In a shocking familial dispute that has rocked the evangelical world, a prominent pro-Trump pastor and self-proclaimed prophet has been accused by his own brother of fabricating holy messages and stealing prophecies from other Christian leaders according to a new report by The Washington Post.
North Carolina pastor Jeremiah Johnson, 36, who rose to fame in conservative Christian circles for his prophetic claims about former President Donald Trump, is facing allegations from his older brother Josiah, 37, that he has been “completely and totally fabricating” his visions and messages.
The accusation comes amid growing scrutiny of the role played by evangelical leaders in promoting Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and the subsequent January 6 Capitol Riots.
Newsweek contacted Jeremiah at The Ark Fellowship Church, as well as Trump’s spokesperson via email on Saturday for further comment.
YouTube/Jeremiah Johnson Ministries
Josiah Johnson, himself a pastor leading a small ministry in Alabama, took to social media to voice his concerns about his brother’s practices. In a Facebook post to his 5,000 followers, he questioned what would happen if people found out their favorite prophet or pastor was “completely and totally fabricating their dreams, visions, and prophetic words.”
The elder Johnson alleges that his brother has a history of appropriating others’ words and passing them off as divine revelations. He claims that Jeremiah once used a poem Josiah had written, titled “the boom in the upper room,” and presented it as a prophecy during a conference in 2018.
Jeremiah, who runs a North Carolina church with hundreds of congregants and markets himself as a “globally recognized prophet,” has denied the accusations from his brother. In a statement to his 328,000 Facebook followers, he wrote that he had been “publicly slandered, threatened, and falsely accused online by my older brother Josiah.”
The dispute has exposed deep rifts within the Johnson family and the broader evangelical community. Joseph Johnson, the brothers’ father and a retired pastor, has reportedly sided with Jeremiah, telling Josiah that criticizing the prophet was akin to criticizing God.
This family drama unfolds against the backdrop of a larger reckoning within the evangelical prophetic movement. Many self-styled prophets, including Jeremiah Johnson, had confidently predicted Trump’s re-election in 2020 reports the Post. When these prophecies failed to materialize, it sparked a crisis of credibility within certain segments of the evangelical world.
Jeremiah Johnson had previously gained attention for apologizing and temporarily shutting down his ministry after his incorrect prediction about Trump’s re-election.
In a video posted to his Facebook page following the January 6 insurrection, he confessed, “I was wrong.” At the time, he stated, “I believe that it is a tremendous mistake to take the next four years to argue and debate and cause division and grow more prideful talking about how we think the election was taken from Donald Trump. I actually believe we need to take the next four years and humble ourselves.”
However, he soon returned to the public eye with a rebranded ministry in North Carolina and continued to make political prophecies on his YouTube page.
Josiah’s accusations go beyond mere familial rivalry. He claims that his brother’s actions are spiritually dangerous, potentially leading vulnerable believers astray.
The fallout from this public dispute has been swift and severe for Josiah. He claims to have been blocked on social media by hundreds of mutual friends and family members. A 25-page document titled “Warning the Body of Christ About Josiah Johnson” has also been circulated online, accusing him of being “full of envy and malice.”
Despite the backlash, Josiah remains steadfast in his mission to expose what he sees as false prophecy. He reportedly texted his brother expressing his love, but the message failed to send, suggesting that Jeremiah may have blocked his brother’s number.