|
|
|
Free Flash e-Scriptures
|
SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CELESTIAL MODE OF WORSHIP
Hon. Evangelist Imonitie C. Imoisili, Ph. D. 1.
Introduction As the name implies, the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC for short) is a
heavenly
church brought down to earth. This is well captured in
YHN 79 (EHN 10)
as follows:
It is a holy church from our Heavenly Father We pray the Lord come to redeem us sinners And count us amongst Thy chosen ones Paragraph 94 of the Second Schedule of the CCC
Constitution
asserts that “all forms of worship in the Celestial Church of
Christ are entirely as revealed by the Holy Spirit. This
includes the setting of the altar and the seats therein, the
number of candles used for the various types of services and the
seating arrangement” (p. 30). The founder of the CCC, Samuel B.J. Oshoffa, was born in 1909 in Porto
Novo, Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin) of a Nigerian mother
and a Dahomean father. His father, a Methodist, had many wives
in his desperate search for a son. None came. He then prayed
that if God would give him a son, he would dedicate him to His
service, just as Hannah did [1 Sam. 1:10-11]. His prayer
was answered and the son was named Samuel. After his father’s death, the young Samuel took to his business as a
carpenter. He would go into the forest to buy ebony and bring to
town to sell to other carpenters. Each time he went into the
forest, he would carry a Bible, which he read avidly. It was on
one of such journeys, on the day of the eclipse of the sun (23rd
May 1947), that he heard a voice. In his own words, “The voice I
heard 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.” [CCC
Constitution,
Par. 16, p. 5] He spent three months in the wilderness receiving more instructions,
living on honey and water from a nearby flowing stream. In his
words, “I felt no fear and I had no illness but basked in the
glory of Jesus Christ” (p. 6). On 29th September
1947, while he was praying in his house with visitors and
friends, he saw a winged creature “whose body was like fire and
whose eyes were tiny flying towards me behind the beam of light”
(p. 7). The being informed him that God was sending him on an
errand of preaching to the world. To prepare him for the new
ministry, he would work miraculous works of divine healing in
the name of Jesus Christ. Numerous miracles, including raising
the dead, followed. In 1951, Oshoffa moved to Makoko, Lagos, Nigeria. It was there, soon after
the 1954 Makoko Harvest Thanksgiving Service that Jesus Christ
Himself appeared to him and confirmed, “All your services of
worship in the church are acceptable unto the Father” (p.19) Unless such claims can be verified from a reliable source, they remain
mere assertions, which can be embellished by fanatical adherents
or rejected by skeptics. The Scripture, the Word of God as
recorded in the
Holy Bible, is
the only credible source that God has made available to
Christians [Deut.
29:29]. In deed, for
any church that professes the name of Jesus, its doctrine can be
tested against the Scripture for the following reasons, among
others: Ø
Jesus is
the author and finisher of our faith
[Heb. 12:2] Ø
The Law of
Moses, the prophets and the Psalms are mainly about Jesus and He
is their fulfillment
[Luke 24:44] Ø
Jesus came
in flesh to fulfill the Old Testament
[Matt. 5:17] and to
prepare us for His Second Coming as King and Judge
[Matt. 25:31-46;Jn 5:22].
