- A three part documentary aired on BBC YouTube channel titled “Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua” has badly dented the image and legacy of one of the most influential ‘man of God’
- He is accused of forcing himself on his disciples. The miracles that endeared him to many were stage managed.
Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as TB Joshua, or the prophet among his followers, was a Nigerian Televangelist and author of Christian literature.
He was also the man behind Emmanuel TV, which is a Christian broadcasting channel that focuses on Christian teachings, miracles and songs. The channel was launched on major televisions and decoders around Africa in 2015 and 2016.
TB Joshua was known for his prophetic ministry which focused on healing and deliverance. On a number of occasions, during his service, TB Joshua could be seen casting out demons and praying for people in the congregation who were in need of spiritual or physical healing.
The services were broadcasted live on Emmanuel TV and on a number of occasions, he would pray for people all around the world who needed deliverance. They only needed to put their hands on the screens and the man of God would pray for them.
Testimonies of people receiving healing and deliverance during his services were so many. Some who put their hands on the television screens while he was praying could also swear that indeed they received their healing.
Popular Nollywood actress Tonto Dike, Kenyan marathon champion Cherono and popular celebrities and government officials were among those who said they had received deliverance through Joshua. According to Tonto Dike, the prophet helped deliver her of her addiction that had lasted fifteen years.
Of course, with all these testimonies of healing and deliverance, Joshua was often attacked by critics. Some claimed the healing was fake and others insinuated he was not using the power of God to heal. Amidst critics and controversies, TB Joshua continued with his ministry by both touching lives and through philanthropic works.
Thanks to his ministry, he travelled to different parts of the world to minister to people including Israel, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia, Ghana among other countries. It is claimed that hundreds of thousands showed up for these crusades and that many received deliverance.
Here is his story as told by WoK,
TB Joshua Age
The late Televangelist was born on 12th June 1963 in Ondo state, Nigeria which is about 260km from Lagos. According to his biography, he stayed in his mother’s womb for fifteen months and it is alleged his birth had been prophesied a century earlier.
Education and Early Life
He hails from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria and his father was named Kolawole Balogun. Kolawole was an educated man whose main job was translating the Bible from Yoruba to English.
Growing up, he loved the Bible and would read it from Genesis to Revelation every two months.
“Every two months, I would have read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It was the only subject that interested me in primary school. In exams, I scored 99 percent consistently whereas I performed woefully in other subjects. My excelling in Bible knowledge affected the other subjects where I performed poorly,” he said.
He attended St Andrews Anglican Church for his primary education. Unfortunately, he lost his father while in primary school and life changed drastically. He then joined high school but left after a year.
Ministry
His ministry as a servant of God started very early in life. While still in high school, people often called him a ‘small pastor’.
One day while at school, a madman entered the class carrying a weapon. Everyone ran away but he managed to calm the madman down through prayer. From that day onwards, he knew there was something special in him.
At some point, he was a poultry attendant whose duty was to scrub chicken droppings with his hands and put them in bags for use as manure. This job was so demeaning that no Nigerian did it, it was done mainly by Ghanaians.
According to him, he received anointing and a covenant from God to start his ministry. That was the beginning of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), a ministry that has since grown to touch the lives of millions around the world.
Over 15,000 members attend the ministry’s service and over two million travel annually to Nigeria to attend his service.
The ministry even has a block to attend to visitors who are from outside Nigeria. In fact, when there were rumors of his relocation to Israel, several popular Nigerians urged him to remain in the country citing economic setbacks if he decided to leave.
His ministry has also supported the community in various ways. It has helped in the education sector, provided scholarships, helped those undergoing disaster among other things.
Miracles and Controversy
The fallen preacher has performed so many miracles which have been broadcasted on TV and YouTube. He has also prophesied a number of things but critics claim his prophecies were often vague.
He also had anointed water which was used by millions of people. They claimed the water had healed or delivered them from so many things.
Thanks to the said anointed water, four people were killed in 2013 in a stampede in his Ghanaian church branch. This was after crowds beyond the church’s capacity gathered to receive the anointed water.
When the world was struck by Ebola, he claimed his anointed water could cure the disease. He sent $50,000 and 4,000 bottles of the water to Sierra Leone where the disease had hit hard.
His YouTube channel, Emmanuel TV was suspended in 2021. It was the most watched Christian platform with over 1.8 million subscribers and 400 million views.
Personal Life
TB Joshua met and married his wife Evelyn Joshua in 1989. According to a book by Dr. Femi, it is revealed that he met his wife and convinced her to marry him on the spot, the same day and the same hour they met. Together with his wife, he had three children.
TB Joshua Death
On Sunday, June 6th 2021, news of his death hit several social media pages and it was confirmed by friends and family that same day. He died just days to his 58th birthday and after conducting a live broadcast on Saturday 5th.
