A hot debate is raging on in the Christian community following the publication of a story in one of the newspapers recently that a watchman at Tamale had won lotto, as a result of two numbers revealed to him by Jesus Christ in a vision.
Various interesting opinions have been expressed about this vision, some approving, some disapproving it. But in order to appreciate the details of this controversy, let us first examine the essentials of the story.
The story describes the watchman, the lotto winner, as a worker at the Tamale office of the Department of National Lotteries, and a lotto addict, who had stopped going to church because he was not winning lotto in spite of all his prayers to the Lord Jesus during worship sessions in the church.
According to the report, barely a month after he had ceased attending church services, he saw Jesus in a dream in which he pleaded: “Jesus, I want some winning lotto numbers”. Jesus, responded by inviting him for a walk to Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Cathedral in Tamale, where in the course of his (the watchman’s) insistent pleas for lotto numbers, he saw a smoke appear on the ceiling of the church, “followed by three numbers, namely: 7 . . . 47 and another one which he forgot”. Thereafter, as he readied himself to pray, “the Man of God disappeared”.
Eventually, after having withdrawn Gh¢200 with which he was to stake heavily (and that could have won him well over Gh¢20,000) which “would have mitigated” his poverty, the watchman staked only Gh¢12.50p that won him Gh¢2680 instead. Why this sudden change of mind? Well he described his vision to his working colleagues who disbelieved and rubbished such a revelation! Therefore some friends discourage him from staking heavily.
Now let’s see the clashing argumentations over the ‘vision’ issue. For the sake of the debate, the logic here shall be categorised into three distinct schools of thought. The first school consists of those who say the vision is a fabrication from the watchman’s own mind. For want of a better word, this school of thought shall be called ‘vision nihilists’ (or no-vision group).
The second school of thought comprises those who say it was the devil’s vision. Those in this group shall be called “vision infernalists” because they believe the vision was caused by infernal or hellish spirits; while those who believe that the vision about Jesus was true can be described as ‘vision truists’.
‘Vision nihilists’ (or the no-vision group) argue that the watchman might have got his numbers only through some arithmetical calculations or through some reading computations derived from previously drawn number positions. Therefore the vision was only a fallacy assumedly concocted by his own mind.
However this argument can be dismissed with the contention that had the watchman not felt ‘too sure’ of the numbers on hand which he believed came from some unimpeachable or unquestionable spiritual sources, he, a poor man, wouldn’t so much as dared to withdraw his Gh¢200 from the bank, for the purpose of staking with it.
It is my point of view that no poor man will be so much a fool to withdraw such a precious heavy amount of money for lotto staking at one go, when previous number calculations had so repeatedly failed him as to have made him resort to God for visional assistance. The vision nihilists’ claim is therefore a non-starter. It holds no point.
Next, let’s weigh the argument of the vision infernalists who believe that the revelation of the watchman was inspired by an evil spirit and that Jesus Christ who was seen in that dream was merely a deceptive representation worked by that infernal spirit. Vision infernalists argue out their point from St. Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians 11:14 which says: “And no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”.
The contention here is that if Satan is able to transform himself into something else, then he has that transmutable essence or trait by which he can assume the shape of Christ so to give the watchman some lotto numbers. The rationale behind this transmogrification (into Jesus) is that it is by that the evil spirit can entrap or deceive the watchman into immersing himself deeper and deeper in the game of lotto until series of losses he might incur thereafter might cause depression or suicide.
I do not accept this position as valid, however specious it is! It will be argued that even though this ‘Transmutability’ reasoning derives from St. Paul’s quotation above, namely: “for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light,” a closer look at it underlines the fact that Satan can only change himself into an ‘ANGEL’ of light, but not into ‘GOD’ of light.
On this basis, it can be contested that Satan cannot transform himself into God, and since Jesus is God (John 1:1-3), Satan could not have transformed himself into Jesus to reveal such lotto numbers. It was the true Jesus who revealed himself to the watchman, therefore I belong to the truist school.
There is the argument that if it was the true Jesus, then in condescending to provide lotto numbers, He (Jesus) infringes upon his own moral values of self-discipline and forbearance (long-suffering) and therefore undermines his own holiness and reduces himself into a sinner. But this claim is ridiculous: it is neither here nor there; and even betrays crass ignorance of what the sovereignty and omniscience of God or Jesus are!
God’s sovereignty makes Him sometimes do what, to us, appears naïve and sinful, –just to save mankind. For instance, God’s law: “Thou shall not kill” can be cited by ignorant people as having been broken by God Himself when He, by the flood, destroyed much of the world’s population during Noah’s time; or when he killed the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. In either case, God had a cogent reason for doing so. He seemingly broke his own law to save mankind!
Similarly, Jesus had a good reason for exercising exceptional intervention in the affairs of the watchman for giving him lotto numbers. Jesus did not sin but rather saved the watchman from possible reversionism –that is, from backsliding into the world of faithlessness, and suicidal depression. After all, by such visional provision of lotto numbers to the watchman, Jesus possibly revived that man’s prayer faith.
It is to be emphatically contended that the watchman’s vision of Christ was true, due to the fact that the numbers that were revealed to him exactly came to pass as winning numbers. If it were of the devil, the numbers wouldn’t have turned out as winning numbers; because since the devil is a liar, as Christ himself underscores in John 8:44, the numbers which the watchman saw would have been deceptive, and the watchman could have spent his money for nothing!
The postulate that by getting himself involved in lotto-staking business, Jesus is dabbling in sins, because the Christian community regards lotto staking as sinful holds no water. In point of fact, the sinfulness attributed to lotto-staking is not yet scripturally substantiated, except that on moral grounds, there is the inference that lotto staking leads to lust or addiction and resultant financial loss (of course not financial loss to the state, but financial loss to the family).
Indeed, the word ‘LOTTO’ which consists of two expressions ‘LOT . . . TO’ (meaning that the ‘LOT’ or fortune which is cast goes ‘TO’ . . . somebody) has its genesis in the Bible where, for instance, land is said to have been inherited by lot (Numbers 34:13). Other examples of “lot-to” can be found in Joshua 19:1, 10,17; Chronicle 27:4, Acts 1:26 and so on. As a matter of fact, the scriptures’ endorsement of the lotto concept cannot be denied, but whether the modern-day variants of casting lots (‘lot-to’) through machine slots should be regarded as scripturally improper is open to further debate. Lotto indeed gives financial resources to the government for developing roads, schools, hospitals, water, etc. which are all for the good of the nation. It therefore cannot be condemned outright.
It is my opinion that if the Christian community considers lotto as an abhorrent evil, the best way to avoid it is for pastors to preach and teach the prosperity gospel which will divert many Christians’ attention from modern-day mechanistic lotto.
To me, working of lotto amounts to wastage of one’s precious time, except those concerned are specialists who have the mathematical ability to discern some winning numbers regularly. But, on the other hand, if the Lord has truly revealed some numbers to a prayerful Christian, who am I to discourage him from staking? Who am I to challenge God’s prerogative act of mercy to someone? Who am I to condemn such an act of God?
By Apostle Kwamena Ahinful