Predictive Prophecy: A Catalyst for the Growth of Christ Apostolic Church in Nigeria

Abstract

From the study of biblical literature, prophecies are twofold: foretelling (predictive) and forth telling (exhortation). The most popular among these two in Nigeria is the foretelling (predictive) because of its futuristic nature. Most Nigerians, regardless of their religious affiliation, would like to know what the future holds for them. It is believed in some quarters that one of the fastest growing African Indigenous Churches in Nigeria is the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC). Some scholars have attributed the growth of this church to predictive prophecy. The thrust of this paper is to investigate the place of predictive prophecy in the growth of CAC in Nigeria. Having considered the study from the standpoints of historical, participants’ observation, and interviews, it was discovered that predictive prophecy played a crucial role in the growth of the CAC. CAC, with the emphasis on predictive prophecy and prophets, brought growth to the church as Christian faithful and non-Christians who were previously consulting Ifa priest and Babalawo started coming to the church to seek solutions to their problems from the prophets. The prophets through prophetic oracles restored the church back to its evangelistic and missionary enterprise without adulteration. The paper concludes that prophecy has to do with the meditation and interpretation of the mind and the will of Yahweh or spiritual things in dayto-day human relationships. Predictive prophecy had been used and is still being used to influence socio-religious space in Nigeria. The CAC, Nigeria grew in lips and bounds through the instrumentality of predictive prophecy.