A Historical Life of Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa, The Founder of CCC

The history of SBJ Oshoffa, the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, is marked by divine encounters. While praying in the forest, he had a vision of three creatures: a white flying monkey, a snake, and a yellow bird. He went on to perform numerous miracles, including raising the dèaď and healing a màd woman in Yaba. He was also blessed with 13 wives and 53 children, who lived together in love and harmony.

Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa was born on May 19, 1909, in Porto-Novo, which was then the capital of the French colony of Dahomey (now Benin). He came from a Yoruba family with a mix of religious beliefs—his father, originally a Muslim, had converted to Methodism, while his mother practiced traditional religions and opposed Christianity. When he was just three months old, his mother left him and returned to Imeko, where her husband lived.

Oshoffa’s father was a carpenter, a detail later seen as significant for someone who claimed to have received divine visitations from Jesus Christ. His family also had ties to the Cherubim and Seraphim Church.

His first wife, Felicia Yaman, played a key role in the establishment of his church. Known for her prophetic abilities, she was often invited to Oshoffa’s meetings and was believed to have the gift of foreseeing conflicts.

Oshoffa was working in the ebony trade in 1947 when he was instructed to found the new church. He reported that he had been searching in the forests to find the correct type of tree. He said he lost his way and had to live off the land for three months. When he emerged he was empowered with the gifts of healing and prophecy.

A spiritual purification ceremony in Cotonou in Benin in 2009—100 years after the birth of Oshoffa. His first act of healing was reportedly the resurrection of his nephew. As a result, his elder sister, Elizabeth, was the first convert. The nephew was to become recognised as the first prophet of the new church. Over the next few years, several other people were reportedly brought back from the dead by Oshoffa. Between 1947 and 1951, the church grew in the country of Benin. In 1976, it was relocated to Nigeria because Oshoffa was in a minor conflict with the government of Benin.

This was timely as he was just about to be arrested. Very soon after arriving in Nigeria, Oshoffa cured a mad woman, although many people doubted this account. Oshoffa held a public meeting in Yaba, Lagos, where those gathered reported his ability to prophecy. In the same year he again claimed a resurrection. The new church grew rapidly, and it gained followers across West Africa and the world. The church was estimated to have several million followers in 1998. Nigeria, Oshoffa was sold a large piece of land after the owner was assisted by a “holy man’s” intervention in a dream with a legal dispute. The new church continued to receive resistance from the Nigerian authorities, but it was officially recognised in 1958. He took on two partners for the church, namely Reverends Alexander Abiodun Bada and Samuel Ajanlekoko.

Oshoffa at the forest of transformation. He recalled that after he heard the voice LULI he saw these three creatures in what seemed like a vision.

"On the 23rd May 1947, the day of the eclipse of the sun, as I was praying in the forest on this trip, I heard a voice and could not open my eyes. The voice I beard was 'LULI', and the same voice told me 'This means The Grace of Jesus Christ'. When I opened my eyes, I saw a white monkey with two teeth each top and bottom with winged hands and feet like those of a bat. When it wants to fly, it flaps its wings forward. But it was stationary. I saw a bird with yellow feet, yellow beak and long tail. It would sometimes fan out its tail like a peacock does, and it was multi-coloured. It was also stationary.

 .... I also saw a short snake about one foot long. As it stood stationary, it was coiled and its mouth was puffed like a cobra. When I heard this voice, I noticed I felt quite different from my normal self. I now found myself toying with the snake. The bird stood for a time and then went into the bush. The monkey also flew away and I then noticed that there was a complete change in me.[Celestial Church of Christ constitution]

These visions has never been discussed or a definite explanation given as to how it affects Celestial Church of Christ, infact many have insinuated that these animals especially the snake is the source of power of SBJ Oshoffa, which is actually far from the truth.

 These three creatures which SBJ Oshoffa saw are not the source of power of Oshoffa as every true Celestial knows but they represent 3 things the church must overcome before it actualises its mission. Notably the monkey seen by Papa SBJ Oshoffa in the forest is a white monkey with wings on the hands and legs like a bat. The peacock like bird was not a peacock but had the features of a peacock, the snake was shorter than what a cobra should be but was like a cobra. This are the things we first need to note about the features of this animals seen.

 The reason why animals are shown to Papa SBJ Oshoffa is because man was meant to be lord over all the creation of God which he lost, secondly because the nature of these animals is now inherent in humans today, humans have taken up the nature of these creatures and not the nature of God. For all who must be a partaker of the last boat of salvation must overcome this nature.

Oshoffa díed on 10 September 1985 at 75 years after he was told of the death of his driver during an accident he was involved. After the accident SBJ OSHOFFA was taken to the hospital and later got better. He asked about the other people in the accident and he was given a bad news of their death. Therefore, to avoid any bad rumour that he used them to increase his life, he asked God to accept his soul which happened as he prayed to God. He was buried at Celestial City, Imeko. Oshoffa was the sole source of authority for the church and because of this, his death caused some problems of succession. After some confusion, Alexander Abiodun Adebayo Bada was appointed his successor by the church trustees. Nigeria is considered a diocese of the worldwide church, and with her supreme headquarters at Porto- Novo. Therefore, Benoit Agbaosi would be appointed by the supreme headquarters leaders to lead the church. In the beginning, those who became leaders of Celestial Church of Christ parishes were appointed by the Pastor Founder Reverend S.B.J. Oshoffa. A church is called a parish and the spiritual leader of the parish is called a shepherd. To be a shepherd of a parish, one must be called through spiritual revelation. After the revelation was confirmed, the would-be shepherd was required to serve as an apprentice under established shepherds. As the church grew, it became necessary to establish some form of training system for the clergy. A seminary to train shepherds was established for male clergy a year after Oshoffa’s death.