who will save Mr Abel Damina from blasphemy, wrote, ‘‘It is my position that: If any human doctrine conflicts with the eternal will of the almighty God, it is my Christian duty to oppose such doctrine, champion unpopular causes and buck the status quo.’’
Andy who is also the state chairman of the Young Peoples Party, had been at loggerheads with the state government when his church was marked for demolition for demolition in August last year.
A few days ago, the controversial pastor called out Damina, accusing him of false teaching and blasphemy, threatening to chase him out of Akwa Ibom if he failed to stop his line of teachings.
The offensive teaching, according to Andy, was that Damina preached that “when Elijah prayed and call down fire, it wasn’t God that answered that prayer, it was Satan.”
Andy is angry that Damina’s teaching was false and misleading and that the celebrated preacher who hails from Kaduna State, must be forced out of Akwa Ibom.
The fiery preacher said in his social media post that Damina must leave Akwa Ibom where he has lived and carried out his preaching business since 1992.
Ironically, the state government had, in 2017, given a certificate of origin to Damina and recognised him as a son of the state, specifically from Itu Local Government Area. The name, Unwana, was given to him as his Akwa Ibom name.
But, Andy told Damina to “leave pastoral work. You cannot continue deceiving people in my state. If you continue like this, we will have no other option than to ask you to leave our state and preach this heresy in your own state. Our people will not tolerate you deceiving them any further.
“But if you refuse, then you will have yourself to blame. We have been quiet for too long and it is getting worse. With due respect Sir. Thank you for returning to you that we knew. You used to bless us with your messages but now we don’t understand what you are teaching.”
‘‘The development is causing panic in the state. While people have feared that Andy’s threat may lead to a religious war between his followers and those of Damina, others have warned Andy to tread carefully, as he had no such powers to chase someone out of the state,’’ Andy noted.
When TNN reporter contacted Damina over the telephone, he laughed over the threat as said Andy was looking for attention.
Damina Goofs in many doctrines- Joshua
Also, Joshua who is also a journalist wrote ‘‘Damina goofs in many doctrines he claims to be a revelation, most of which I am sure cannot come from God.
‘‘We are advised to silence those who teach the wrong doctrine and to rebuke them sharply.’’
Titus 1:10. For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation.
- They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money.
- This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith.
This is what will happen to false teachers:
Galatians 1:8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. (NLT)
- I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
1 Kings 18:21-40 elucidate how Prophet Elijah contested with the 450 prophets of Baal, in the presence of King Ahab. The Baal prophets represent Satan, while Elijah represents God Almighty.
- At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command.
- O lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
- Immediately the fire of the lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!
- And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The lord—he is God! Yes, the lord is God!”
- Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.
For Mr Abel Damina to say that Satan sent fire to consume Elijah’s sacrifice to God is misleading, ill-conceived, mischievous, demonic and rendered in bad faith.
Christians are warned to be weary of deceptive philosophers:
Colossians 2:8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
‘‘I, therefore, call on all true believers to disregard the many satanic teachings of Abel Damina. May God have mercy on his soul, in Jesus mighty name. Amen!’’ Joshua added.
