Adeboye

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, has said God told him mockers will become more aggressive in 2025, but many of them will not survive the year.

In a viral video of his sermon during the first Holy Ghost Night service of 2025, Mr Adeboye referred to an AI-generated meme depicting him as an Alhaji. He explained that God told him mockers would intensify their efforts this year but that many would not make it through.

“I’m sure many of you saw on the internet how some people used AI to generate a picture of me looking like an Alhaji. How many of you saw that one?” Mr Adeboye asked his congregation, laughing.

“The Lord said, ‘Mockers will be louder and more aggressive this year than ever before. But unfortunately, Daddy says many of them will not survive this year,’” Mr Adeboye said, as his congregation responded with a resounding “Amen.”

He added, “I’m the one who added ‘unfortunately’ because God doesn’t want the death of sinners. But many of them have decided not to repent.”

The comments from Mr Adeboye followed the circulation of an AI-generated image, which portrayed him as a Muslim pilgrim in Mecca.

The photo went viral in the final days of 2024, coinciding with a heated debate over a controversial banner displayed on the fence of a mosque in the Lekki area of Lagos.

The banner claimed that Jesus was a prophet, not the Son of God, as believed by Christians.

In a rare case of self reversal and demonstration of humility, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has apologised for saying anybody who does not pay tithe will not make it to heaven.

Adeboye tendered the apology on Thursday while ministering at the ongoing youth convention of the church.

While inspiring the youth to aspire to do more for the Lord, he paused in the course of the message before dropping the shocking and unexpected apology for his comments on tithe payment.

“I am sorry for saying that if you don’t pay tithe, you won’t go to heaven. That is not in the Bible. What the Bible says is: follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man will make heaven,” Pastor Adeboye said.

Alluding to his message some years ago that non-tithers would not make heaven, he said: “It is possible to be right and wrong at the same time. I will prove it to you. For years, we taught that light travels in a straight line. Later, we say it travels in waves.”

He, however, told the youth that it was wrong to have limited people to “10 per cent when some of you should be giving 20 per cent, and 30 per cent, etc.

“10 per cent should be for beginners. Giving should be done violently. If you want to be on top to control finances, you will give beyond 10 per cent,” Adeboye said in what would appear to reduce tithe payment to the discretion of the congregants.

He recalled his experience at one of the conventions of the ministry of Kenneth E Hagin in Tulsa, United States, where a man promised to give more than what the 17,000 participants at the convention gave.

He said all participants had contributed about $3.5 million for the building of the Rhema Bible College, but the man promised he would give more than what everybody contributed to the project.

Pastor Adeboye disclosed that when he asked the man the secret of his sacrificial giving lifestyle, the latter told him how he had started a business with $500 and had told God if he blessed him, he would not insult Him with 10 per cent.

According to him, five years after the man started the business, he was making a turnover of $50 million, adding that was what inspired him to give towards God’s work enormously.

“I am sorry for saying you should pay 10 per cent. If we are going to dominate, we have to give violently,” Church Times quoted Adeboye to have said.

Watch video below:

The General overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has revealed how he would like to die.

The cleric who disclosed this at the ongoing annual Holy Ghost Congress of the church on Thursday in Ogun State, said he wanted a death similar to one of his uncles.

He said, “I know somebody will say if we are never sick, how are we going to die and go to heaven? You don’t need to be sick to go to heaven.

“An uncle of mine woke up on a thanksgiving Sunday, went to Church, danced like everybody else, came home and his wife gave him a light breakfast before preparing the original food which was pounded yam. She was already pounding the yam when my uncle decided to go to the toilet.

“After she finished pounding, she knocked at the door of the toilet, when they opened the door, my uncle was gone; no sickness, no ache, no pain. If the Lord tarries His coming, I will go on a Sunday after a good meal of pounded yam.”