Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel has faulted the continuous closure of Churches in the country as part of measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus virus.
Oyedepo spoke on Wednesday morning at the Covenant Hour of Prayer programme of the Church held at its headquarters in Otta, Ogun State broadcast live to members.
“I can smell a rat behind the closure of Churches. The Lord spoke to me about it. It’s part of moves to stop the Church from spreading,” he declared at the service.
While stating that the people involved in declaring the ban don’t know what they are doing, he said the growth and expansion of the Church is one of the greatest headache of the devil.
“How do you have the markets open and the Churches remain closed? Which one is more organized,” he wondered, stating that no civilization has taken place in history without the influence of the Church.
“The devil is surely targeting the people, but God’s words says I shall build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail.
“Any gang up against the Church shall surely fail. The devil and his agents shall surely pay for this,” the Bishop stated.
Noting that every soul is precious to God, he said it was not logical for hospitals where people die every day to remain open, while the Church where people get saved and healed are closed.
“It’s wrong to continue to have the Churches closed. It’s an upside down way of looking at things.
“I declare that the world is free and the nations are liberated from continuous lockdown.”
Bishop Oyedepo urged Christians to remain fervent in their faith and not forsake fellowships with other brethren either at home or in the Church.
He said it was dangerous for any Christian to stay away from fellowship and not constantly hear the word of God and allow it to impact their daily lives.
Though the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja declared by the federal government has been relaxed with work allowed to resume and market opened, the ban on social gathering, including religious meetings remain in force.
President Mohammed Buhari in his broadcast promised that the ban will be reviewed at the appropriate time based on the curtailment of the spread of the virus.
