- Norman Grindley Beryl Wade, pastor of the Holy Mount Zion Church in Bull Bay, St. Andrew, delivering her message at the intersection of Spanish Town Road and Oxford Street in Kingston yesterday
Glenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
THE cruel may call them fanatics or even "rip-off artists"; the polite may ... well, just be polite and ignore the whole thing.
A few persons believe.
But local doomsday prophecies or messages to the nation are on the rise again. Like their messengers, they come in different forms. Letters by the dozen, e-mail forwards complete with graphics, chain letters (reply now or else!!!), and full-page advertisements promising a spiritual panacea to pull society out of its plight.
Still, whatever the message, the often robe-clad, turban-coiffed, staff-bearing figure of the "reader" or the "prophet" is not uncommon. In fact some say that they date way back to the image of the Old Testament prophets who often led a charmed yet dramatic life.
Isaiah preached butt naked to understandably attentive audiences; Ezekiel lay on one side for 365 days, Isaiah had a particular fondness for a daily fare of burgers made from cow dung and Hosea married and had a passionate romance with a harlot he had just bought. All this just to get a message across.
In later years, the excitement may have died down a bit, but the messages are still as intense.
Altimond Ricketts, is a 44-year-old security guard who quit his job of 16 years. He wants to spend more time spreading the message of impending doom through flyers, letters to the media and public prayers. Unemployed and unappreciated, he says he has had numerous disappointments since he began in May of this year.
"I was sent on seven days of fasting in order to have success and to assist me with extra power but everybody I went to refused to listen. I went to the local churches, media, and individual pastors. I waited on one bishop for two hours and he still did not even listen to me."
Still, neither Mr. Ricketts nor his vision will go away. He says it is a simple message, "Go to the churches, get them to mobilise each other to fight the darkness. That's the only way the present situation can be resolved."
He says his actions are neither voluntary nor predictable, with new revelations almost everyday. "I'll be here today and the spirit show me something, then a little later it shows me another thing," he explains.
If he refuses or ignores it he is chastised, literally! He claims to have had a premonition about the incidents at Reggae Sumfest where many persons would have died including journalists. He got directions on where the event was to be held, took the journey down to Montego Bay and prayed. He has made weekly treks to Flat Bridge, Melrose Hill, Spur tree and Mt. Rosser to ward off danger.
But it is just this aspect which has many persons ready to dismiss the claims of many modern-day self-acclaimed prophets.
"There is a huge difference between dreams and visions. People with vision have a gift, they often use their foresight for things to make society better," says Canon Ernle Gordon, of the Anglican Diocese.
However, for those who would use prophecy to justify evil he says they deserve "sympathy and understanding ... I believe it is incorrect to use the Bible to justify or explain calamities. People go to Revelation, an Apocalyptic book which cannot be understood unless you consider the time in which it was written and in many cases there are reasons for these things to happen."
Stafford Wolfe, another local prophet is a full-time preacher. But far from the conventional "dream" or wild-eyed trance, he says his moments are direct spiritual revelations. In fact, he claims that his revelations all have a Biblical or calendar reference which rules out error.
"It's not something you guess or think about, its something straight from God talking with you."
He brushes aside the potential critics as agents of evil.
"The devil will have everyone criticise everything that comes from the Lord. Although you may prophesy and other persons prophesy and it don't come through doesn't mean that it is false. It may be for a longer time, it may not happen this year or the next year but it may happen the year after."
Pastor Frank Otto, chairman of the Jamaica Pentecostal Union, did not dismiss the thought, but said there could be dreamers.
"I think it gives way for dreamers, but I still believe there is a lot of Biblical truth that can be drawn...," he said.
