News

By Kathleen Gilbert

DANDENONG, Australia, February 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On the night of October 21, 2008, pastor Danny Nalliah had a dream in which he saw an image of Australia he never forgot.

Shaken by that vision, Nalliah immediately told it to his prayer group, members of Nalliah’s ministry known as Catch the Fire Ministries (CTFM), and a few days later published it as a warning for the whole country to see.

“In my dream I saw fire everywhere with flames burning very high and uncontrollably,” wrote pastor Nalliah in a November 7 article posted on CTFM website and emailed to the ministry’s national network.

“With this I awoke from my dream with the interpretation as the following words came to me in a flash from the Spirit of God: ‘My wrath is about to be released upon Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of the innocent children in the womb.  Now, call on My people to repent and pray!’” 

Legislators in Victoria decriminalized abortion on October 10 of last year.

Pastor Nalliah took the unsettling vision as a message to “cry unto Him for mercy through corporate repentance and united prayer”.  “Let’s not wait for the disaster to come but let’s be pro-active!” he wrote.

On February 7th, Victoria was devastated by the massive flames of a bushfire that ripped through the state and made history as the worst ever recorded, taking 200 lives and decimating entire communities. 

In a CTFM press release, Nalliah expressed “absolute shock, grieving at the loss of life, property, and the immense suffering of all those affected,” and offered “our deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those who have lost loved ones, homes, businesses, and their livelihood.”  He and the ministry set to work distributing relief items to the bushfire-ravaged people of Victoria, and called on Christians and non-Christians to donate blood to the Red Cross.

But as the deep tragedy unfolded, Nalliah did not demur from recalling the prophetic vision and its message, and he expressed again that God’s “conditional protection” has been removed from Australia, and in particular Victoria, for condoning the killing of the unborn.  Nalliah then called for a prayer and fasting campaign in reparation for the sin of killing the unborn.

Media outlets reacted to the republished message as “putrid and evil,” fundamentalist lunacy,” “heartless and offensive,” and “bigoted bilge.”

“Is there no end to this man’s arrogance and impertinence and zealotry?” fumed media personality Derryn Hinch.  “This man cannot go unscathed and his cruel zealotry unchallenged. … I once received human excrement in the mail from a hate-filled zealot. Even that was less offensive than this offering from Pastor Danny Nalliah.”

Ben Pobje of Australia’s NewMatilda.com wrote a scathing piece of satire mocking the pastor: “I call on Premier John Brumby to immediately appoint Pastor Nalliah as chairman of a new body – the Victorian Commission For Moral Rectitude And God Satisfying, or VCFMRAS – the task of which shall be to make recommendations and form policies designed to turn us away from the mouth of hell that we inch closer to every time we abort a foetus or visit a mosque or masturbate,” he wrote.

Former treasurer Peter Costello had openly endorsed Nalliah’s ministry, but distanced himself after the fires, saying that “To link the death and the suffering of bushfire victims to other political events is appalling, heartless and wrong.” 

Also among the crowd of critics was the New South Wales (NSW) Council of Churches, representing Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian churches in the Australia Capital Territory, stating that the council “does not support abortion,” but calling the message linking the acceptance of abortion to the natural disaster “heartless and offensive.” The council called on Nalliah to apologize “for his insensitive and ill-timed remarks.”

Meanwhile, pastor Nalliah and his CTFM team have continued their work to relieve families devastated by the fires.  In a second release, Pastor Nalliah thanked those who responded to his call to mobilize resources for emergency aid. 

He also stated that “I deeply regret if I have caused any pain, hurt or offense” to fire victims or any Australian.  “I love my nation of Australia with all my heart,” he continued.  “This love that I have for our nation, every man, woman, and child, led me to release the previous media release as the truth must be spoken out at any cost.”

The pastor remarked to the Christian Broadcasting Network that he is encouraged by how the tragedy has opened the hearts of Australians to God.

“We’re seeing an amazing number of people being open to the Gospel,” Nalliah said. “I personally have spoken and prayed with many people and now they’re saying, ‘There has to be a God! There has to be a God!’”