Pastor of the Mahanaim Shalom Christian Church in Kingston, Reverend Oniel Richards, is urging Christians across the island to immediately offer warfare, repentance, and renunciation prayers to counter evil spirits released through the recently staged carnival, which is Satanic worship.
It has been reported that the event added an estimated $5 billion to the government coffers, but the clergyman noted that it has also unleashed a barrage of curses that will have a far-reaching impact on the nation.
“Anytime they do these things, we need to be repenting from before, during, and after to nullify what they are doing and also to break the power of the Satanic forces,” he said.
Revellers were out in their numbers on Sunday for what tourism experts say is one of the fastest-growing events in the Caribbean. Several streets in the city were blocked as locals and tourists alike strutted and gyrated to explicitly suggestive music, which, much like their outfits, left very little to the imagination. Even children were a part of the throng and were not spared the display of unadulterated carnality that was captured on social media for posterity.
“When you do those things, of course you invoke sexual demons in the nation. They are being released in our cities and our streets and in families, and the sexual demons which usually come out at this time are being invited and authorised by these events,” he explained.
Rev. Richards pointed to the fact that in ancient times, people would worship the false gods, Asura, Baal, and Bacchus, as part of sexual rituals. Bacchus was associated with fertility, wine, and grapes, as well as sexual promiscuity.
“Unfortunately, that is being brought back in the form of carnival. If you notice, Bacchanal is connected to one of the gods of those times, and these rituals of the Easter eggs and so on are connected,” Rev. Richards stated.
“Carnival is really a form of carrying on the same rituals, but in a way that seems to be fun, that seems to be non-religious, that seems to be about relaxation and getting rid of tensions, and expressing yourself. But that way of expression is one that is definitely forbidden by God, and God does not accept us as a people being out in the streets exposing ourselves and to be displaying our bodies in ways that are improper,” he said.
The clergyman said that engaging in Satanic worship can result in God’s judgement. He pointed to the situation in Brazil last year, where dozens of people were killed by heavy rains and floods during the carnival weekend, as an example of God’s judgement. The rains prompted a massive evacuation of residents and the cancellation of carnival activities in the affected areas.
“We need to resist these types of expressions that are ungodly. We need to say to people [that] it is not godly; we need to give them information that they know that it is not right. We can’t tell people what to do, but we need to at least provide them with information,” Rev. Richards said.
He noted that while society might seem to be gaining financially, these gains will not last. He also expressed concern about the women and perhaps men who are being sexually abused during these festivities. He urged the church to pray for those who were involved in the carnival to be saved and delivered.
“We need to lock the portals, and we need to cast the spirits back out so they don’t make a mess of our society and come into our schools and wreck our children,” he warned.
“As part of our resistance, we need to also be praying against the indoctrination of our children that is taking place in the schools where they are teaching our children that all of these things are a part of our culture. There is a spiritual side to it, and we need to raise a standard in relation to this as well,” the senior pastor said.