Withdraw apocalypse prophesy now: pastor
A church leader who acted as an adviser to God TV, the evangelist channel, has called on the network to withdraw from its website apocalyptic prophesies about China from a book written by the station's co-founder.
Pastor Dennis Balcombe, of Hong Kong's Revival Christian Church, says he will disassociate himself from the channel, broadcast on Cable TV, if it persists in promoting the book, which includes predictions of a bloody conflict between good and evil in China.
But the station has defended what it calls 'a very positive prophesy' and indicated it is not prepared to take Wendy Alec's book Journal of the Unknown Prophet off its website.
Pastor Balcombe, who acted as an unpaid adviser to God TV last year in the run-up to its Hong Kong launch, said the controversy was undermining the good work the station was doing.
He also fears the prophesies will put God TV's future in Hong Kong at risk, saying if it persists with apparently anti-Chinese pronouncements it may not have its licence renewed. Cable TV says Mrs Alec's book is not an issue.
The book foresees a bloody conflict in China in which 'holy warring angels' will do battle with 'satanic princes of the east'.
The station's general manager, Bo Sander, has written to Pastor Balcombe defending the prophesies and pointing out that there 'could be 50 years' before the 'tough times' predicted by Mrs Alec for China come to pass. Before that, there would be a 'period of grace' when the Christian gospel could be openly preached in China.
Pastor Balcombe has asked the station to take the book off its website and stop promoting it. 'If he [Sander] insists this is the purpose of our station to promote this book, I don't want to be involved in that.'
Mrs Alec has declined to comment on her book or answer the Sunday Morning Post's questions.
