His_Eminence Rt

I wish to thank God for the Pastor-Founder of this great church, whom God has used to establish a unique and great church like ours. I also wish to thank and honor our fathers- in- Christ (both dead and alive) whom God has used and continues to use to advance the great assignment started in 1947 by the Pastor-Founder, Rev. Pastor, Prophet SBJ Oschofa. I also thank the organizers of this convention who have put themselves and their resources at God’s disposal to make this event possible. I want to thank my former Shepherd whose invitation and persistence brought me to this event. Finally, I wish to thank all the attendees without whom there would be no convention.

I wish to acknowledge that it is not customary for women to speak or present papers or perform such activities in the CCC. The Celestial Church Constitution, Article 190 states in part, “In Celestial Church of Christ, women are not permitted to preach the sermon or read the lesson or make announcements during Church devotional services.” This has been more or less wrongly interpreted to mean that women should be completely relegated. Much as it may not be the intention or ambition of women to go beyond the spiritual bounds set for them, it is note-worthy that recent developments have begun to give women roles to play in contributing to the growth of the church subject of course to the provisions of the CCC constitution and the word of God. It is within this context that I express my utmost appreciation to the organizers of this convention for counting me worthy to present a few ideas at this event. Again, thank you all!!!

The purpose of this paper is not to criticize or pass judgment on prophets in the Celestial Church of Christ (of whom I am one), but to sensitize us to some of the high expectations put on us by the Almighty God Himself according the Scriptures. In this presentation, I will define who a Prophet is, what prophets’ responsibilities are, what expectations people have of them and how they can continue to be in the will of their Caller. I will also touch on what Prophecy is and whether or not its expectations are being met. Because of time constraint, it will not be possible to expound on the chosen topic to the fullest. So, attendees are encouraged to do more in-depth search and share their views with others.

The question here is why Prophecy? Why not other spiritual gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, working of miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:5-11)? Why is prophecy the most coveted spiritual gift in the Celestial Church of Christ? The apostle Paul himself answered the question in 1Cor. 14: 5 where he states, “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may be edified.” When God wanted to empower 70 elders to assist Moses with some of his responsibilities, “the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again” (Num. 11:25). Could God not have given them another of His numerous gifts? What I am driving at is that there must be something unique and special about the gift of prophecy and the prophet. These we shall explore in this paper.

The apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 14 enjoined all believers to desire the gift of prophecy. But does desiring it mean getting it? If it is a gift given even before you were born (Jer. 1:4-5) does desiring it mean that if God has not called you to be a prophet, that He would make you one because you desire to be one? Does it mean if God has already called you from your mother’s womb and you desire the gift, that you are really telling God to manifest His gift of prophecy in you? Many prophets in the Bible did not even know they were prophets until they were called to manifest the gift. A few of these examples were Jeremiah (Jer. 1: 5), Ezekiel (Ezek. 3: 1-3, 17), Amos (Amos 7: 14-15), etc. There were others whose parents were told before they were born that they would be prophets. A quick example of this group was John the Baptist (Lk 1: 11-17). The question some people would probably want to ask is why is it that in the CCC, God has used non-prophets to give messages (even at naming ceremonies when there were no prophets)? He made the seventy elders to prophesy in the time of Moses (Num. 11:25) and even made Saul to prophesy when he met a group of prophets (1 Sam. 10: 6-12). Since we are clay in His hands and He is the Potter and He does everything for His own pleasure (Ps. 115:3), God will mould us as it pleases Him (Isa. 45:9; 64:8; Jer. 18:6). In the bible, God used other people to give messages, even people who were not children of Israel: a Philistine, (Gen. 20:6), an Egyptian (Gen. 41:1), a Midianite (Judg. 7:13), a Babylonian (Dan. 2:1) and even a Roman (Matt. 27:19).