That is why Jesus Himself has told us that the Scripture cannot
be broken [Jn
10:35] Ø
No man can
lay any other foundation beyond what Jesus has done [1 Cor. 3:11]. The Scripture
is a documentation of that. Ø
Finally,
all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and
for instruction in righteousness
[2 Tim. 3:16]. Within the available time, we cannot cover every aspect of the CCC mode of
worship. Therefore, I intend to highlight the most
obvious (but greatly misunderstood) aspects, such as: (a)
The
structure of the church (b)
The mode of dress (c)
The items
used for worship (d)
A typical worship service (Sunday)
(a)
At Bethel, Jacob woke up and said, “God is in this place and yet
I did not know it” [Gen. 28:16]. After this
presentation, it is my hope that worshippers will wake up from
their ignorance and lukewarmness to realize the power of God in
this church. (b)
A full grasp of the scriptural foundation of the CCC mode of
worship will build self-confidence and greater faith by
Celestians, especially when sharing and fellowshipping with
other Christians. (c)
The CCC is a God-fearing church, not a user-friendly one. The
new knowledge will assist erring members to return to the path
of reverence for God and true worship. This is well captured in
YHN 54:
Worship, worship the Lord our God Our only Father May the Lord show the world Heaven’s glory That the whole world may all be trembling Under this great power. Amen
On Friday, 5th October 1947, in the wilderness, a prophetess
under the influence of the Holy Spirit used oranges to sketch
the seating arrangement in the CCC (see the CCC
Constitution,
p.30). Other revelations (such as those through Mawunyon, the
first anointed prophet of the church-see p. 25 of the
Constitution)
followed. By the time the church was five years old, the
following features of its structure and practices had been
revealed: (a) There is an altar area surrounded by seats for church elders. On the altar is a candleholder with 7 stands. The altar is located to the East. (b)
The choir stand is to the right of the altar area. (c)
The rest of the church is arrayed such that females sit on the
left (North) and the males on the right (South). (d)
There are entrances from the West, South and North in the area
outside of the altar zone. (e)
Worshippers wear white garments (soutana) but are not
allowed to wear shoes when in their soutanas and inside
the church. (f)
Incense,
candles, holy water, palm fronds and perfumes are used in
worship and rituals. (g)
Worshippers pray with their heads bowed to the ground. The similarity in structure with the one shown to Moses and built by
Solomon is obvious
[Ex. 25:8; Heb. 9:1-10].
The CCC temple faces the East, the direction of Jerusalem. In
Scripture, God commanded Ezekiel to “set thy face toward
Jerusalem and drop thy word toward the holy places”
[Ezek. 21:2]. Daniel [Dan. 6:10]
and Jonah [Jon. 2:4] are known to look
toward the holy temple in Jerusalem when they prayed. Recall
that God had promised Solomon that all prayers offered in that
temple will be answered because His eyes and ears will be there
“perpetually” [2
Chron. 7:12-16].
Even till date, the Jews still go to the Wailing Wall, the relic
of the temple, to pray when they are in desperate need. However,
as Jesus has said, as long as you worship God in spirit and in
truth, where you face or where you go may not be relevant [Jn 4:21-24]. But, once God
commands you to do something in a particular way, the general
rule no longer applies. That is why Jesus Christ has said,
“whosoever shall do the will of God the same is My brother and
My sister, and mother”
[Mk 2:35]. Those on holy ground are forbidden by God to wear shoes, as we have seen
in the cases of Moses
[Ex. 3:5]
and Joshua [Josh. 5:15]. The white
garment is a symbol of the redeemed that are perpetually on holy
ground
[Rev. 7: 13-17]. It is, therefore, not surprising that God has commanded Celestians in
soutana
and worshippers inside the church to remove their shoes. Let us now go into a more detailed analysis of Worship in Heaven, as
revealed in the Scripture, in order to see the broader picture
of the CCC mode of worship. Worship in Heaven The Layout of the
Temple (see sketch)
(a)
God Himself sits on the throne [Is. 6:1; Rev. 4:2]. In the midst of the throne is the “Lamb [Jesus
Christ] as if it had been slain” with seven horns and seven eyes “which are the
seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth”
[Rev. 5:6; see also Zech. 4:10]. The 7 Spirits of God are listed in relation
to the “Branch” from the “stem of Jesse” [Jesus Christ] as follows
[Is.11: 1-2]: i.
The Spirit of the Lord ii.
The Spirit of Wisdom iii.
The Spirit of Understanding iv.
The Spirit of Counsel v.
The Spirit of Might vi.
