Nigerian music artist cum writer, Etcetera is widely known for his controversial articles and statements on Nigerian Government, Entertainers and other general issues. But this time around, his comments focuses on the Church and how he believes such places of worship are leading people to hell.
Here is what he had to say as reported by Punch Newspaper:
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. – Revelation 3:19.
Much of the church today is living a lie. Many of you have been told continuously that you are saved and headed for heaven. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Many of you are heading directly to hell. The systemised lying that is going on in the church has deceived the pastors and the people alike. It is a case of the blind leading the blind. You all need to pray – fervently because many of you are “lost”. No matter what you call me, no matter how you view this issue, no matter what position you have, no matter what church you attend, you have to admit that something is wrong with the church.
Below are eight facts why the church is leading you straight to hell:
There is almost no evidence whatsoever that the early church had their “services” on a Sunday. They gathered together ‘from house to house’ virtually every day! People did not dress up and “go to church.” There were no denominations or separate groups with different ‘labels.’ They lived their lives together – And the apostles in Jerusalem preached everyday at a huge open-air gathering, not “hidden away” inside four walls. Church buildings do not exist in the Bible. They were invented around 200-300 AD, when the church was in serious decline. Church buildings are anti-New Testament, and they bring with them a host of problems and traditions. It was when the church fell into the hands of Rome that this concept of the “cathedral” took over. And today, we are still spending millions building these beautiful monuments while the worshippers are starving.
The words “prosper” or ‘prosperity’ were NEVER used by Jesus at all – and only mentioned a few times in the entire New Testament. Yet our greedy pastors have built kingdoms upon them. The words – “sell what you have and give to the poor” and “deceitfulness of riches” and “you cannot serve God and mammon” and “woe to you that are rich” were DEFINITELY used by Jesus and the apostles, but you don’t hear them preached by your pastors, do you?
Tithing is not a New Testament practice at all. And it is being shamefully abused by today’s preachers. In the Old Testament, tithing was only applicable to Jews and to the land of Israel and that was at a time when a great number of them lived in Babylon, Ammon, Moab, Egypt and Syria. As a result of that, the land they occupied became tithe-able lands. Tithes were not acceptable from Gentiles’ lands. So my brothers and sisters, you need to ask your pastor why he is collecting tithes here in Nigeria. Also, the only people authorised to receive tithes were the Levites – (Hebrews 7:5). If your pastor is collecting tithe from you, ask him if he’s from the tribe of Levi. Even Jesus who was a Jew couldn’t collect tithes because he wasn’t from the tribe of Levi but from that of Judah. And if your pastor insists that being a worker in the lord’s vineyard qualifies him as a Levite, please remind him that Levites had no land and did not own properties.
The Jesus of today’s church is a “Father Christmas,” a Jesus who exists mainly for our own “happiness;” a Father Christmas who wants to rain down continual blessings upon us; a Jesus of grace and mercy without judgement, righteousness or truth. Our gross misrepresentation of who Jesus really is, is one of the most serious offences of today’s church. We worship a “plastic” Jesus – one that we have painted in our own image. What an offence to God.
What we have today are churches that are so loose that they excuse any sin or misconduct, including homosexuality and adultery. Aren’t we supposed to accept only the truth of God’s word? But instead, we have opted for a modern church that is socially based, smooth and sophisticated, and presented like a Nollywood movie with men and women of ogboni fraternity dressed in their occultic regalia occupying special seats during services. Something is wrong!
What happened to the strong calls for repentance that brought thousands down to the altar to repent and ask Jesus Christ to save their souls? This is the litmus test for Christianity; it is the essence of the Cross; it is the great commission that Jesus commanded us with. If your church is not winning souls, then it is like a barren woman, and it is a shame. Something is wrong!What happened to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost? Do we even know what it means anymore to feel the presence of the Spirit of God descend on a service and fill up the room with holiness? Or we just love that party atmosphere and excitement when the choir plays a boogie-down song? Or we love to scream “ride on pastor” in the excitement we get when some charismatic preacher works the crowd? It’s been so long we’ve felt the presence of the Holy Spirit that we don’t know what it is anymore. Something is definitely wrong!
Lots of pastors are aware that there is something very wrong with the church today. They know there is little ‘fear of the Lord.’ They know there is no deep repentance or deep moving of the Holy Spirit.
They know that it is just the same old “game” being played every week. A lot of them are very aware of this, but they will not do anything about it. They will not rock the boat. And they will destroy anyone who comes along trying to do something. They do not want any reforms. There is too much to lose. They have their careers and their “kingdoms” at stake. This is the truth of the matter. Most of you are worshippers of your pastors and not God. Many of you are hell bound. So pray my brothers and sisters. Pray for your souls. Let me stop here and leave room for you to call me names. But do remember that the church is leading you to hell – not me!”
