The
faith of our fathers before us we will not forsake, we may forsake denominations,
we may forsake doctrines, but their faith that fears nothing, we will remain
true, their faith that fears no one but the Creator- who can destroy not just the
body but also the spirit we will live.
Their unshakable faith in the divine assurance
that,"God causes all things to work together for good to those who love
God, to those who are called according to His purpose"will continue to
inspire us, this is why I can sing the song of faith that:
Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene'er we hear thy wondrous voice!
Refrain
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from
God,
We all shall then be truly free.
Refrain
Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.
Refrain
One of such our fathers is Joseph Ayo Babalola, who was raised by God to raze the works of the kingdom of darkness in his generation and generations yet unborn.
Joseph Ayodele Babalola was born on April 25, 1904 to
David Rotimi and Madam Marta Talabi who belonged to the Anglican Church. The
family lived at Odo-Owa in Ilofa, a small town about ninety kilometres from Ilorin in Kwara
State, Nigeria.
His father was the Baba Ijo ("church
father") of the C.M.S.Church at Odo-Owa. Pastor Medayese wrote
in his book Itan Igbe dide Woli Ayo Babalola that
mysterious circumstances surrounded the birth of Babalola. On that day, it
was believed that a strange and mighty object exploded and shook the clouds.
On January 18, 1914, young Babalola was taken by his
brother M. 0. Rotimi,a Sunday school teacher in the C.M.S. church at Ilofa, to
Osogbo. Babalola started school at Ilofa and got as far as standard
five at All Saints' School Osogbo.
However, he quit school when he decided to learn a trade and
became a motor mechanic apprentice. Again, he did not continue long in this
vocation before joining the Public Works Department (PWD). He was among the
road workers who constructed the road from Igbara-Oke to Ilesa, working as a
steam roller driver.
BABALOLA'S CALL TO MINISTRY
Just like the Old Testament prophets, Babalola was
called by God into the prophetic office to stand before men. His was a specific
and personal call. Babalola's strange experience started on the night of
September 25th, 1928 when he suddenly became restless and could not sleep. This
went on for a week and he had no inkling of the cause of such a strange
experience.
The climax came one day when he was, as usual, working on the
Ilesa-Igbara-Oke road. Suddenly the steam roller's engine stopped to his utter
amazement. There was no visible mechanical problem, and Joseph became confused
and perplexed. He was in this state of confusion when a great voice "like
the sound of many waters" called him three times. The voice was loud and
clear and it told him that he would die if he refused to heed the divine call
to go into the world and preach. Babalola did not want to listen to
this voice and he responded like many of the Biblical prophets, who, when they
were called out by Yahweh as prophets, did not normally yield to the first
call. Men like Moses and Jeremiah submitted to God only when it became
inevitable. So, Babalola gave in only after he had received the
assurance of divine guidance.
To go on the mission, he had to resign his appointment with the
Public Works Department. Mr. Fergusson, the head of his unit, tried to dissuade
him from resigning but the young man was bent on going on the Lord's mission.
The same voice came to Joseph a second time asking him to fast
for seven days. He obeyed and at the end of the period he saw a great figure of
a man who, according to Pastor Alokan, resembled Jesus. The man in a dazzling
robe spoke at length about the mission he was to embark upon. The man also told
him of the persecutions he would face and at the same time assured him of God's
protection and victory. A hand prayer bell was given to Babalola as a
symbol. He was told that the sound of the bell would always drive away evil
spirits. He was also given a bottle of "life-giving water" to heal
all manners of sickness.
Consequently, wherever and whenever he prayed into the water for
therapeutic purposes, effective healing was procured for those who drank the
water. Thus, Babalola became a prophet and a man with extraordinary
powers. Enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit he could spend several weeks in
prayer. Elder Abraham Owoyemi of Odo-Owa, said that the prophet regularly saw
angels who delivered divine messages to him. An angel appeared in one of his
prayers and forbade him to wear caps.
THE ITINERARY OF PROPHET BABALOLA
During one of his prayer sessions, an angel appeared to him and
gave him a big yam, which he ordered him to eat. The angel told him that the
yam was the tuber with which God fed the whole world. He further revealed that
God had granted unto him the power to deliver those who were possessed of evil
spirits in the world. He was directed to go first to Odo-Owa and start
preaching. He was to arrive in the town on a market day, cover his body with
palm fronds, and disfigure himself with charcoal paints.
In October 1928, he entered the town in the manner described and
was taken for a mad man.Babalola immediately started preaching and
prophesying. He told the inhabitants of Odo-Owa about an impending danger if
they did not repent. He was arrested and taken to the district officer at Ilorin for
allegedly disturbing the peace. The district officer later released him when
the allegations could not be proven. However, it was said that a few days
later, there was an outbreak of smallpox in the town. The man whose prophecies
and messages were once rejected was quickly sought for. He went around praying
for the victims and they were all healed.