The Spirit of Knowledge vii.
The Fear of the Lord (b)
There is a golden altar before the throne [Rev. 8:3]. Seven lamps of fire are burning before the throne
“which are the seven Spirits of God”[Rev.
4:5]. Since the 7 angels standing before the throne got the
fire for the incense from the altar before the throne
[Rev. 8:5], it can safely be assumed that the 7 lamps of
fire are on the golden altar. Since they also are the seven
Spirits of God, the seven lamps
signify the presence of Jesus Christ on the golden altar as well
as on the throne. (c) Four Living Creatures, the Cherubim [Ezek. 1:5-14] and the Seraphim [Is. 6:2; Rev. 4:8], are in the midst of and round about the throne. They are the leading praise singers [Is. 6:3; Rev. 4:8]. (d) There is a rainbow around the throne [Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3]. Could this be to remind God of His everlasting covenant with Noah not to again destroy mankind by flood [Gen. 9:8-16]? (e) Round about the throne are 24 seats on which are sitting 24 elders clothed in white robes with crowns of gold on their heads [Rev. 4:4]. (f) The congregation consists of angels and an uncountable multitude of saints from every race and nationality all arrayed in white robes and carrying palms in their hands [Rev. 7:1-9]. The Worship ‘Service’ (a) The Cherubim and the Seraphim lead off the adoration and worship with “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts” [Is. 6:3] or “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”[[Rev. 4:8]. Other frequently heard words are “Alleluia”, “Praise our God”, and “Amen” [Rev. 19:1-6]. As soon as the Cherubim and the Seraphim raise their praise, the 24 elders fall on their faces, casting their crowns before the throne, and worship God [Rev. 4:10; Rev. 19:4], with songs in honor of God [Rev. 4:11] and Jesus Christ [Rev. 5:12-13]. (b) Much incense is offered with the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar before the throne [Rev. 5:8; Rev. 8: 8-9]. Incense is also regarded as “the prayers of the saints” [Rev. 5:8]. I wonder what they are praying for? Certainly not for themselves because they are already spirit beings. Maybe they are praying for us on earth. (c) The worship goes on interminably [Rev. 4:11; Rev. 7:15]. It is so awesome a sight that Isaiah broke down spontaneously, confessing his sins [Is. 6:5] and John did not know when he knelt before an angel—twice! [Rev. 19: 10; Rev. 22:8].
Implications for Worship on Earth
The following remarkable pairings should be noted: ¨ The throne and the altar ¨ The Lamb and the 7 Lamp Stands ¨ Prayers and incense ¨ Cherubim/Seraphim and the choir ¨ Elders/saints and true worshippers God Almighty and the Lamb are on the throne but the 7 lamp stands are on the altar. Remember that they also represent the 7 Spirits of God, which are on Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Therefore, the altar is a visible image of the throne [Ex. 20:24] and Jesus Christ is present on the altar when the 7 lamp stands are burning. The incense goes with the prayers of the saints [Rev. 8:4]. At the same time, incense is called the prayers of the saints [Rev. 5:8]. Therefore, incense is a visible image of efficacious prayers [Ex. 30:7-10]. All the
worshippers that are saints (i.e., human beings who came from
the earth) wear white garments. Believers who had survived great
tribulation and are now washed in the blood of the Lamb [Rev.
7:14] wear the garment.
