Revelation TV
Encyclopedia
Revelation TV is a UK
Christian
television channel started by Howard (an ex-Jehovah's Witness) and Lesley Conder in 2003; the channel broadcasts on Freesat
channel 692 and Sky channel 581.
They also feature many programmes discussing the End times
and Israel
's role in it. They are strong supporters of Zionism
and feature appearances by Messianic Jews. The channel is multi-cultural with participation from black and Asian Christians. Revelation TV has also had programming from Arab
Christians as well as Christian converts from regions like Pakistan
. Revelation TV differs from all the other Christian TV channels as it broadcasts many live and interactive programmes. Revelation TV shows a wide variety of live programs, such as 'R Mornings', which is broadcast on weekday mornings. This is a live show with a variety of presenters and guests. The show includes news items with clips from Reuters, commentary on the daily newspapers, and an open forum on emails and a live phone-in. The presenters listen to the various views expressed and often challenge any comment which could be perceived as negative towards a particular group.
Live@9 is another hit programme with the viewers which broadcasts live from Revelation TV most evenings. In the past Live@9 has featured many guests such as the Rt. Hon Ron Prosor, the Israel Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
On Monday April 3, 2006 Revelation TV launched its own music channel, called 'RMusicTV' on Sky channel 370 in the UK. The channel's aim was to provide what it called "positive music", a playlist they declared free from the negative influences of sex, violence and worldly values. Many of the songs derived from various branches of Christian music
though it is largely Contemporary Christian Music
. Much of the music on the channel was broadcast live from the Revelation TV studios in London. Much of the live programming on RMusicTV ceased towards the end of 2006 and the channel itself ceased to exist at the beginning of February 2007.
The key shows on the channel were "Out the Box", a show that featured a mix of contemporary styles of Christian music, "UK Gospel Live" a show that brought in live gospel music acts from the UK and "RChart hits", the channel's own music chart show. Revelation TV made use of extended newspaper reviews, focusing especially on the Daily Mail
, Daily Express
and The Mirror. Presenters discussed the headlines amongst themselves, relying on their own personal expertise and not that of others. A feature of these discussions was the contributions by British presenter Yemi Balogun with Nigerian background, criticising aspects of British
life. Immigration
was a regular topic.
For a brief period the channel aired a secular show called "TasteBuds", a once a month show of contemporary singer/songwriter style music. The show was hosted by Dannii Evans and was affiliated with a once a month night at Balham based nightclub The Bedford called "OneTaste". This was a purely secular show in contrast to the normal contemporary Christian music of the channel.
. Through live call-in shows Muslims have called in and responded to issues raised.
Broadcasts on health issues have revealed a divergence between presenters with fairly mainstream views, and a conflicting strand. Some presenters have concerns about blood transfusions and organ transplants in case these convey the donor's personality to the recipient. Ancient Jewish idioms referring to personality traits as residing in the heart, liver, kidney or bowels are taken literally by some presenters, causing them to say they would refuse to accept a transplant or to authorise one for their child.
Meanwhile, Revelation TV has been under fire from regulators Ofcom
with regards to their views about homosexuality after complaints from gay rights campaigners and members of the public. Ofcom has warned Revelation TV that they must in future be fair and express all points of view when approaching this subject, or they face mandatory sanctions.
The channels have also been the target of pranks by viewers, including a recent incident where a Genesis TV presenter read off a message from a prankster who calls himself 'Raepmykipz', which claimed to be a story of salvation, but was merely an adaptation of the theme tune of the American sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
." The presenter then went to another message from the same person consisting of the plot of "Star Wars
". A posting of the prank on YouTube
went viral and has been viewed over 850,000 times.
The pranks on Raepmykipz' YouTube channel have been shown on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".
restrictions. With the lifting of these restrictions, this is no longer the case and Revelation TV can now ask for funds on air.
Once a month the network asks viewers to give financially to the network in order to support them. This is referred to as "Building the Foundation". Presenters such as Howard Conder, Lesley Conder, Gordon Pettie and Lorna Pettie tell viewers how their finances are doing and encourage them to give to the network if they enjoy their programmes. The presenters have stated they will only do fundraising programming one night every month and they do not have large fundraising appeals like other Christian television networks.
's opening rap of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
followed by an e-mail containing the plot details from Star Wars
and referring to a Nigeria
n man named Ben Kenobi
who had battled with dark forces
.
On 22 March 2010, Genesis TV allowed a debate between the leader of the British National Party
, Nick Griffin
and the leader of the Christian Party, George Hargreaves
, for the two are competing against each other for the Barking
constituency in the 2010 General election.
movement and, during the interview, mentioned several prominent proponents of this doctrine by name such as Benny Hinn
, Creflo Dollar
and Kenneth Copeland
. The programme was taken off-air before its scheduled end time, due to concerns that making accusations against specific individuals who were not present breached Ofcom
rules on fairness. Lesley Conder criticised Peters the following morning, but the Streisand effect
ensured that the incident received widespread publicity.
