Welcome to a weird church where animals are freely slaughtered for sacrifice. As you step into this place of worship, you are confronted with the sight of a spot on the right that will make you conclude that you may have strayed into a slaughterhouse.
Even though insinuations of a slaughterhouse stick out starkly and grisly, this is by no means an abattoir. There is neither buying and selling of meat in this worship centre called As God Said, It Must Done, The Temple of The Most High God.
An evangelist at the church explained that the spot is called the ‘Earth Altar’ and that it’s where different types of sacrifices are offered unto God.
Located on a street named after it, Off Fakunle Street, Oke-Aro in Ogun State, a suburb near Lagos, the church is neither Pentecostal nor orthodox. All the same, both the shepherd and the sheep are strongly convinced that they are serving the living God the right way.
This reporter gathered that the blood splattered all over the ‘Earth Altar’ is that of animals. Similarly, in sharp dissonance, the mode of worship verges on the oddity, just as members cling on to what many people will consider unusual beliefs and teachings of the church.
As your curiosity wanders untrammeled at the multihued sight of the church and the strangeness of its name, you meet Prophet Blessed Dike, the general overseer and self-styled seer. He tells you with celestial audacity that God revealed the name of the church to him while in a trance. “While I was praying God gave me the name of this church from the Book of Isaiah 46 verse 11”, he said.
A probing by this reporter further revealed that besides the ‘Earth Altar’, the church also has a place called the ‘Holy of Holies.’ A worker in the church, Mr. Isaiah Anyaehie explains that the ‘Holy of Holies’ was put up as a replica of the ark of God built by Moses in the Old Testament. Like the pool of Bethesda in the Bible, members believe that anytime you are sick and you climb into the ‘Holy of Holies’, you would instantly receive your healing.
Here, members show forth when they also want to receive forgiveness of sins and other requests from God. “We have access to the ‘Holy of Holies’ anytime there is a special programme in the church. When you ascend into the ‘Holy of Holies’, you would be healed of whatever ailment you have and whatever you ask God for, He would do it for you,” another member said.
While you are still wondering why the entire premises is painted in red and white, the self-styled seer tells you that white symbolizes peace while red is totemic as it blots out sins.
“God used the blood to wipe out the sins of Adam and Eve. We offer sacrifices because that is what God commands. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other great men in the Bible offered sacrifices,” he said.
A female member of the church revealed to this reporter that members of this church are expected to wear red or white attires every first and last Sunday of the month. On the floor of the auditorium, there are straight red lines drawn across the floor. She explained that the red lines are Angels’ pathways. “God revealed to Daddy to make those pathways because angels usually visit the church,” she said.
There are two types of sacrifices that are offered in As God Said It Must Be Done, the Temple of The Most High God, this reporter gathers. There is the sacrifice of atonement, which is offered when seeking forgiveness of sins from God. In carrying out the sacrifice, the prophet slaughters whatever animal the member provides at the ‘Earth Altar’ and ‘forgiveness’ is obtained from God after the prophet has prayed and blessed the person.
There is also the sacrifice of thanksgiving offered when a member wants to thank God for a favour granted him by God. The type of animal used for this type of sacrifice may vary based on individual needs. “You can bring a cow, a ram, a goat, a chicken or even a dove,” another female member of the church said.
Creepy and funny caveats are never in short supply at As God Said It Must Be Done, the Temple of The Most High God. For instance, a woman who is in her monthly cycle is not allowed to enter into the temple; else, she may be visited by God’s wrath.
Prophet Dike said “It’s a sin for a woman to come into the church while she is observing her menstrual flow. It is a very terrible thing. No woman has the right to come into the presence of God while she is menstruating.”
Despite his weird doctrines, Prophet Dike is very hospitable albeit in a way that one may describe as shocking. As soon as visitors to the church among whom was this reporter stepped into the auditorium, he instructs his workers to bring them refreshments.
This consists of two cartons of canned Guinness, popularly known as small stout. While you are yet to overcome the shock of seeing a prophet of God serve alcoholic drinks in the church, he further instructs that some bottles of whisky be brought to entertain his guests.
Seeing the surprise on the faces of his visitors, he immediately explained the reasons for his actions. “There is nothing like alcohol or strong drink in the bible, so where did you get that from? In Deuteronomy 14 verse 26, God says, “You shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires, you shall eat there before the Lord your God and you shall rejoice, you and your household.”
God told us to spend our income on what we want. If a man calls himself a man of God and he doesn’t have money, the anointing would turn to annoyance. It is better that you drink in the House of God than to go to a public place and misbehave” he said. Before the prophet was through with attending to his visitors, he had gulped two bottles of small stout.
“Are you not afraid of going to hell” this reporter queries the prophet? Then he laughs hysterically and said “It is unfortunate that you have been taught the wrong doctrine from the time you were little. Who told you that hell exists? Heaven and hell do not exist. Can a spirit judge a spirit? There is nothing like heaven or hell. They don’t exist. All the punishment is here on earth. If a man cannot feed himself and his family, he is living in hell. If he cannot pay his house rent and cannot afford to buy a car for himself, he is living in hell. When your mates are enjoying life and you cannot enjoy it, you are living in hell.
“If you are suffering, it means that God is punishing you for something you have done, so there is no hell anywhere. When a man dies, that is the end. He does not go anywhere and God does not judge him. In Mark 12, verses 18 to 27, it is written there that “God is not the God of the dead but of the living.
