Claim by Josiah Peter Asumosa, an Assistant Pastor with the Whole Bible Believers Church in Ondo town, Ondo State that rapture would take place in September this year is false, the Christian Association of Nigeria has said.
Men of the Ondo State Police Command rescued, at least, 70 victims from the premises of the Whole Bible Believers Church in Ondo town who were deceived into believing that rapture would happen in September 2022 by Asumosa.
The embattled ‘man of God’ was said to have earlier given April 22, 2022 to the allegedly brainwashed church members as the due date for rapture but later changed the date to September 2022.
The victims, said to have been kept from the prying eyes of the public at the basement of the church, comprised of 26 children, eight teenagers and 43 adult members of the church.
Investigation by the police revealed that the camped church members were deceived into waiting for rapture.
However, a statement said to have been signed by Bayo Oladeji of CAN read that the pastor and the Whole Bible Believers Church, Ondo are “not known to us (CAN).”
The Christian body urged the Police to thoroughly investigate the said pastor and his activities with a view to prosecuting him if found to have infringed the law of the land.
The statement read, “No true Pastor would claim to know the date of the rapture because the Bible has stated it clearly that it is only God who knows the date. Whoever claims to know the date is not only misleading the public but cannot claim to be a genuine Servant of God. He is, at best, an agent of Satan pretending to be a Pastor.”
The body called for a comprehensive medical checkup for the rescued members of the church in order to determine the level of trauma to which they had been subjected while incarcerated.
CAN also urged Christians to always ensure that they were being taken through wholesome biblical doctrines by checking the Bible for facts.
Earlier in an interview, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, said that the victims who were rescued on Friday, July 1 within the premises of the church at Valentino area of Ondo town, were deceived by the pastor into believing that rapture would soon take place.