So, instances of God using people as one-time prophets are not new. What happens in the CCC is only a continuation of what God has done in the past “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6). One other important thing to note here is that God promised the children of Israel that He would raise up a prophet from among His chosen people, qualify him by putting His words in his mouths, enable him to speak all that He commanded him and the authority of His word which he must speak (Deut. 18:18-19). However, He did not tell them that prophecy would be the exclusive gift to the children of Israel. This, therefore has entitled us to be here today as prophets of God. It is therefore evident that it is because of the seeming “super-natural” status that prophets enjoy that many people in the CCC covet the gift rather than perform in other offices. This also is the reason why it is the most abused and misused office. We will look at the issue of abuse or misuse of the gift of prophecy in greater depth later if time permits.

The Bible dictionary defines a prophet as an authoritative and infallible teacher of God’s will.” (Davis Dictionary of the Bible, pg. 657). The Student Bible Dictionary (by Karen Dockery Johnnie & Phyllis Godwin, page 194) defines a prophet as one who speaks for God (Mic. 1:1) and prophecy is to speak for God, that is to tell God’s truth (Mark 7:6, 2 Pet. 1:19-21). Authoritative (based on competent authority, reliable) and Infallible (incapable of error, faultless, reliable, dependable) are very strong words because they put a very high responsibility on this calling. Infallible more so than authoritative because there are other offices in the CCC that are also authoritative: Pastor, Shepherds, and Clergy, anyone of a higher rank and even the Parochial Committee of a Parish. So, authoritative is not unique to the prophet. But wait a minute! If a Shepherd takes a decision or even gives an opinion that his superiors do not agree with, can it not be reversed? The answer is yes! However if a prophet of God gives a spiritual message even to the Pastor, can he reverse it? The answer is no! He may subject the message to discernment and he will comply when he knows that it is from God. Even if he decides not to comply, he knows that he is acting in disobedience.

The word of God states, “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1: 20-21). So, the authority of the prophet is a different kind of authority from that of the others which may be administrative. It is no wonder, therefore, why the prophet is supposed to be an infallible teacher of God’s word! Infallible is a loaded word because it is saying that a prophet is supposed to be faultless. Who else is faultless but God (1 Sam. 2:2; Rev. 15:4)? What one can draw from this definition of a prophet is that God expects the highest form of commitment to His divine mission from those He has called to be His prophets.

The prophet is more or less the channel of communication between God and His children. At what frequency are we then operating as prophets? Are we tuned to God’s channel at the proper wave-length or are we operating at the human frequency and making believe that we are relaying God’s words? This is a serious challenge to us prophets in the Celestial Church of Christ today. Do we want to be hot prophets who cool off after a short while or do we want to be prophets of God who can consistently uphold His calling all through our lives? Remember that “… the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Rm. 13:29). That is the reason that even when we defile ourselves with sin, we can still give messages. However, whose messages are we giving? Remember the case of how God put a lying spirit in the mouths of 400 prophets to prophesy victory to Ahab and only Micaiah prophesied the truth (defeat) to him (1 Ki. 22; 2 Chr. 18). The bible does not say that the 400 were not prophets of God but that a lying spirit was sent from the throne of God into them so that Ahab would be destroyed. Should we then only prophesy good and words of encouragement like Zedekiah and the other prophets (1 Ki. 22:11-13; 2 Chr. 18:10-12) or should we be like Micaiah who will say “ As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak” (1 Ki. 22:14; 2 Chr.18:13)? Should we then just give only messages of blessings so that we can be loved by the congregation? Remember that God told Jeremiah “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them …” (Jer. 1:17-19).

I said at the beginning that I was just going to sensitize us to the responsibilities of our calling! The call to prophecy is a call to higher duties loaded with very grave responsibilities. For example, Jeremiah and Hananiah were two prophets who claimed to speak what God had told them (Jer. 28: 1-15). Jeremiah had bad news for the children of Israel on account of their sins and disobedience. Hananiah, on the other hand, prophesied peace. God sent Jeremiah to tell the false prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah; the Lord has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie. Therefore, thus says the Lord, “Behold, I will cast you from off the face of the earth; this year you will die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.” A few months later, Hananiah died (vv. 15-17). False prophecy is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which will not be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come (Matt. 12: 31-32). May we not offend God through our calling and miss Heaven. Amen.

