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THE CELESTIAL CHURCH OF CHRIST:Which Christ ?

Introduction

When people attend and worship at the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) founded by Reverend Pastor Prophet S.B.J. Oshoffa at Porto Novo, Republic of Benin on 29 September, 1947, have they ever wondered which Christ they are worshipping?

The Christ who is worshipped in all the mainline, living churches is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God who has been pre-existent from eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as the Living Word. They are three equal Persons who make up the eternal Godhead. Jesus came into the world in incarnate form as Immanuel, (meaning God with us) born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary who had been engaged to Joseph, the carpenter. She married and subsequently bore children for him. Jesus Christ lived for about thirty years before He started His ministry of preaching the gospel, teaching in the synagogues, casting out demons, and healing all that were sick of diverse diseases and sicknesses among the people. In about three and a half years, He completed His life's mission by being crucified and dying on the cross for the sin of the whole world, then rising again on the third day for our justification. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, all according to the predeterminate counsel of God.

Before Jesus left, He had predicted that many false Christs would come after Him.At that time if anyone says to you, ‘look, here is the Christ!' or, ‘There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. Matthew 24:23-25.

This is a clear warning by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that the performance of great signs and miracles are not sufficient proof that a man or woman has been sent by God.

Many miracles, signs and wonders have been reported from the Celestial Church of Christ since its foundation. But, by which Christ? Read about what Prophet Oshoffa wrote about the Christ who commissioned him in the pages that follow. Testimonies by others who have been part of the Church are also included in this issue of our Newsletter.

Pastor Oshoffa's testimony of Christ of the Celestial Church

Pastor Oshoffa gave an account of two appearances of the Jesus Christ who commissioned him in paragraphs 58 to 71 of the 200–paragraph Constitution of the Celestial Church of Christ. Below are two extracts from the account.

First appearance

With regard to our LORD JESUS CHRIST, LORD of heaven and earth, who sent me, it was time for HIM to reveal HIMSELF in all HIS power and glory right here in Makoko. This happened in 1954 on the Friday following the Harvest Thanksgiving Service for that year which was the third Harvest Thanksgiving service in Nigeria. For three months previous to HIS coming, spiritual messages had been pouring out of our prophets to the effect that the Lord Himself would soon pay us a visit, suddenly walking into our midst, and that we should always be prepared to be able to identify Him on arrival.

At about 3.00 a.m. on the day of his arrival, I was possessed by the Holy Spirit and, as reported to me later, I continually uttered the following words, until about 5.30 a.m. during which time the whole house reportedly shook to its foundations: 'Jesu, Jesu eniti iri re dabi iri oju omo kiniun, eniti nti ori ekanna re tan imole', that is, in English ‘Jesus, Jesus, thou whose eyes are like those of a lions cub, and from whose finger tips light beams out'.

This was reported to me later in the morning by Evangelist Bada (then Leader) who was sleeping very close to me in the Church together with some of the 'other Members. The Lord came, as a blindman. He appeared walking towards the Church at about 9.00 a.m.

He spoke first to my wife CHRISTINE and asked her for tobacco. She replied that she had none. Then He asked her for cigarettes, and again. she replied that she had none. Then He asked her for kolanuts, to which she replied angrily that she should be left alone, particularly as the three things He asked are forbidden to Celestians. At this point YAMAN, who was nearby, intervened and offered Him some money to buy the things He wanted will never be empty. He, then, told YAMAN to caution her daughter CHRISTINE to beware because the world is delicate. He left them.I was not there, I was in the other house some fifty yards away. I saw a man coming towards me. He was tall and graceful and covered Himself with a single piece of white cloth wrapped round His whole body from Head to toe. As He approached, I saw spiritually a sudden beam of light before Him and recognised at once that He was the Lord whose coming had been foretold.

I went to meet Him. He was blind, the usual black spot being totally absent from the eyeball which were totally white. I then asked:' 'My Lord, whence comfest thou and whither goest thou?' He replied: 'the son of Man comes from nowhere in particular nor does He have any destination but goes wherever the wind guides HIM" I replied: 'I thank you my Lord'. I then said: 'Very well, my Lord, would you not like to come with thy son into the house?' He replied as He walked with me: 'Art thou not the prophet? You had been given to know me because of your loving kindness. I will come with you to your house'. As we walked, I put my hand in my pocket and offered HIM money as alms.He had by His side a well worn old Bible wrapped round with a piece of string, a copy of the Koran and some sun-dried crayfish. I knew it was our Lord and I went immediately towards Him. He declined and said: 'Mine is not money but Love. May it be so for you as well'.