“So what death are we talking about? If you are living well and you are enjoying your life, you are living in heaven. People like Aliko Dangote, Adenuga, Otedola, Obasanjo and other rich men are living in heaven already. In the Bible, it is written that it’s God’s wish that we live in health and prosper even as our soul prospers.”
Led by God to steal?
Reflecting on how he came into the ministry as well as his early encounter with the “holy spirit”, Prophet Dike hinted “From my tender age, I used to steal a lot. Wherever any person kept money, I would steal it, even if I was not there when the money was being kept. You may have money in your pocket and you would not know when I would take it.
“I remember when my father used to hide his money in the spring bed in his room. Though I wasn’t around when he kept it, but the spirit of God would lead me to where the money was and I would just go straight to the room and to the exact spot where he kept the money and steal it. I did not know that it was the hand of God that was at work in me.
“This thing continued and because of that, my father sent me to Benin after my primary education. I went there but I continued having the same problems until I finally came to Lagos. It was while I was in Lagos that Jesus appeared to me and gave me the message from God.
“On April 14, 2001 by 7am, I was approaching Omole Phase 1 Estate when Jesus appeared to me in the form of a young man. I remember that I had a cigarette in my mouth and I thought that the odour of the smoke would offend him .He told me “Son, my father is calling you”.
“I had this encounter three times. In one of such encounters, Jesus came to my shop where I was a panel beater and told me, ‘Son, my father has need for you. The time for panel beating is up, now is the time to panel beat your children. Father said you are too stubborn, but if you think you are stubborn, He’s more stubborn than you.’
“After He said that, He disappeared and I didn’t see him again. I still did not obey. I went from one shop to the other but it was one misfortune after the other. At a time, my shop got burnt and that was when I decided to obey God’s instruction. That is why till date, no one can come out and say he shepherded me. I do not have any human mentor; it’s God that is my mentor. He speaks to me all the time and when I need anything, I go to Him for advice. No man can say he ordained me. It was God that ordained me.”
Man of God or Anti-Christ?
“People can call me names. Some may say I am an antichrist. Others may say I am Ogboni, but I do not care. My calling was foretold in the Bible. The book of Isaiah 42 verses 1-2, says “Keep silent before me, oh Islands and let the people renew their strength. Let them speak; let them come near and let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword and as driven stubble to his blow.” The man from the East that God was referring to is me,” Prophet Dike boasted and added that “On October 28, 2012, I met with God in the Garden of Eden. In that revelation, Oyedepo was there, Adeboye was there, Okonkwo was there, Pope John Paul was there and so many other pastors. While we were meeting, God was very angry and told me to drive them away , because they were not doing His will and they were encouraging people to worship Jesus instead of God. Four months after that, the Pope died. God raised me to test people to know whether they are obeying the law of God or the law of men. There is nothing like the trinity. What we have is God, the Word and the Spirit. And those are the three witnesses.”
God is angry with Nigeria
“One of the reasons why God is angry with Nigeria is because they have abandoned the day that God said the New Year should be celebrated. They are now celebrating January 1 as the New Year day. It is totally wrong. New Year should be celebrated on July 10 each year and not on January 1. In the book of Leviticus 16 verse 29, God says: “This shall be a statute forever for you. In the seventh month on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.”, he quipped.
On the New Testament
More curious to know why some of their doctrines negate what is written in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, Prophet Dike said “the New Testament is the mind of man but the Old Testament is the mind of God.
“In the Old Testament, God spoke directly to the prophets and they wrote down what He said, but in the New Testament, the disciples only wrote their minds. For instance, there is nothing like being born again because God can never be born again. The New Testament is not the mind of God. It is men speaking and not God. In the book of Matthew for instance, what is written there is the mind of Matthew and not the mind of God. But in the Old Testament, God spoke directly to his prophets. He spoke directly to people like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Solomon and so on.”
One of the cardinal points of Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and that he died for the sins of the world and rose again. Prophet Dike is furious over these assertions. “Jesus was just a servant and not God. He has finished his duty on earth the same way other prophets finished their calling,he said adding “Any Christian that leaves God and starts giving glory to Jesus should be ashamed. Jesus can never be God. He is not the savior and he did not die for anyone. Anyone that tells you that Jesus is the son of God is a fraud and is not of God. Do the Muslims worship Mohammed? No. They worship only God, but you see Christians worshiping Jesus and even equating him with God.
“In the book of Deuteronomy, God says he is the only one that should be worshiped and that we should not bow down to any image. So why do people worship Jesus when he is just a prophet? He did not die for anybody’s sins. He died just like any other human being. If he died for you, why are many people still afraid to go to their villages? If you say that Jesus is the only son of God, then what was Adam? Was he not also a son?
“When Adam who was made in the image of God could not save you, then who is Jesus to save you? I don’t want to hear the name of Jesus because he is not God and has never been God. God is very angry with Nigeria because they have taken His glory and given it to a mortal man. Why we have this high level insecurity is because of God’s wrath.”
This reporter sought to know from some members why they attend the church and if they are not skeptical of the doctrines propagated by the prophet. The leader of the men’s fellowship in the church, Mr. Richard Onyekachukwu said that he would continue attending the church because God used the prophet to raise him from the dead.
His wife, Esther confirmed his claim. According to her, “My husband was admitted at LASUTH (Lagos State University Teaching Hospital) for what started as fever. The situation gradually worsened and he eventually died. Doctors had certified him dead and his brothers had started making plans to take him to the village for burial. But when I called the prophet, without seeing my husband, he prayed for him and he came back to life.” [Sunnews]
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