Prophecy and the human psyche
Bob was rushed to the hospital on a stretcher one Sunday evening with his face looking pale as he gasped for breath.
Something has triggered his asthma into motion and this time around, he needs more than his inhaler to stay alive.
After hours of medical attention, Bob finally calms down. He opens up to the medical staff that earlier on at Church that day, the visiting Prophet openly prophesied that he had seen Bob lying dead in a coffin.
Bob said shortly after Church service, he begun hallucinating and seeing some of his dead relatives. The fear of dying at a young age, he said, is what triggered his asthma attack.
After Bob’s recovery, he resolved never to become a victim of doom prophecies.
He set up an NGO to provide healing to all those traumatised by such prophetic utterances.
Bob also spearheaded a campaign that created awareness on the schemes propagated by fake Pastors to enslave the Christian populace.
The Human Psyche
In psychology, the human psyche is the totality of the human mind that helps us navigate through life. Psyche, in the original Greek word refers to our mind or soul.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality states that the three levels of our personalities are the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the unconscious mind.
What we see, hear, feel and experience have huge effects on our mental processes and mental wellbeing. We may either process what we see, hear, fear and experience positively, negatively, or neutrally based on our psyche.
Prophecy and its effect on the psyche
Prophecy has a great hold on those it is directed at. This is so because it is seen to emanate from the spiritual realm and its effect is seen as profound and inescapable.
To a Christian, God speaks His truth to the mind of a prophet concerning a situation so that he can reveal the truth concerning the situation.
Prophecy can be private (restricted to an individual) or public (mostly to a nation). Prophecy can also take the form of a rebuke or a general instruction to either an individual or groups of people (or nation).
If the prophecy carries good news such as, passing an examination, getting a promotion at work or escaping death, it fills a person with peace, joy and a sense of fulfilment and victory.
On the other hand, if it is about failure, misfortune, or death, it can result in intense fear, panic, and anxiety and in some case, severe depression.
Ghanaians, have on many occasions been gripped with fear after some prophets took to various platforms to announce the death of some public figures.
Reverend Owusu Bempah, prophesied that the National Chief Imam will soon die which infuriated some Muslim youth. The pastor later apologized to the Chief Moslem Cleric who is still alive.
The sports and political space have also not been exempted from prophetic utterances.
Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi, Head and founder of Glorious Wave Church International, some months ago predicted a win for Brazil in the Copa America finals and a victory for England in the 2020 Euros finals, both prophecies, he said, were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
However, the prophecies failed. This made him the subject of intense mockery on the internet and compromised his credibility.
During a Sunday service on July 18, 2021, Prophet Badu Kobi explained that all his football prophecies had come to pass except the aforementioned.
“There is no football prophecy I have said which has never come to pass except these two, ” he fumed.
He added, “There is no prophet without a failed prophecy, are you God? They should show me one. If every prophecy has come to pass then every church member would have succeeded.”
He said those who bet on football matches should be blamed for what happened, adding that, these people decided to use God’s word to make money for themselves and since God is against gambling, He turned the prediction upside down.
Ahead of the 2020 General Elections in both Ghana and United States of America, Prophet Badu Kobi also prophesied that Donald Trump and John Mahama would win their reelection campaign, but these prophecies never came to pass. The late TB Joshua, the Nigerian Tele Evangelist, also prophesied that Hilary Clinton will win the United States elections which turned out to be false.
Reverend Albright Asiwome Banibensu, a licensed Psychologist, says prophecy may lead people to take actions that they otherwise would not take.
He said this happens when the person believed the prophecy and “sees no hope.”
“Since how we think influences how we feel and how we feel does influence how we behave, a person’s behaviour is sure to be impacted by prophecy. All these are as a result of what prophecy we hear, how we process it, and how we feel about it. Thus when prophecy is processed negatively or positive impacts our mental health,” he said.
He said in some instances, the manner in which prophecy should be delivered can be revealed to the Man of God in addition to what should be said.