Pa David Rotimi, Babalola's father, had been instrumental
in the establishment of a C.M.S.Church in Odo-Owa. Babalola organized
regular prayer meetings in this church, which many people attended because of
the miracles God performed through him. Among the regulars was Isaiah Oluyemi
who later saw the wrath of Bishop Smith of Ilorin diocese.
Information had reached the bishop that almost all members of the C.M.S.Church in
Ilofa were seeing visions, speaking in tongues and praying vigorously. Babalola and
the visionaries were allegedly ordered by Bishop Smith to leave the church. But Babalola did
not leave the town until June 1930.
On an invitation from Daniel Ajibola, Babalola went to Lagos.
Elder Daniel Ajibola at that time was working in Ibadan where he was
a member of the Faith Tabernacle Congregation. He introduced Prophet Babalola to
Pastor D. O. Odubanjo, one of the leaders of the Faith Tabernacle in Lagos.
Senior Pastor Esinsinade who was then the president of the Faith Tabernacle was
invited to see Babalola. After listening to the details of his call and his
ministry, the Faith Tabernacle leaders warmly received the young prophet into
their midst.
Babalola had not yet been baptized by immersion and Senior
Pastor Esinsinade emphasized that he needed to go through that rite. Pastor
Esinsinade then baptized him in the lagoon at the back of the Faith Tabernacle
Church building at 51, Moloney Bridge Street, Lagos. Babalola returned
to Odo-Owa a few days after that and Elder (later Pastor) J. A. Medayese, paid
him a visit.
The news of the conversion of the new prophet reached Pastor K.
P. Titus at Araromi in Yagba, present KwaraState. Pastor Titus was a
teacher and preacher at the Sudan Interior Mission which was then thriving at
Yagba. He invited Prophet Babalola for a revival service. Joseph
AyodeleBabalola while in Yagba, performed mighty works of healing. Many
Muslims and Christians from other denominations and some traditional
religionists were converted to the new faith during the revival.
The fact that Babalola did not use the opportunity to
establish a separate Christian organization despite his marvellous evangelical
success must be puzzling to historians, but his intention was not to start a
new church. He declared to his followers that he had registered his membership
with the Faith Tabernacle, the society that had him baptized in Lagos. He
thus persuaded them to become members of the Faith Tabernacle. To facilitate
this, he went to Lagos to confer with the leaders, especially as he
was not yet well acquainted with the doctrines, tenets, and administration of
the church.
OKE-OYE MIGHTY REVIVAL
There was a controversy among the leaders of the Faith
Tabernacle in Nigeria over some doctrines. In the midst of it were,
in particular, the Ilesa and Oyan branches of the tabernacle. The Oyan branch
was under the supervision of Pastor J. A. Babatope, a notable Anglican teacher,
before his conversion and later, one of the outstanding leaders of the Faith
Tabernacle in Nigeria. Issues like the use of western and traditional
drugs versus divine healing, polygamy and whether polygamous husbands should be
allowed to partake of the Lord's Supper were among those doctrines that needed
to be agreed on.
These issues had caused dissension at the IIesa Tabernacle and
in order to avoid a split, a delegation of peacemakers made up of all leading
Faith Tabernacle pastors, was sent to Ilesa. It was headed by Pastor J. B.
Esinsinade of Ijebu-Ode, president of the General Headquarters of the movement
and D. O. Odubanjo of the Lagos Missionary Headquarters. The Ilesa meeting was
scheduled for the 9th and l0th of July, 1930. The Apostolic Council of
Jerusalem in A.D. 48, and other important church councils, are precedents in
seeking ecclesiastical direction on matters affecting the life and peace of the
church.
Before the delegation left Lagos for Ilesa, Babalola had
been invited to meet the leaders at Pastor I. B. Akinyele's residence at Ibadan.
From there I. B. Akinyele and Babalola joined the
delegation to Ilesa. At Ilesa, he was introduced to the whole conference and
was lodged in a separate room because of his prophetic mission. The
representatives began their meeting and on the agenda were twenty-four items.
The first was the validity of baptism administered to a man with many wives.
The second was the issue of divine healing because some of the members believed
in the use of drugs like quinine to cure malaria fever. They were only able to
discuss the first item when there was a sudden interruption which Pastor
Adegboyega described thus: "The conciliatory talks at Ilesa were going on,
when suddenly a mighty sweeping revival broke out at Faith Tabernacle Congregation
Church at Oke-Oye, Ilesa". The revival began with the raising by Babalola of
a dead child. The mother of the dead child who was restored to life went about
spreading the news around the town of Ilesa proclaiming that a
miracle working prophet had come to the town of Oke-Oye.