God told Ezekiel (Ezek. 3:17; 3:20) that He had made the prophet a watchman for His people and that He would hold the prophet accountable for the iniquities of the people should he fail to instruct them as He, God had commanded. Some people may say that that was the Old Testament and we have the dispensation of Jesus Christ shedding His blood on the cross for us to be saved and God, therefore, will forgive our sins and remember them no more (Jer. 31:34)! Yes, true. But “… shall we continue if sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). God says in His word that “… The soul that sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4), “…You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” (Lev. 19:2), “For I am the Lord, I do not change…” (Mal. 3:6). Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, died because they lied against the Holy Spirit (Acts 5: 3, 4). John writes (1 Jn 5: 16, 17), “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that (we) should pray for it.” So, if the prophet is God’s channel of communication with His children, will He reveal His work to a sin-ridden and backslidden prophet? “The secret things belong to the Lord our God , but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29) and “Surely, the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). So, brethren, can you see how special, delicate and valuable our calling is? Who then is the Prophet of God?

Every prophet is like unto Moses (Deut. 18:15). Prophets are not appointed by man nor do they inherit the calling. Prophets are chosen. prepared and called by God (Jer. 1:4-10; Amos 7:15) and the call is often soul-searching. The call comes directly from God Himself and the prophet is aware of the definite moment when the call came. Examples are Moses in the burning bush, (Ex. 3:1-4:17); Samuel as a young boy sleeping in the house of the Lord (1 Sam. 36:1-20); and Amos breeding sheep and tending sycamore trees - as a shepherd and a farmer (Amos 7:14-17). I am sure that every prophet of God here also has a testimony of when he or she was called to manifest the gift of prophecy.

The call and the manifestation may not be at the same time. Samuel was called in his youth (1 Sam. 3:19-4:1) but he did not start to manifest it until later. Elisha was called out of tending for his father’s sheep (1 K 19:19-20) and he started manifesting his calling after Elijah was taken up into Heaven (2 K 2:13-14). Ezekiel was called (Ezek. 1:4) and manifested his calling later (Ezek. 33:1-22). So, also was Jeremiah who was called and anointed before he was formed in his mother’s womb and was called to manifest the gift in his youth (Jer. 1:4-10). John the Baptist was also anointed a prophet before he was even conceived (Lk. 1:17), reaffirmed at his naming ceremony (Lk. 1:76-80) and manifested his call in adulthood (Mk. 1:2-14). Other examples abound in the Bible. In the CCC, the call and the manifestation are similar to those contained in the Bible. Pregnant mothers are told that their unborn babies would be prophets and this is re-iterated at the child’s naming ceremony but the manifestation comes later; in some case earlier than others.

God reveals His word through his prophets by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1: 21). Words given are to the people and are accredited by their fulfillment (Zech. 1:6; 7:2; Neh. 9:3; 1 K 22:24; 2 Chr. 15:1, 24:20; Ezek. 11:5, Joel 2:28; Mic. 5:8; Matt. 22:43; 1 Pet. 1:10-11).

c. Angelic Messengers occasionally – Example – Daniel and Paul (Dan. 9:21-27; Acts 27:22-26).

e. Inward suggestions recognized by the prophet as not of himself – Example – Paul (Acts 27:10).

It is also important to note that prophets were not under the permanent influence of the Holy Spirit. The word of God came to them and they waited for revelation (Lev. 24:12). The prophets did not exercise their prophetic power at all times but only when God told them to speak (Jer. 42:1-7); (Ezek. 14:1-11). These prophets had to wait on the Lord for days and did not give any message unless the Lord gave them a reply. Not being inspired to speak does not mean that the power of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit is no longer there. We are anointed vessels and we must keep these vessels holy. We must watch our thoughts, utterances and actions - remember how Elisha, after he had received the double portion of Elijah’s power cursed the boys that were laughing at his bald-headedness and how the youths were mauled by 2 female bears (2 Ki. 2:24). This is a very serious warning to us, the prophets of today.