We walked together, I on the left, He on my right. Now, there was a trench at the time near the entrance to the Church to drain away underground water oozing from under the Church into the lagoon. As we got to the trench, I said: 'My Lord, take care here, there is a trench, let me take your hand so that you can cross safely'. He replied: 'Not at all, the Son of Man may not have visible eyes, but He has spiritual eyes which see better than yours'. Before He had finished, He had smartly crossed the trench ahead of me. We walked along and entered my house together

Second appearance

Another appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ was at the Lagos Bar Beach in 1954 on the occasion of the anointment of some members of the Church in Nigeria amongst whom were LEYON, SAMUEL and a few others. (It is pertinent to mention that LEYON and SAMUEL were the first to be elevated to the rank of LEADER in the Church in Nigeria). Our Lord appeared from the sea. As had happened prior to His first visit to us in Makoko, I was possessed by the Holy Spirit at about 3.00 a.m. on the day and reportedly prophesied His coming in my sleep. At about mid-day while we were on the beach performing the anointment, a boat suddenly appeared lying far out to sea. In the twinkling of an eye, it came within about two hundred yards from the beach. The next moment we saw a man on the beach in a reclining position wearing a piece of blue loin cloth round His waist reminding one of the one on Him in the usual picture of Him on the cross. His body showed signs of having come out of the sea.He spoke to me giving me further injunctions and explanations on a number of things. In particular, He directed me not to engage in any form of eye service to any one.

While this was happening, a woman wearing a simple apparel moved around Him, coming not too close, to look at Him with some concern, then moving away again. She did this repeatedly. I knew it was MARIA, the gracious mother of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. It was midday and the sun was high and we had sought to assemble under the shade of the trees which were still on the beach at the time. As I walked towards Him, the sand burned under my feet, but immediately I got near to Him, everything became cool as if under a shade. After He spoke to me, I returned to the congregation of our members and disclosed to them that He of whom I had prophesied had arrived and was reclining up there. Members present rushed towards Him and He spoke to many of them. Notable among them was a particular lady, Mrs. Adedoyin Adekoya, who was gorgeously dressed in Yoruba attire. When she related her own experience, she told us that our lord queried why she came naked. This puzzled her. At this juncture, YAMAN cut in and pointed out that it was because she was not dressed in her sutana like the others. Some members of other spiritual Churches worshipping on the beach that day also saw Him and many of them rolled on the sand in spiritual turmoil, digging the sand with their hands and testifying to His identity and presence. Various fishes, whales and other animals of the sea dipped in and out of the water in salute. We went on with our prayers and all the time, l kept an eye on Him and continued to see Him. We closed our eyes to say the grace. After the grace, we opened our eyes and discovered that He had disappeared. So also had the woman MARIA and the boat. Members searched up and down for Him but He was nowhere to be found.

In his first visit to Rev. Oshoffa, the Celestial Jesus (i.e. Jesus Christ of the Celestial Church) appeared as a blind man who was however able to see natural things with spiritual eyes. What was the significance of his coming as a physically blind man when Jesus of the Holy Bible had healed many that were physically blind? He had also said:

Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit. When the Celestial Jesus was asked where he was coming from and where he was going to, his answer was similar to that of Satan when God asked him a similar question in Job 1:7.

The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” Why would Pastor Oshoffa offer the Celestial Jesus money as alms? Was he thinking of him as if he was a blind beggar even after he had recognized him as LORD of heaven and earth in paragraph 58? .In the second visit, the Celestial Jesus came with Maria his mother, and had with him a well worn old Bible wrapped with string and a copy of the Koran. Why will Jesus Christ, the living Word, be carrying around an old copy of the written Word, tied with a string? Why the Koran? Was he trying to pass a message to his followers in the Celestial Church that the age of the Bible is past and that it has been replaced by the Koran? There is no link whatever between Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16,17), and the Koran which denies the divinity of Christ and the existence of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Surely, there can be no fellowship between light and darkness. 2 Corinthians 6:14.

It is clear from these testimonies of Reverend Pastor Prophet Founder Oshoffa that the Celestial Jesus is another Jesus spoken of in 2 Corinthians 11:3,4 as follows:

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted – you may well put up with it! (Emphasis ours).

We see from these verses that another Jesus comes with a different spirit, not the Holy Spirit, and a different gospel, not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ which is recorded in all the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the Holy Bible. The Celestial Jesus came to add a supplement – the Koran – to the Bible for his followers. The implication is that the Holy Bible and the Koran are of equal merit and worth for Celestians. Furthermore, as the Celestial Jesus came with “a well worn old Bible wrapped with string,” is this a sign to his followers that the Bible is not meant to be read but to be carried around as a talisman or magical object? Another significant fact about the Celestial Jesus is that he is sometimes accompanied by his mother Maria, in ministering to the needs of his followers.

God's stern warning to those who pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ is:

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8,9.

References For this Publication

1. Celestial Church of Christ, 1980. The Celestial Church of Christ Constitution (Available on the Internet at the Website of the Church).

2. Fatoyinbo M.T. 1983. The Celestial Church of Christ: An Enquiry into the Place and Use Of Spiritual Manifestations in the Life and Faith of an African Independent Church. M. Phil Dissertation, Trinity College, Bristol.

3. Shoneyin, Yetunde, Wonders of Celestial Church.

4. Soetan, B.O.A. 1998. Celestial or Terrestrial Church? The Hidden Secrets of the Celestial Church of Christ . Lifeline World Outreach Int. Abeokuta, Nigeria.

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