Therefore, the white garment is a visible image of redemption
and the righteousness of believers
[Rev. 19:8]. The pattern of the temple and mode of worship given to Moses by God are in consonance with heavenly worship [Ex. 25: 8; Heb. 9:1-10]. The major differences since Christ’s earthly mission are as follows: ¨ Instead of animal sacrifices, the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world” [Rev. 13:8] is on the throne. The New Covenant has substituted the Holy Communion, instituted by Christ Himself, in place of animal sacrifice [Lk 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25]. ¨ The veil covering the Holy of Holies has been torn, with Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross. So, there is now a sea of glass (which is very transparent) between the throne and the rest of the temple. If we were to move this church in Heaven down to earth this moment, here is what we would see: ¨ The throne and the angels would be invisible to our naked eyes ¨ We would see the altar with the 7 lamp stands on it ¨ The whole church would be full of smoke from the incense ¨ The worshippers would all be in white garments ¨ When prayers were called, the worshippers would all fall on their faces bowing towards the altar on which would be the 7 lamp stands That is
the Celestial Church of Christ for you! In place of the golden
crowns, the elders attach golden frills to their loins. This is
because male worshippers on earth are enjoined not to cover
their heads during worship [1 Cor. 11:4].
Being representative of God’s throne, the altar can be
considered sanctified (i.e., set apart as holy). Whatever
touches a sanctified altar is considered sanctified
[Ex. 29:37]. Under the Old Covenant, inanimate objects (such
as the tabernacle and its decorations) were sanctified and in
turn imparted sanctification to whoever touched them
[Ex. 30:29; Matt. 23:17-22]. That was why God stayed the
plague on the Israelites when Aaron burnt incense from the altar
[Num. 17:42-48]. In the New Testament, handkerchiefs and
aprons worn by Paul, a sanctified man of God who worshipped in
the synagogue, were put on the sick who then became well
[Acts 19:11-12]. Any object can be so sanctified as the Holy
Spirit wills. Therefore, oil, perfumes, palm fronds, candles, crosses, incense, water,
loins, handkerchiefs and any other objects used in the CCC,
as long as they are directed by the Holy Spirit, are
considered sanctified by God.
There are over 20 services
conducted in the CCC, grouped into
daily (Morning Service at 5.30 am), weekly (Sunday at 10.00 am,
Wednesday & Friday at 6.00 am, Prophet’s Service on Thursday at
7.00 pm or Friday after Power Day Service, Service for those
seeking God’s mercy, Wednesday at 9.30 am, Service for Pregnant
Women, Friday at 3.00 pm),
monthly (New Moon Service), annual
(Passion Week, Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday, Easter,
Ascension, Pentecost, Blessed Virgin Mary Day, 1st
Friday of July, Christmas Service, End of Year Service, 31
December from 10.00 pm) and
occasional
(Marriage, Naming Ceremony, Burial Service, Baptism, Amissa,
Foundation Laying, House/Church Dedication). Holy Communion is
administered quarterly and at Christmas, End of Year, Holy
Thursday and Marriage Services, etc. (see p.31 of the CCC Constitution). However, the structure of all the
services is fairly standard: I have chosen the 10.00 am Sunday Service for illustration because it is the longest and most comprehensive. (a)
The
Procession Just as Isaiah [Is. 6:1-2]
and Ezekiel [Ezek. 1:4-28] had the
privilege to see the Procession of God, the CCC service begins
with a similar one. Worshippers form very disciplined and
awe-inspiring lines, all arrayed in soutana
and some in outer robes in accordance with their church-given
ranks. The choir leads, followed by the lower ranks of children
(female and male), elders (female and male) and the seniors
(female, then male), etc. The hymn captures the essence of what
is happening in the spiritual realm: Jerih Moh Yamah (2ice) The host of angels full of joy in Heaven The host of angels
(2ice) They are praising God with joyful songs in Heaven
Soon, the elder with the incense burner approaches the
altar to light the 7 candles, which represent the seven Spirits
of God [Is. 11:2]. Then, the choir,
representing the Cherubim and Seraphim [Is. 6:3; Rev. 4:8],
followed by the whole congregation, sings:
Yah Rah Sah Rah
Yah Rah Sah Mattah
[2ice]
Kindle the Light
Divine from Heaven above
[2ice]
This hymn was descended through Mawunyon who
saw in Heaven a pot of incense being swung accompanied by the
above song [CCC
Constitution,
Par. 83, p. 25]. The elder who has lit the 7 candles on the High
Altar passes a lit candle to another elder to put at the West
entrance of the church, a heavenly practice that you will find
in Ezek. 10:7.
