A historio-ecclesiatical reading of ecstatic prophets in Nigeria: Moses Orimolade in perspective

Abstract

The phenomenon of religious ecstasy has been the focus of scholarly investigations and debate for centuries. Israel was believed to have got its culture, values and religion from Yahweh through prophetic oracles. The Israelites were warned many a time by Yahweh and the prophets to distance themselves from their neighbours and their gods. However, some scholars claim that Israel borrowed ecstatic prophecy from its neighbours. The thrust of this paper is to investigate the origin, and the place of ecstatic prophecy in ancient Israel and its reflections in Moses Orimolade’s prophetic ministry in Nigeria. Historical method was used for the research. It uses historicity and ecclesiology as conceptual framework to contend that Israel’s prophetic tradition started before Israel settled in Canaan where it interacted with other nations. While it cannot be disputed that Israel must have been influenced by the culture of its neighbours, there were some elements in the religion that were peculiar to Israel. The study concludes that Israelite prophetic heritage cannot be compared with the divination in ancient Near East. There exist parallel between ecstatic prophetic ministry in ancient Israel and Moses Orimolade prophetic ministry in Nigeria. The Cherubim & Seraphim (C&S) church established by Orimolade grew through the instrumentality of ecstatic prophecy. The paper recommends that contemporary prophets in Nigeria and beyond must strive to fulfill divine mandate at all cost.