Genesis TV was removed from the Sky EPG on 8 April 2010.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
television channel started by Howard (an ex-Jehovah's Witness) and Lesley Conder in 2003; the channel broadcasts on Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
channel 692 and Sky channel 581.
Programming
Revelation TV broadcasts much in-house programming, producing their own shows World In Focus, Church In Focus,R-Morningsand "Live@9".They also feature many programmes discussing the End times
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's role in it. They are strong supporters of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and feature appearances by Messianic Jews. The channel is multi-cultural with participation from black and Asian Christians. Revelation TV has also had programming from Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Christians as well as Christian converts from regions like Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Revelation TV differs from all the other Christian TV channels as it broadcasts many live and interactive programmes. Revelation TV shows a wide variety of live programs, such as 'R Mornings', which is broadcast on weekday mornings. This is a live show with a variety of presenters and guests. The show includes news items with clips from Reuters, commentary on the daily newspapers, and an open forum on emails and a live phone-in. The presenters listen to the various views expressed and often challenge any comment which could be perceived as negative towards a particular group.
Live@9 is another hit programme with the viewers which broadcasts live from Revelation TV most evenings. In the past Live@9 has featured many guests such as the Rt. Hon Ron Prosor, the Israel Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
On Monday April 3, 2006 Revelation TV launched its own music channel, called 'RMusicTV' on Sky channel 370 in the UK. The channel's aim was to provide what it called "positive music", a playlist they declared free from the negative influences of sex, violence and worldly values. Many of the songs derived from various branches of Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
though it is largely Contemporary Christian Music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
. Much of the music on the channel was broadcast live from the Revelation TV studios in London. Much of the live programming on RMusicTV ceased towards the end of 2006 and the channel itself ceased to exist at the beginning of February 2007.
The key shows on the channel were "Out the Box", a show that featured a mix of contemporary styles of Christian music, "UK Gospel Live" a show that brought in live gospel music acts from the UK and "RChart hits", the channel's own music chart show. Revelation TV made use of extended newspaper reviews, focusing especially on the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and The Mirror. Presenters discussed the headlines amongst themselves, relying on their own personal expertise and not that of others. A feature of these discussions was the contributions by British presenter Yemi Balogun with Nigerian background, criticising aspects of British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
life. Immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
was a regular topic.
For a brief period the channel aired a secular show called "TasteBuds", a once a month show of contemporary singer/songwriter style music. The show was hosted by Dannii Evans and was affiliated with a once a month night at Balham based nightclub The Bedford called "OneTaste". This was a purely secular show in contrast to the normal contemporary Christian music of the channel.
Criticism
Revelation TV has been accused of promoting strong 'conservative' and family values, as well as providing criticism of IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Through live call-in shows Muslims have called in and responded to issues raised.
Broadcasts on health issues have revealed a divergence between presenters with fairly mainstream views, and a conflicting strand. Some presenters have concerns about blood transfusions and organ transplants in case these convey the donor's personality to the recipient. Ancient Jewish idioms referring to personality traits as residing in the heart, liver, kidney or bowels are taken literally by some presenters, causing them to say they would refuse to accept a transplant or to authorise one for their child.
Meanwhile, Revelation TV has been under fire from regulators Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
with regards to their views about homosexuality after complaints from gay rights campaigners and members of the public. Ofcom has warned Revelation TV that they must in future be fair and express all points of view when approaching this subject, or they face mandatory sanctions.
The channels have also been the target of pranks by viewers, including a recent incident where a Genesis TV presenter read off a message from a prankster who calls himself 'Raepmykipz', which claimed to be a story of salvation, but was merely an adaptation of the theme tune of the American sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
." The presenter then went to another message from the same person consisting of the plot of "Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
". A posting of the prank on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
went viral and has been viewed over 850,000 times.
The pranks on Raepmykipz' YouTube channel have been shown on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!".
Spanish broadcasting
Since its inception in 2003 Revelation TV’s license has been with the UK regulator, Ofcom. The staff at Ofcom have been helpful to the Station, but there have been issues of conflict as Revelation has sought to be truthful to its Christian basis. Revelation TV now has a Spanish license and the new Channel will begin to operate under that licence from the 1st of April 2010. Since the beginning of 2010, Howard has been commuting between London and Spain to make the necessary arrangements for the Station to comply with the requirements of its Spanish license.Fundraising
Formerly, channels like Revelation TV which operate from the UK were unable to ask for funds on-air, due to OfComOfcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
restrictions. With the lifting of these restrictions, this is no longer the case and Revelation TV can now ask for funds on air.
Once a month the network asks viewers to give financially to the network in order to support them. This is referred to as "Building the Foundation". Presenters such as Howard Conder, Lesley Conder, Gordon Pettie and Lorna Pettie tell viewers how their finances are doing and encourage them to give to the network if they enjoy their programmes. The presenters have stated they will only do fundraising programming one night every month and they do not have large fundraising appeals like other Christian television networks.