Recall that the 7-lit candles represent the arrival of Jesus
Christ on the altar [Rev. 4:7; Rev. 5:6].
Therefore, as soon as the candles are lit, the worshippers go
down on their knees and sing three times:
Yah Ramah Ih Yah Ramah
[2ice]
Oh come unto the Lord
[2ice]
The jingling of the bell three times follows that. Each time,
the worshippers say, with their faces to the ground:
Holy, Holy, Holy to the Lord God of Hosts
[Is. 6:3; Rev. 4:8]
followed by the singing of
Oh Christ my King
I will worship Thee
My Power and my Light
Thou Most Holy, Holy, Holy
[3 times]
Now, you can see how important it is to come to church on time,
and certainly before the jingling of the bell. Why should you
arrive after the dignitary (Jesus Christ) and His entourage are
already seated? It is disrespectful
[Habakkuk 2:20; Zech. 2:13]
. (b)
Confession/Sanctification
Like Isaiah [Is. 6:5], the congregation
is led by the service conductor to confess their sins, beginning
with Psalm 51, and to pray for sanctification, beginning with
Psalm 24 (the use of psalms in worship and in the church is well
documented in Scripture
[2 Chron. 29: 30-31; Ps. 95: 2; 1 Cor. 14: 26; James 5:13]).
A song of forgiveness follows. This pattern is consonant with
God’s requirement
[Is. 1:16-18; 1 Jn 1:8-9].
(c)
Thanks
Paul says that we should with thanksgiving make our requests
known to God
[Phil. 4:6]. The
Psalmist asks us to offer thanksgiving to God so that He may
answer us in the day of trouble
[Ps. 50:14-15]. That is what the congregation does next with Psalm 118, followed by a
prayer and song of thanks.
(d)
Intercessory Prayers
In
1 Tim. 2: 1-3, Paul has laid
down the principles of public worship as follows: “I exhort,
therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men,
for kings and for all that are in authority.”
In the CCC, intercessory prayers begin with “Three Members’
Prayers”, preceded by the service conductor reading the royal
Psalm 72. A male elder prays for “Spiritual Power and Progress.” A female elder
follows with prayer for “Victory and Protection” for the
congregation and the nation and its leaders. A male elder leads
the third prayer for “Blessing and God’s Favor”. Then, a song
for the power of the Holy Spirit is rendered.
The last part of intercessory prayers is called “Silent Prayer”
[cf.: 1 Sam. 1:13]
where each individual worshipper is given the opportunity to
make his/her personal prayer requests directly to God. A prayer
of agreement is led by the service conductor
[cf.: 1 Sam. 1:17],
preceded by reading Psalm 20. A song of praise rounds up this
section of the worship.
(e)
The
Word
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God
[Rom. 10:17]. Two readings, one from the Old Testament and a related one from the New
Testament are made. Two songs (stressing Evangelism and Faith
respectively) are rendered in-between the two readings and the
announcement before the sermon.
Praying the Apostles’ Creed precedes the sermon.
1 Jn 4:1-3 enjoins
us to test the spirits. The true spirit accepts that Jesus came
in flesh. The Creed contains that affirmation. Therefore,
praying it before the sermon is to ensure that the Spirit
of God guides both the preacher and his listeners.
(f)
Thanks
offering
First, several collections are taken (such as offering, building
fund, tithe, etc.). This is followed by thanks offering. The
emphasis is on cheerful giving
[2 Cor. 9:7].
Like Solomon and his congregation of old
[1 Kgs 8:65-66], Celestians enjoy offering thanks to God. They sing and dance cheerfully.
