The founder of the Household of God Church, Chris Okotie, on Tuesday , shared a cryptic post wherein he referenced a certain ”wizard of Endor” who assumed the title of ”Emmanuel.”
Although Mr Okotie did not mention any name or person in particular in his message, it has been inferred on social media that the “wizard at Endor who assumed the title Emmanuel” was a reference to the late TB Joshua and his church’s slogan-Emmanuel.
Mr Okotie’s statement comes three days after the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, popularly called TB Joshua, passed on.
History
Mr Okotie has been a long-standing critic of his late colleague and once described the late prophet as the “vicar of the devil on earth.”
In 2017, Mr Okotie described him as an impostor ,accused him of “shamanist practices” and alleged that his miracles were fake.
No doubt, Mr Okotie has also been outspoken about his thoughts on his late colleague and has never minced words when it comes to matters that pertain to Mr Joshua.
He once infamously said that Mr Joshua “is in partnership with Satan to subjugate the church to the will of the devil”.
In his latest statement, Mr Okotie noted that the day of God’s vengeance has fully come to Nigeria though it wasn’t clear who he was directly referencing in his post.
ALSO READ: INTERVIEW: Why some Nigerian pastors hated T.B. Joshua – Fani-Kayode
His statement partly read, ”Hebrews 1:13 says Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
”No marvel, one-third of God’s angels followed the disgraced anointed cherub Lucifer!!
”Jesus our mighty gladiator has broken the head of the dragon with his mighty blows.
”He has descended from the mountain of spices with the fiery sword of his indignation. Glorious in his apparel and traveling in the greatness of his strength, he goes conquering and to conquer the adversaries of his church.
”Let those who swear by the Lord and by Malcham and the descendants of Haman, now tremble in fear.
”The day of the vengeance of our God has fully come to Nigeria. And they shall not escape,” he wrote”.
Cold War
For years, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) never accepted the late preacher and philanthropist into their fold.
In 2009, Ayo Oritsejafor, the then PFN president and CAN chairman, infamously said the body would not admit Mr Joshua into its fold because they were not convinced that he was a child of God.
Mr Oritsejafor was quoted as saying, “Jesus did not say by their words you will know them; he said by the fruit you shall know them. If T.B. Joshua can show me his pastor who pastored him before he said he was called into the ministry; if T.B. Joshua can tell me when he got converted and how he got converted, then we would consider him. Anybody who is a Christian is a Christian because he received Jesus Christ at a point.
“I gather he said he was converted in his mother’s womb and I don’t see anybody like that in the Bible. It is a conscious decision you make and it doesn’t happen in your mother’s womb.”
He also said healing and miracles were not criteria for admitting anyone into the PFN fold or CAN.
It is, therefore, not surprising that both umbrella bodies of Christians in Nigeria have refused to send their condolence messages to the family of their late colleague.
This is because they never believed in his ministry.
Their actions have sparked outrage from observers on social media .
Reacting to the Christian community’s refusal to send condolence messages to Mr Joshua’s family, Ovation magazine publisher , Dele Momodu, expressed his disappointment in an Instagram post.
“Seriously no word from the Christian community in Nigeria regarding the death of TB Joshua. Even in death he is still hated. “Does he really need any validation… All souls will die.”
The popular televangelist passed on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at the age of 57.
The actual cause of death had yet to be made known.
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