In order to understand who the prophet of God is, it is necessary to briefly discuss who the scriptures refer to as “false prophets”. If by definition, a prophet is an authoritative and infallible teacher of God’s will, a false prophet is, therefore, one who derives his authority and word from another source and cannot, therefore, be infallible. These can be referred to as sorcerers, magicians, soothsayers and the like. Besides the heathen prophets who spoke in the name of idols like Baal, etc. (Deut. 18:20; 1 K 18:9; Jer. 2:8, 23:13) there were false prophets who spoke in the name of God (Jer. 23:16-32). Three groups of false prophets are, therefore, identifiable:

i. Those conscious impostors enticed to claim the gift by the consideration and influence which the prophets of God enjoyed and therefore exhibit their learned “skills” not “gift” by smooth talking (1 K 22:5-28; Ezek. 13:17, 19; Mic. 3:11; Zech. 13:4). These are best described as conmen and con-women. Their words are not matched by their actions, utterances and life styles.

ii. Sincere and even godly men whose doctrine may be based on the scriptures and the law of God but who are self-deceived in that they have not been called to the office of prophecy but only pretend to be. For example, Simon the sorcerer had bewitched the people of Samaria to the extent that they saw him as “the great power of God.” After he had been converted to Christianity and baptized by Philip, he badly wanted to have Philip’s spiritual powers. So, when Peter and John came and Simon saw that, by the laying of hands, people received the Holy Spirit, he offered them money to give him the same power. Peter cursed him; saying, “Your money perish with you because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (Acts 8: 5-20). Is it possible that even in the CCC, there are prophets who are not called by God (at least, not yet called) but have used material means (or otherwise) to manipulate their way into wearing 4-corner sutana (prophet’s garment)? The question here is who called and anointed them prophets and whose message are they giving?

iii. There are also those prophets of God who were called and who have backslidden. They fell into fleshly gratification: money, women, men etc. For example, the 400 prophets who though they were called were used by a lying spirit to prophesy lies to Ahab and were therefore favored in his eyes. These backslidden prophets are tempted to exhibit their power and they therefore regress to other sources of power. Unfortunately, because some of them have already sinned against the Holy Spirit and are, therefore, already condemned (Matt. 24:11, 32), they oftentimes give false and misleading messages to innocent people. Some of these innocent people who have been misled find out the truth rather late and some never do and they leave the church out of frustration. In the CCC, the experience is not different. Such are the prophets that give a bad name to their church whether it is CCC or any other church that believes in prophecy.

Due to time constraint, we cannot treat this topic in greater detail. We shall therefore leave it for another time.

In order to distinguish between true prophets and false prophets, the Bible enjoins us to test the spirit (1 Jn. 4:1-3). “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in flesh is not of God. And it is spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world.” The following is a brief discussion of the necessary and sufficient conditions to recognize a true prophet:

The true prophets are accredited with signs. But signs alone are not sufficient, for they may occasionally come to pass accidentally or be worked by trickery, deception and magic (Ex. 7:11, 22; Deut. 13:1, 2; 2 Thes. 2:9).

Since the word of God is power (Heb. 4:12) and it must be fulfilled (Matt. 24:35), the prediction of the true prophet must be fulfilled. In our expectation of the fulfillment of the predictions, we must be careful that we do not set deadlines for God because He is the God who works when, how and where He wills, for if He said it, He will do it and if He spoke it, He will bring it to pass (Isa. 46:11).

The words spoken by the prophet must be consistent with the word of God as God holds man accountable for obedience to the words of the prophet.