Genesis TV
Another channel, Genesis TV which is an extension of Revelation TV, is available on Sky channel 592. It continues to play much of the same content from RMusicTV, and recently premiering a hit music show, The One to One Show, produced and hosted by upcoming Presenter and Gospel personality, Michael Owusu. It is broadcast every Sunday evening on Genesis TV. The channel made international news headlines in 2010 when a prankster whose YouTube name is 'Raepmykipz', tricked the presenter to read out Will SmithWill Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
's opening rap of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
followed by an e-mail containing the plot details from Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and referring to a Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n man named Ben Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
who had battled with dark forces
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
.
On 22 March 2010, Genesis TV allowed a debate between the leader of the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
, Nick Griffin
Nick Griffin
Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England....
and the leader of the Christian Party, George Hargreaves
George Hargreaves (politician)
James George Hargreaves , known as George Hargreaves or J. G. Hargreaves, is a religious minister, political campaigner, leader of the Christian Party , and former music producer and songwriter.-Early life:...
, for the two are competing against each other for the Barking
Barking (UK Parliament constituency)
Barking is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its creation in 1945, usually with strong majorities.- Boundaries :The...
constituency in the 2010 General election.
Justin Peters controversy
On 10 February 2010, Justin Peters, an American evangelist was interviewed live on Revelation TV. Peters is an outspoken critic of the Word of FaithWord of Faith
Word of Faith is a family of Christian churches as well as a label applied by some observers to a teaching movement kindred to many Pentecostal and charismatic churches and individuals worldwide. The basic doctrine preached is that of salvation through Jesus Christ and what that salvation entails...
movement and, during the interview, mentioned several prominent proponents of this doctrine by name such as Benny Hinn
Benny Hinn
Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn הין; born December 3, 1952) is a televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, This Is Your...
, Creflo Dollar
Creflo Dollar
Creflo Augustus Dollar, Jr. is an American Word of Faith teacher, pastor, and the founder of the non-denominational World Changers Church International based in Fulton County, Georgia. Creflo Dollar Ministerial Association , Creflo Dollar Ministries, and Arrow Records...
and Kenneth Copeland
Kenneth Copeland
Kenneth Copeland is an American author, public speaker, and televangelist. He is the founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, which preaches a “prosperity gospel”: "Prosperity gospel assures followers that the more they give including in the form of tithes to the church, the more they will receive...
. The programme was taken off-air before its scheduled end time, due to concerns that making accusations against specific individuals who were not present breached Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
rules on fairness. Lesley Conder criticised Peters the following morning, but the Streisand effect
Streisand effect
The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely...
ensured that the incident received widespread publicity.
Channel merger
On 10 March 2010, the station issued an announcement that two channels, Genesis TV and Revelation TV, would be merging into a single channel, to be called Revelation TV, with effect from 1 April 2010.Genesis TV was removed from the Sky EPG on 8 April 2010.
External links
- Pranks on the channels Raepmykipz' Youtube Channel
- "Revelation TV", Article giving analysis of Revelation TV's theological position and their history with OFCOM
- "Joker Tricks TV Host" Mashable.com blog on Prank Controversy
- "Fresh Prince Prank is a Hit" The Sun Website
- Article on Original Fresh Prince Prank The Huffington Post
- Article on Second Fresh Prince Prank The Huffington Post
- Article on Angry Response to Rickroll Prank The Huffington Post
- "Christian TV Show Punked by Joke Emails" The Baltimore Sun
- Article on Pranks Philadelphia City Paper
- 'Fresh Prince' Prankster Calls Christian TV Article Urlesque.com
- "LMAO Christian TV Show Gets Fresh Prince'd Pranked" Globalgrind.com
- "Jokey Joke: Christian TV Gets Pranked" Eurthisnthat.com
- Another Article on Pranks Asylum.co.uk
- Valley Mag Coverage of Prank Controversy
- "The Lord will provide... we hope", The Telegraph Newspaper
- "Fresh Prince pranks Christian TV" Lemondrop UK
- "Star Wars and Will Smith in Religious Channel" estadao.com.br Brazilian blog GoogleTranslated into English
- "Pastor caught in Fresh Prince TV prank" Hoaxblog.nl Dutch Article GoogleTranslated into English
- "Christian TV Host Round-Wise on the Fly" VG.no Norwegian article on Fresh Prince Prank GoogleTranslated into English
- "The show is like a coffee morning in slow motion" Guardian Newspaper [accessed 8 May 2009]
- "2006 Oasis Pre-Awards Celebrates Gospel Music in UK" Christianity Today [accessed 8 May 2009]
- "Mission to London Lights Fire Again for Thousands" Christianity Today [accessed 8 May 2009]