A Nigerian pastor, Abel Damina, has faulted the belief that it was God that sent down fire when the biblical Prophet Elijah prayed during the contest between him and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
He said it was not God but Satan that sent the fire that consumed the burnt sacrifice made by Elijah as recorded in I King 18: 19 – 40.
Verse 38 of the chapter says, “Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stories, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
According to the account in Vs 19, the 450 prophets of Baal were taken to brook Kishon where they were killed.
Damina, who leads the Power City International Church, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, South South Nigeria, said Jesus Christ would have shut Elijah up if he (Jesus) was there when the prophet called for fire.
He therefore said God couldn’t have sent the fire because Jesus rebuked his disciples when they wanted to copy Elija.
“If I be a man of God let fire, if Jesus (Christ) was there, he would have said stop that.
“Jesus would have 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,” a video clip posted on the internet showed him telling the congregants.
The clergyman further said these are not the days of Elijah but that of the manifestation of the sons of God.
Wicked, demonic books
Without referring to any particular book, Pastor Damina, who hails from Kaduna State in North Central Nigeria, asked his listeners to burn the “wicked books” they bought.
He said, “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 not clear if he was referring to any Christian literature that says it was God that sent down the fire when Elijah prayed.
Some clerics have reportedly called for the expulsion of Damina from Akwa Ibom State for allegedly preaching heresy.
But the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Chris Nyong, has called for calm, stating that “No Nigerian has the right to expel anybody from any part of the country.” He said only God has the right to judge.
Courts controversy
Pastor Damina is not new to controversy.
In 2017, the 63 years old popular cleric faulted the donation of money to churches, arguing that it does not bring financial blessing to those who do so.
In 2019, Damina said attributed the increasing rate of suicide in Nigeria to the activities of churches.
While preaching three years later in 2022, he said there was no fairness in politics, stressing that elections were simply about “stealing of votes.”
Damina said because God is not involved in politics, men of God have no business prophesying to politicians.