We recently reported on the feud between Jeremiah Johnson, a modern-day prophet who has a history of wild claims, and his brother. In the time since the original article, the story has developed. Jeremiah is being sued by his brother, Josiah, and his sister-in-law for defamation. Last year, Josiah wrote a document that publically accused his brother of false prophecy, plagiarism, and spiritual abuse. In response, Jeremiah went on a tear and made a number of unsubstantiated accusations.
The older Johnson is confident that the jury trial will expose his brother’s wrongdoing. The suit, filed by a high-powered Texas lawyer, names the embattled prophet and his ministry, The Altar Globalm, in the documents. “We’re going to subpoena all of them,” he said. They’re going to have to come out and either lie for Jeremiah or tell the truth.”
Separate from any legal proceedings, ministry leaders confronted Jeremiah for “inconsistencies” in his actions. They say, “A team of pastors and elders, and one local ministry leader, confronted Jeremiah last spring. We had experienced and heard of various inconsistencies in some of Jeremiah’s words and actions that we considered harmful to the body of Christ.” The group explained, “We also felt the weight of these inconsistencies merited his explicit repentance, stepping down from ministry, and personal restoration.”
“We, of course, are deeply concerned about the larger body. We believe there is a rampant spiritual sickness throughout the charismatic and “prophetic” world which the Lord is purging.” The document goes on to say, ” But we are also concerned about doing our jobs well as local pastors, in good conscience, and under the Lord’s leadership…We stand by that decision to this day. ”
Jeremiah wrote a 25-page article posted on his website, which accused his brother of being manipulative, deceptive, and divisive. The article featured stories from other pastors as well. According to the suit, these statements are false, retaliatory, and meant to discredit his client’s efforts to call for accountability.” Josiah said, “I blew the whistle so effectively that it caused them to put together a 25-page hit piece on me to try to shut me and (my wife) Jenn up.”
His older brother, Josiah, 37, says his brother has been “completely and totally fabricating” his visions and messages. Josiah Johnson, who also works as a pastor and heads a small ministry in Alabama, expressed worries about his brother’s practices on social media. He posted about the topic to his 5,000 Facebook followers, asking what would happen if people found out a prophet was “completely and totally fabricating their dreams, visions, and prophetic words.”
He describes himself as a “globally recognized prophet.” He spoke to reports at The Ark Fellowship Church and denied all accusations. He wrote a statement to his 328,000 Facebook followers where he claimed that he had been “publicly slandered, threatened, and falsely accused online by my older brother Josiah.” Jeremiah Johnson gained attention for briefly closing his ministry after making an incorrect prophecy concerning Donald Trump.
However, there are a number of prominent pastors on both sides of the dispute. Stuart Graham, who was part of Josiah’s recent church plant, said, “Josiah plays the hero but is actually a villain himself.” Another pastor, Paul Johnson, wrote, “Full of envy and malice, Josiah has appointed himself as the chief prosecutor of the church.” Regardless of how the lawsuit shakes out, this is likely to be a nasty dispute.