(Photo: Prophet Passion Java preaching in Atlanta)
2,700 years ago, the Prophet Micah warned that “prophets tell fortunes for money.” (Micah 3:11 NIV) The business of prophecy selling still 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 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 from phone calls in a year.
Passion Java also gives prophetic messages during his sermons and in a January 1st 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 robo-calling 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.”
Most of the prophets and prophetesses offering prophecies by phone are relatively unknown religious leaders.
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 non-profit organization takes in less than $50,000 annually. The non-profit ministry is led by Prophetess Best who also runs the similarly named Prophets on Call Limited Liability Company.
Imitating Psychic Readings
The prophetic phone call business mimics the psychic reading business.
In the early 1990s, Psychic Friends Network generated more revenue than America’s most popular televangelists by airing infomercials advertising psychic readings for $3.99 per minute.
The New York Times reported about Psychic Friends Network, “‘It’s the most successful infomercial of all time,’ said Jack Schember, publisher of Response TV, a magazine that tracks the direct-response television industry.”
In his autobiography Psychic Blues: Confessions of Confused Medium author Mark Edwards, a former Psychic Friends Network employee, tells the story of receiving a phone call from a man named Rex seeking information about his relationship.
Edwards candidly wrote, “I opted to disengage and dug into my imagination. Instead of telling Rex what he needed to know, I caved and told him what he wanted to know.”
In the same way, false prophets rely on their imagination.
Jeremiah 23:21 NIV says, “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.”
The Bible teaches that prophets are limited in what they can prophesy. The prophet Micaiah told the King Jehoshaphat, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.” – 1 Kings 22:14 NIV