This attracted a large number of people to Oke-Oye to see the
prophet. According to Pastor Medayese, many of those afflicted with various
diseases who came to Oke-Oye were healed. Many mighty works were performed
through the use of the prayer bell and the drinking of consecrated water from a
stream called Omi Ayo ("Stream of Joy").
The result was that thousands of people including traditional
religionists, Muslims and Christians from various other denominations were
converted to the Faith Tabernacle. As there was no space in the church hall,
revival meetings were shifted to an open field where men and women from all
walks of life, from every part of the country and from neighbouring countries
assembled daily for healing, deliverances and blessings. Odubanjo testified
that within three weeks Babalola had cured about one hundred lepers,
sixty blind people and fifty lame persons.
He further claimed that both the Anglican and Wesleyan Churches in
Ilesa were left desolate because their members transferred their allegiance to
the revivalist and that all the patients in Wesley Hospital, Ilesa,
abandoned their beds to seek healing from Babalola. Also, Many of the
schools belonging to the Wesleyan and Anglican Churches, as well as to the
Baptists and the Roman Catholics, closed down altogether, and there has not
been sufficient money again to pay their teachers due to the fact that the
majority of their members left to join us".
The assistant district officer in Ilesa in 1930 wrote that he
visited the scene of the revival incognito and found a crowd of hundreds of
people including a large contingent of the lame and blind and concluded that
the whole affair was orderly. Members of the church made fantastic claims such
as: "Hopeless barren women were made fruitful; women who had been carrying
their pregnancies for long years were wonderfully delivered. The dumb spoke and
lunatics were cured. In fact, it was another day of Pentecost. Witches
confessed and some demon possessed people were exorcized. But the general
superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society of Nigeria at the
time has described the reports as "grotesquely inaccurate accounts of the
operations of Babalola." This of course could be the biased view of a man
whose church was said to be the greatest victim of the Ilesa revival.
A revelation was later given to Ayo Babalola to
burn down a big tree in front of the Owa's Palace. The big tree believed
traditionally to be the rendezvous of witches and wizards. The juju tree was
therefore greatly feared and sacrifices were usually made to the spirits
believed to reside in it. There was apprehension that this bold act would
result in the instantaneous death of Babalola since it was expected to
arouse the anger of the gods. But to the great amazement of the people, the
prophet did not die but rather continued to wax stronger in the Lord's work.
That single event was said to have made even the Owa of Ilesa and important
people in the town to fear and respect the prophet.
The tidal wave of Babalola's revival spread from Ilesa to
Ibadan, Ijebu, Lagos, Efon-Alaaye, Aramoko Ekiti and Abeokuta. No greater
revival preceded that of Babalola. It was popularly held in Christ
Apostolic Church (C.A.C.) circles that at one revival meeting, attendance rose
to about forty thousand. Among the men of faith who came as disciples to Babalola were
Daniel Orekoya, Peter Olatunji who came from Okeho, and Omotunde, popularly
known as Aladura Omotunde, from Aramoko Ekiti. These men drew great inspiration
from Babalola. Orekoya went on to reside inIbadan where a great
revival also broke out at Oke-Bola through him. It was during his Oke-Bola
revival that Orekoya reportedly raised a dead pregnant woman.
After the great revival of Oke-Oye, the prophet was directed by
the Holy Spirit to go out on further missionary journeys, but even before this,
people from other parts of the country had been spreading the glad tidings of
Oke-Oye, Ilesa's great revival, to other parts of the country. Accompanied by
some followers, Joseph Babalola went to Offa, in present Kwara State.
Characteristically, people turned out to hear his preaching and see miracles.
The Muslims in Offa became jealous and for that reason incited the members of
the community against him. To avoid bloodshed he was compelled to leave.
He next stopped in Usi in Ekitiland for his evangelical
mission and he performed many works of healing. From Usi he and his men moved
to Efon-Alaaye, also in Ekitiland, where they received a warm reception from
the Oba Alaaye of Efon. An entire building was provided for their comfort. Babalola requested
an open space for prayer from the Oba who willingly and cheerfully gave him the
privilege to choose a site. Consequently, the prophet and his men chose a large
area at the outskirts of town. Traditionally the place was a forbidden forest
because of the evil spirits that were believed to inhabit it. The Oba tried to
dissuade Babalola and his men from entering the forbidden forest, but Babalola insisted
on establishing his prayer ground there. The missionaries entered the bush,
cleared it and consecrated it as a prayer ground. When no harm came upon them,
the inhabitants of Efon were inspired to accept the new faith in large numbers.