God is holy and, therefore, demands purity from those through whom He manifests His will and Power (Matt. 5:48). Since prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:10), God will not fill a sin-ridden vessel with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The importance of purity in the relationship with God is further emphasized in 1 Cor. 13:16 and as the temple of God where God dwells, keeping this body (vessel) holy is even more imperative for the prophet who is a vessel of the Holy Spirit’s manifestations. The prophet must strive in holiness to be a useful vessel of honor which must continue to pass through the fire of purification / sanctification (3 Tim. 2:21). Besides, the scripture says that without holiness no man can see God (Heb. 12:14).

In the scripture (as it is today in CCC), prophets are spiritually prepared to receive divine communications. They were holy men and women as described by Hosea and men of the spirit (Hos. 9:7), who surrendered themselves to God’s service and live in communion with God. They were men of habitual prayer like Samuel (1 Sam. 7:5, 8:6, 12:23, 15:11) who retire at times to their “watch tower” that is, composed their minds and gave themselves up in quiet contemplation in order to wait for revelation (Is. 21:8; Heb. 2:1). Moses withdrew 40 days into the quiet and solitude of Mount Sinai. In some instances, music was employed to stimulate devotion (1 Sam. 10:5), attune their hearts to meditation when the will of God was being sought (2 K 3:15). It was also perhaps not accidental that prophets sometimes went to the riverside and were soothed by the placid or steady flow of the stream when the communication came (Ezek. 1:3; Dan. 10:4) and that Samuel heard the Lord speak when the night had fallen (1 Sam. 3:2-10).

The prophets of old obeyed God even unto death. Moses whom God spoke to face to face (Num. 12:6-8; Deut. 34:10) and whom the Scriptures acknowledged as the greatest prophet that had arisen in Israel (Deut. 34:10-12), did not get to the promised land. In the exercise of his responsibilities, he offended God in anger (Num. 20:7-12) and missed the promised land. Even after God had pronounced His punishment on Moses and refused to hear Moses’ plea, Moses continued to carry out God’s command in absolute obedience. How many prophets here will marry a wife of harlotry call their children names like Lo-Ruhamah (No-Mercy) and Lo-Ammi (Not-My People) in obedience to God’s command as Hosea did (Hosea 1: 2-11). How many of us prophets here today will not mourn the death of our wives if God takes her away suddenly to show how He would punish the congregation for their transgressions as He did in the case of Ezekiel (Ezek. 24:15-27). How about the great prophet Isaiah who, though he was married to a prophetess was asked to name his son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz - Hasten the spoil (Isa. 8:3)? How many of us will obey God’s command not to marry like Jeremiah did (Jer. 16:1-2) and on top of that, Jeremiah was one of the most persecuted prophets in the Bible (Jer. 20:1-2), imprisoned (Jer. 32:1-2), dumped in a well and finally taken into exile where he died.

i. Prophecy is a divine calling which makes the prophet highly accountable for his actions (Deut. 18:20; Ezek. 3:18). He, therefore, owes it an obligation to God not to mislead the congregation.

ii. The prophet must be careful not to sin against the Holy Spirit because he will not be forgiven in this world or in the next (Matt. 24:11, 32).

iii. The Spirit of discernment is important to distinguish between the true and false prophet / message (1 Cor. 12:10).

iv. The exercise of the gift of prophecy is not a guarantee for salvation or an automatic pass to Heaven (1 Cor. 13:2; Matt. 7:23-23)

v. All believers should desire the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:5) but it must never be coveted (Acts 8: 18-23).

vi. The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet (1 Cor. 14: 32). Therefore, that a prophet can go into a trance during worship is no reason to disrupt the devotional service, refuse to listen to bible readings or listen to the sermon because God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14: 33).

Â Presented at the 3^rd Annual International Prophets & Prophetess Convention, USA held at Celestial Church of Christ, Luli Parish, Cheverly, Maryland USA on April 7^th to 9^th, 2006.