Telephone Prophets Profit

 I don't know how many saw this at The Christian Post about dial up prophets raking it in, but it is something that I had not heard about,

Some 2,700 years ago, the Prophet Micah warned that “prophets tell fortunes for money.” (Micah 3:11 NIV) The business of prophecy selling continues in 2024.

Panganai Java, the flamboyant Zimbabwe-born but Maryland-based preacher better known as Prophet Passion Java, finances his lavish lifestyle by preaching the prosperity gospel and charging his followers $555 for phone calls.

Passion Java is well known for wearing expensive designer clothing and driving high-performance sports cars while attracting scrutiny from Prophets and Watches. His Instagram account has 7.9 million followers.

On his website, Passion Java promotes one-on-one phone calls for $555 and discloses there are no refunds. Testimonials on the website sound similar to ads for psychics:

“I had a one on one with Papa Prophet Passion in August. He prophesied that within 6 months you will have your visa. My VISA has been approved by Canadian authorities.”

According to the so-called prophet’s website, there is a long wait to receive a call from Passion Java: “Please be advised that after registering – one on ones are based on Prophet’s schedule. The average waiting time is 5-6 weeks but can fluctuate… Thank you for waiting in a timely manner as we are experiencing high volumes of registers.”

If Passion Java makes four calls a week, he will generate over $100,000 in one year from phone calls.

Passion Java also gives prophetic messages during his sermons, and in a Jan. 1 video, prophesied he will acquire a private jet in 2024.

Preachers Bernard Jordan and Manasseh Jordan also profit from the prophecy business.

Bernard Jordan’s Zoe Ministries offers personal prophecies for $52.

Meanwhile, Manasseh Jordan offers “Access to a LIVE prophetic phone call with the Prophet” to members of his Diamond Partner Program. These donors give $500 monthly to Manasseh Jordan Ministries.

In 2019, Manasseh Jordan lost a lawsuit in which he was accused of illegally robocalling people for donations. The Cook County Record reported that Manasseh Jordan Ministries “placed more than 163 million automatic calls to a database of more than 4 million unique cellphone numbers in just two years.”

Besides leading Christian drama productions, prophet Kyle Miller provides 15-minute calls for $42 and 30-minute calls for $80.

Naim Collins promotes himself as “a cutting-edge prophet called to the nations of the world.” Collins charges $50 for a prophetic word.

Prophetesses also offer prophecies for a price.

Prophetess Yasmin Best’s website, Prophets on Call, claims, “We deliver authentic and accurate insights for every situation from the mind of God directly to your ears.” Prophets on Call charges $78.50 for a 15-minute call.Prophets on Call Ministries files a postcard 990 with the IRS indicating the nonprofit organization takes in less than $50,000 annually. The nonprofit ministry is led by prophetess Best, who also runs the similarly named Prophets on Call Limited Liability Company.

People must be pretty stupid these days. Come to think of it, doesn't the Bible tell us that this type of fleecing has been succeeding for thousands of years.