Babalola's evangelistic success in Efon-Alaaye was a remarkable
one. Archdeacon H. Dallimore from Ado-Ekiti and some white pastors from
Ogbomoso Baptist Seminary were believed to have come to see for themselves the
"wonder-working prophet" at Efon. Both Dallimure and the Baptist
pastors reportedly asked some men from St. Andrew's College, Oyo and Baptist
Seminary, Ogbomoso to assist in the work.
The success of the revival was accelerated by the conversion of
both the Oba of Efon and the Oba of Aramoko. They were both baptized with the
names, Solomon Aladejare Agunsoye and Hezekiah Adeoye respectively. After this
event, news of the revival at Efon spread to other parts of Ekitiland.
The missionaries also visited other towns in the present Ondo State.
Among them were Owo, Ikare and Oka. Babalola retreated to his home
town in Odo-Owa to fortify himself spiritually. While he was at Odo-Owa, a
warrant for his arrest was issued from Ilorin. He was arrested for preaching
against witches, a practice which had caused some trouble in Otuo in present Bendel
State. He was sentenced to jail for six months in Benin City in March
1932. After serving the jail term, he went back to Efon Alaaye.
One Mr. Cyprian E. Ufon came from Creek Town in
Calabar to entreat Babalola to "come over to Macedonia and
help." Ufon had heard about Babalola and his works and wanted
him to preach in Creek Town. After seeking God's direction, the prophet
followed Ufon to CreekTown. His campaign there was very successful. From Creek
Town, Babalola visited Duketown and a plantation where a
national church existed at the time. Certain members of this church received
the gift of the Holy Spirit as Babalola was preaching to them and
were baptized. When the prophet returned from the Calabar area, he settled down
for a while. In 1935 he married Dorcas.
The following year Babalola, accompanied by Evangelist
Timothy Bababusuyi, went to the Gold Coast. On arrival at Accra, he was
recognized by some people who had seen him at the Great Revival in Ilesa. After
a successful campaign in the Gold Coast he returned to Nigeria.
THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH (CAC) IN NIGERIA
The spectacular evangelism by Prophet Joseph Ayo Babalola brought
with it a wave of persecution to all who rushed into the new faith. The mission
churches allegedly became jealous and hostile especially as their members
constituted the main converts of the Faith Tabernacle. It was widely rumoured
that the revival movement was a lawless and unruly organization. The Nigerian
government was put on the alert about the activities of the movement. At this
time, the leading members of the movement were advised to invite the American
Faith Tabernacle leaders to come to their rescue.
The leaders from America, however, refused to come as such
a venture was said to be against their principles. As a matter of fact, the
association between the Philadelphia group and the Faith Tabernacle of
Nigeria was terminated following the marital problems of the leader of the
American group, Pastor Clark. The Nigerian group then went into fellowship with
the Faith and Truth Temple of Toronto which sent a party of seven missionaries
to West Africa. Again, the fellowship was stopped when Mr. C. R. Myers, the
only surviving missionary, sent his wife to the hospital where she died in
childbirth.
Despite these disappointing relationships with foreign groups,
the Nigerian Faith Tabernacle still considered it prestigious to seek
affiliation with a foreign body. The rationale for this can be found in D. O
Odubanjo's letter to Pastor D. P. Williams of the Apostolic Church of Great
Britain of March 1931. In the letter Odubanjo claimed: "The officers of
the government here fear the European missionaries, and dare not trouble their
native converts, but often, we brethren here have been ill-treated by
government officers".
This was followed by a formal request for missionaries to be
sent to strengthen the position of the Nigerian Faith Tabernacle. Missionaries
did come and, on their advice, the Nigerian Faith Tabernacle was ceded to the British
Apostolic Church. Consequently, the name changed from Faith Tabernacle to the Apostolic
Church.
Doctrinal differences between the two groups soon began to
appear in forms similar to the ones that caused the termination of the
association with the American groups. The subject of divine healing, was one of
the most important issues. Some of the invited white missionaries from Britain were
found using quinine and other tablets and this caused a serious controversy
among the leading members. It was unfortunate that the controversy could not be
resolved and the movement subsequently split. One faction of the church made
Oke-Oye its base and retained the name the Apostolic Church. The other
larger faction and in which Prophet Joseph Babalola was a leader
eventually became the Christ Apostolic Church.
Babalola was a spiritually gifted individual who was
genuinely dissatisfied with the increasing materialistic and sinful existence
into which he believed, the Yoruba in particular and Nigeria in
general were being plunged as western civilization influence on society grew.
The C.A.C believes that the spiritiual power bestowed on Babalola placed
him on an equal level with Biblical apostles like Peter, Paul and others who
were sent out with the authority and in the name of Jesus.
Joseph Ayo Babalola slept in the Lord in 1959
The above narration of the life of Joseph Ayo Babalola was sourced from the CAC website.