There can be several rounds of offerings by groups and
individuals who want to thank God for His deeds or promises to
them. Items used include worship items (such as incense, candles
and perfumes) or consumables (such as sugar, salt, fruits, etc),
as the Holy Spirit leads them.
(g)
Blessing and the Grace
The 7th worship song is on blessing or promise. Then,
a closing prayer is led by a female highest in rank, followed by
the Grace [2 Cor.
13:14], said by the
Shepherd (leader) of the Parish, or the male highest in rank.
(h)
Recession
The recessional hymn as well as the order of departure is the
same as the processional discussed earlier. The service
conductor leads the prayer and gives the grace. Then, just as
Joshua and his troops shouted to bring down the walls of Jericho [Josh. 6:20], the whole
congregation chants 7 Alleluias to the 4 corners of the
world in the following order: East-West-South-North [cf.: Ps. 75:6]
In the box below, I have provided scriptural references, where
available for some of the popular words used during worship.
Here, I want to specifically address the use of Jehovah,
Jesus Christ, Holy Michael to prefix every prayer.
In civil society, there is what is called “protocol.” When you
make a speech, there is an introductory part, which is not part
of the speech. But, if you don’t begin with it, you are
considered rude. We begin with the highest in rank in the
audience and round up with “Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.”
Thereafter, you go into your prepared speech. During that
occasion, every speaker repeats the protocol, even if in varying
degrees! Do we have a spiritual equivalent? After all, a
prayer is a speech to God.
In the CCC, the Holy Spirit has revealed that the spiritual
protocol during CCC worship consists of “Jehovah, Jesus
Christ and Holy Michael.” There is strong scriptural support for
this:
(a)
Jesus
Christ Himself says that “whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and
of My words, of him shall the
Son of man be ashamed when He shall come in His own glory and in
His Father’s and of the holy angels”
[Lk 9:26]. (b)
Talking of His return, Jesus says “but of that day and that hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son
but the Father”
[Mk 13:32]. (c)
The risen
Christ who appeared to Apostle John in the island of Patmos
says, “He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white
raiment and I
will not blot his name out of the book of life but I will
confess his name before My Father and before
His angels” [Rev. 3:5]. (d)
Paul writes to Timothy, “I charge thee before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ
and the elect angels…”
[1 Tim. 5:21]. The elect angels, also called archangels are Michael, leader of the
warring angels
[Dan. 10:10-21; Dan. 12:1; Rev. 12:7],
Gabriel, head of the messengers
[Dan. 9:21;Lk 1: 11-38],
Raphael, head of the helpers
[Tobit 3:17],
and Uriel, head of the angels that minister understanding to
believers [2
Esdras 4:1] {Tobit
and Esdras are among the Apocrypha books included in the Roman
Catholic Bible}. (e)
Just as
every human being has a guardian angel
[Matt. 18:10], so
does every church have an assigned angel
[Rev. 2: 1, 8, 12, 18].
As a warring church, the guardian angel of the CCC is Michael. Just as a speaker is able to use an introductory protocol to draw his
audience’s attention, a worshipper can draw God’s attention by
using a spiritual protocol. Blind Bartimaeus drew the attention
of Jesus, in spite of the great noise, when he addressed Him as
“Son of David” [Mk
10:47-49].
There is so much to say but it is not necessary. The CCC is in
deed a spiritual church and its doctrine is deeply rooted in
Scripture. Therefore, worshippers have to come to terms with
that reality or face the dangers of culpable negligence [Heb. 2:1-3]. Knowing the
spiritual significance of everything done in the church enhances
our respect for and fear of the Lord. It also facilitates our
prayers being answered
[Prov. 15:29] > Paper presented at BETHEL 2000 organized by the Celestial Church of Christ, California District, Los Angeles, CA, on Friday, 22 December 2000. |
|
Send mail to webmaster for
celestialchurch.com with questions or comments about this web site.Copyright
© 1997- 2002
Global Corporate Strategic Services
|
