IN this piece of writing, I make a case for the point that accurate prediction of events is never an indicator of the authenticity of a claimed messenger of God.

I make the assertion, through biblical support, that predicting events correctly is not the preserve of God only but that even the underworld can accurately spot events.

A video has emerged in which Emmanuel Makandiwa, leader of the UFIC, foretells the alleged poisoning of Vice President Emerson Mnanagagwa with “chilling exactness,” as stated by his legion of followers.

The alleged prophecy was given in April 2017 and a vigil has since been held for the Vice President currently believed to be receiving medical attention in South Africa.

The popular theme at the vigil held near Rotten Row Magistrate Court was centred on the back-to -sender theme where those who prayed declared that the harm inflicted on Mnangagwa should go back to the senders.

There is speculation that Mnangagwa may have been poisoned while others believe it was just a case of ingesting unintentionally contaminated food.

Now, the crux of the matter that has set the religious world ringing with bewilderment is the alleged prophecy or is it prediction by Makandiwa which has sent his followers into a frenzy as they have sent the clip to anyone who cares to view it.

In the clip Makandiwa says: “We need to prayer for our leadership… There is a man we need to cover, I don’t know whether I should mention his name. He is a local person in politics…I see something entering into his stomach. Vomiting, vomiting, vomiting; At first its food, at the end it is blood. He gets to the hospital. Only prayers can save this man. And the man has been so loyal. To his authorities, to his authority.”

Makandiwa, in the clip, signals with his hand that there is only one man above the poisoned man.

This clip has been put forward as ‘ample’ proof of the ‘genuineness’ of Makandiwa as a man of God.

Now, it can’t be taken away that his words in the clip have a strong depiction of what happened to the Vice President. It has the hall mark of everything about the incident.

From a worldly point of view the ‘prophecy’ by Makandiwa is startling and a rallying point for conscripting many to his ministry. There could be no further evidence needed that he is sent of God than this alleged prophecy.

This is the reason why Information Minister Christopher Mushohwe’s statements that Mnangagwa was not poisoned became the butt of jokes at the vigil.

There seems to be consensus on the matter of poisoning.

Now, to the Bible; while to the biblically untrained mind, the clip is all that is needed as evidence of the prophecy, to those with intimate knowledge of the Bible, this is hardly anything to write home about.

It does not, in the slightest, make one a true prophet. Many will recall another 2005 chilling prophecy of the death of Malawian President Bingu WaMtharika by Nigerian preacher T.B Joshua.

Like T.B Joshua, Makandiwa has, in most cases, given prophecies that never came to pass.

TB Joshua embarrassingly failed to correctly predict the ultimate winner of the United States presidential race.

Prophecy is not a hit or miss affair. It is 100% accurate all the time. It must be grasped that prophecy, as we know the word, is divine and is not focused on earthly or worldly events. It does not concern with soccer or politics.

These carnal and worldly things fall far short of prophecy as they do not edify the body of Christ.

One needs to ask: of what significance is an alleged poisoning incident to the body of Christ? How does this make Christians better people? A true prophecy edifies the body of Christ.

Prediction, on the one extreme, is something that can be done from both the underworld and from the power of God.

The Bible is replete with incidences in which soothsayers and outright occultists predicted events with chilling accuracy.

That is not to be misconstrued that these were men and women of God or that they serve God Almighty.

This, by the way, is not to attack the Makandiwa prophecy but to make it abundantly clear that a correct prediction of earthly events does not make one a prophet of God any more than a buffalo can become a cow by being part of a cattle herd.

Paul relates an incident which proves that prediction is as much a function of evil: “It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling.”- Acts 16:16.

The point is not to pour water on the Makandiwa prophecy but it can never be used as a basis of the truthfulness or lack thereof of his ministry. A holistic approach must always encompass all aspects of prophecy.

There is a vast difference between prediction and prophecy. It is only the avid reader of the bible and one to whom God opens understanding that they can see that predictions of earthly events never made one a prophet