UPDATED Aug. 27, 2007 –  What caused Bishop Thomas Weeks III to allegedly beat his estranged wife, self-proclaimed prophetess Juanita Bynum? 

He said the devil made him do it, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Standing before his church congregation on Sunday morning, the 40-year-old Weeks said, "We've got certain things going on right now, but I refuse to stop coming to the house God built," the paper reports.

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Hints Of Marital Problems

Weeks surrendered to authorities on Friday and was released on $40,000 bond for allegedy beating Bynum  so bad that it left her all bruised up.

He's due in Fulton County Superior Court on Sept. 7.

According to Tiny Gilyard, a 41-year-old woman who attends Week's Global Destiny ministries, Weeks hinted at the fact that he and Bynum,48, were having some marital problems during one of his sermons earlier this month.

He explained that [Bynum] is not going to be preaching anymore.  He said she was just going to come and sit down. ...It was like he was jealous of her," Gilyard told the newspaper, adding that Weeks was "really mean.

Atlanta Police say Weeks has been charged with aggravated assault and terroristic threats, WXIA-TV in Atlanta reports.

Bynum Was Choked, Kicked and Stomped

The couple, who has been separated now for three months, got together for dinner at Concorde Grill in the Renaissance Concourse Hotel in Atlanta to talk about making their marriage work, according to Bynum's sister, Tina Culpepper.

But that conversation, which led into the early morning hours, turned into a heated argument, and things got ugly, an eye witness told police.

They were talking about a reconciliation. They got into an argument. In the process of the argument, her husband walked out to the parking lot area, turned back around and started to choke Miss Bynum," Atlanta Police Officer Robert Campbell said.

As he choked her, he pushed her down to the ground and started to kick her and also stomp on her," he said, adding that a hotel bellman had to pull Weeks off Bynum.

At the end of it all, Bynum was the one “bruised up and battered” and “had purple bruising around her neck and torso,” The Associated Press reports.

Go to the next page to read Bynum's response to the beating.

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Bynum Responds

Weeks, who allegedly threatened to kill Bynum, left the scene before police arrived. Bynum met with authorities Thursday evening and pressed charges.

Bynum, who has been with her family while recovering, wrote on her MySpace.com page, "I am currently recovering from my injuries and resting well. There are so many great things happening for me in my future, and so much to look forward to concerning my destiny, this too shall pass.

Bynum and Weeks made headlines with their 2002 wedding that, according to Ebony, had an 80-person wedding party, 1,000 guests, an orchestra and a 7.76 carat diamond ring to top it off.

The million-dollar nuptials, which Bynum called a “once-in-a-lifetime wedding,” were televised.

Bynum’s hard-knock life included a failed marriage, a battle with anorexia and being on welfare, according to answers.com.