Rev Banibensu, who is the National Vice President, Ghana Psychological Association (GPA), said however, the bottom-line was that Ministers of the Gospel must learn how to be merciful, operate with wisdom and speak the truth in love because ultimately, prophecy was supposed to draw people closer to God.
“A prophet should not prophesy to draw attention to himself. The Bible makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 14:32-33 that, ‘the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…’ To this end, prophecy should not result in chaos but should ultimately result in peace,” he said.
He said if the simple rules of prophesying the truth with mercy, in wisdom and to achieve peace were adhered to, prophetic utterances would cause less psychological damage.
Secondly, Rev Banibensu said once a prophecy was spoken, it meant that God did not want the fearful thing to happen to you. So it should be seen as a message of hope no matter what.
Thirdly, he said people needed to know that prophecy originated from three sources, thus; the Spirit of man (controlled by mind and emotions, according to Jeremiah 23: 16), evil Spirit (from Satan and familiar spirits, according to 1 Samuel 28: 7 and Jeremiah 23: 13) and the Holy Spirit (from God Himself, according to 2 Peter 1: 21).
— GNA
…to be continued
The Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, says Parliament and government officials are working closely with authorities in the Netherlands following the detention of the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Kwame Ohene Frimpong.
Speaking on the matter on Channel One news yesterday, Mr. Dafeamekpor disclosed that the MP was detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Sunday while travelling on a private trip.
According to him, Mr. Frimpong personally informed him about the incident around 5 a.m. on the day of the arrest.
He said the issue was immediately escalated to parliamentary leadership and other state officials for intervention.
Mr. Dafeamekpor explained that the Majority Leader, who was in transit at Heathrow Airport in London at the time, travelled to Schiphol to engage the detained MP and better understand the situation.
He added that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ghana’s Ambassador to The Hague, the Attorney General, the Speaker of Parliament and the Clerk to Parliament had all been involved in efforts to address the matter.
According to him, a Ghanaian lawyer based in The Hague and qualified to practise there has also been engaged to represent the MP.
“The lawyer is dealing with the issues, but let me confirm that he is fine,” Mr. Dafeamekpor stated.
He noted that Parliament and the legal team were still waiting for official documents, including an authenticated copy of the arrest warrant and other details from Dutch prosecutors handling the matter.
The South Dayi MP therefore urged the media and the public to avoid speculation until all facts surrounding the case are confirmed.
“We want to urge all the media houses not to be throwing in things that have not been confirmed,” he said.
Mr. Dafeamekpor further explained that Parliament’s involvement was partly because the MP was travelling with a diplomatic passport.
He noted that extradition and detention cases involving political figures are not uncommon internationally, citing examples such as former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet and Julian Assange.
According to him, authorities are hopeful the matter can be resolved for the MP to return to Ghana safely.
He appealed to the MP’s family, colleagues in Parliament and the public to remain calm while diplomatic and legal processes continue.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana Water Ltd has announced temporary water supply interruptions in several parts of western Accra following technical challenges at the Weija Water Treatment Plant.
In a press release issued on May 13, the company explained that the challenges had affected water production and distribution in some communities.
According to the management of the company, residents in areas including Dansoman, Mamprobi, Mataheko, Laterbiokorshie, Korle Bu, La Paz, MacCarthy Hill, Gbawe, Mallam, Tesano, Darkuman, North Kaneshie, Dome, Achimota, Anyaa and Ablekuma may experience low water pressure and erratic water supply.
Management noted that engineers and technical teams were working to fix the problem and restore normal water supply as soon as possible.
The company advised consumers to store water whenever there is flow in their communities in order to manage the temporary disruption.
It urged essential service providers to contact their Assembly Members or the Ghana Water Ltd Call Centre for assistance.
The company apologized to customers affected by the situation and appealed for calm and cooperation while efforts continue to resolve the challenge.
By: Jacob Aggrey
