The Bible itself was unequivocal some hundreds of years ago, when it foretold the events and the manner of people the world would yield at the end times. False prophets and churches, the holy book warned, would not be wanting in great numbers. And to hoodwink the unwary, the prophets would correspondingly wreak “miracles” of grandiose dimensions. The end times indeed may have come in Nigeria. If nothing else the indiscriminate proliferation

of churches, a teeming population of self-professed men of God, and the miracles they showcase, perhaps tell the story. But much more than that, the controversy that has recently engulfed the Pentecostal shade of the Christian fold, not a Christian

At the centre of the imbroglio is Prophet Temitope Joshua and his church, the Synagogue Church of All Nations. The combatants are Reverend Chris Okotie of the Household of God Fellowship, and his namesake, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Christ Embassy. The latter may have stoked the fire as it were, when he paid "the man in the synagogue," as Joshua Church members address him, a visit sometime in September 2001.

The visit incurred Okotie's ire and he didn't mask his disapproval. Almost immediately, on 22 October 2001, he wrote Pastor Chris, as Oyakhilome's admirers call him, condemning the visit and demanding that he denounce the Synagogue man publicly. Failure to do this, Okotie threatened, "I will have to speak publicly against you."

Chris Okotie has his reasons for feeling so passionately against Prophet Joshua. That feeling is in fact shared by a whole lot of other Christian faithful, who frown at the mode of ministrations in the synagogue. The Synagogue is touted as a place where the impossible could be made possible. 'There is no manner of ailment that has not been purportedly cured by the prophet, albeit miraculously.

As a result, it has become quite usual to hear the synagogue adherents refer cancer patients, the barren, the mentally deranged, and the physically handicapped or even AIDS patients, to Prophet Joshua. That is the degree of confidence they have in the man's miraculous powers. Instructively, not a few people have visited the Synagogue and come out proclaiming freedom from whatever sickness or affliction that had threatened their lives.

Joshua has his peculiar ways of conducting affairs in the Synagogue and as a matter of fact, recording significant events for posterity. The result is that virtually almost all the church's activities are video-taped, audio-recorded and photographed. Individuals, especially notable ones, who had one time or the other sought redemption, whether spiritual or physical in the Synagogue feature in these multi-media. From all over the world, they come in great numbers. In fact, the presence of white men is a common sight any day in the Synagogue.

The authenticity of the miracles and also the source of Prophet Joshua's powers are what Rev. Okotie has maintained that "he is neither a minister of Jesus Christ nor a brother in the Lord." He told Pastor Chris that much, and so dismissed the prophet as "an occultist, practising shamanism with Christian terminology.”

Reverend Chris Okotie said his decision to alert Pastor Chris on the implication of his "recent involvement" with Joshua was borne out of a genuine concern that "you are a colleague in the ministry, and above all, you are a brother in Christ Jesus.”

The allegations that when Pastor Chris visited Prophet Joshua, the latter purportedly laid his hand on the pastor's head obviously incensed Chris Okotie the more. The act of the laying of hand, it was said, was for the prophet to transfer some of his discredited miraculous powers to the pastor, who would subsequently put them to use in his church, where claims to miraculous healings have been much advertised.

But Pastor Chris did not take Rev Chris's exhortation. The thinking is that the former may have been upset by the latter’s threat to "speak publicly against" him, hence he called his bluff. However, in response to the condemnation of Prophet Joshua as "a quintessential mystic man," in Okotie's words, Pastor Chris has questioned rather rhetorically: "Must I condemn somebody because you condemned that person?"

So when Rev. Chris Okotie's five-day ultimatum to Pastor Chris elapsed, the former made good his threat. Pastor Chris himself has responded. Ever since, the Christian community, particularly the Pentecostal family has become a stage where vitriolic verbal attacks between the pro and anti-Joshua faithful are thrown with careless abandon.

Instructively, the allegations and counter-allegations have cast question marks on each of the combatants' genuineness as a man of God. For refusing to denounce Joshua publicly, Chris Okotie would now regard Pastor Chris as one and the same as Joshua, whom he described as "a product of Docetic Gnosticism and Cernithian heresy."

Pastor Chris has denied that Prophet Joshua or any minister of God for that matter, in this country has laid hands on him. Chris Okotie, he said, must have gotten that information "from the pit of hell… something is gone definitely wrong with him." For good measure, Pastor Chris has even introduced a new twist to the whole drama. He averred that Chris Okotie and not Prophet Joshua was the occult man, since "he is quoting the occult much more than he's quoting the Bible."

He also claimed that there was more to Okotie's condemnation of his relationship with Joshua than meets the eye. His healing powers, he said, has incurred enmity for him from the likes of Chris Okotie. He compared them to the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were envious of Jesus Christ: "It's not because of T.B Joshua that he's saying this. He's been looking for an opportunity to say these things." Pastor Chris insisted that the envy stemmed from the fact that his critics could not perform miracles and win more converts. "How many of them have ministered to someone who was crippled and see him healed instantly?" He queried.

Indeed, "among the Pentecostal churches, religious analysts have always alleged some unhealthy rivalries, which they say is informed more by the desire to have a multitudinous congregation than for soul-winning. The thinking is that the more the congregation, the more the yield from that congregation.

Last Wednesday, Joshua who is the subject of the fray demonstrated some caution in responding to the controversy Okotie started. “...I don't want to go personal," he told journalists. "We don't have ny conflicts. Why should I fight him?"

He is not even bothered about the controversy his professed powers have stirred. "Something unique always brings controversy. If it is not unique, somebody will say, oh he is doing the same thing others are doing:.."

Meanwhile, no one knows for how long the Chris and Chris battle will endure before they sheathe their swords. Whenever it 'does happen, a lot of questions would have been raised about the credibility of the men who should be the symbols of the Christian faith.

What is your comment on this story?

Culled from TheNews.