THE GREAT REVIVAL BEGINQuite a lot could be accomplished in a single day when God decides to intervene in the human affairs, than could otherwise be achieved in several years with human effort. Perhaps this was why peter wrote that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years like day. When God step in, one day's results can be greater than that of a thousand years with personal effort.It was a Thursday; it was 10th day of July of that historic year 1930. It was the best of the time, and it was the spring of hope. Yea, it was the season of light Yes. it was the day of the Lord, the type of which had never been prior to that time, and the mankind of which based on several eyewitness accounts, will never be again. The faith tabernacle leaders were gathered in their fellowship hall at Oke-Ooye for their meeting. They had tackled the first item, which was on monogamy i.e. Whether it is right to be baptized as polygamists or not. They now moved to the second item, which is heals with divine healings. The real question that wandering them was whether or not the name of Jesus alone was sufficient and adequate for healings. This was the item under discussion when the revival exploded. |
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THE SPARK AND THE BIRTH OF PENTECOSTALISMAll the primary sources agreed that the revival erupted through the resuscitation of a dead person by Joseph Ayo Babalola. A woman had gone to the farm that day with her child. The child however died in the farm. It was the corpse of the child that was being brought through the street of Oke-Ooye was being held with the mother and the sympathizers mourning. Joseph Ayo Babaloa was also in a separate room in the hall where the F.T meeting was being held. He heard the loud weeping and the mourning of this woman and her sympathizers as they carried the corpse through the street, just like David too heard the boastful threats of Goliath as he came to the camp in the scriptures.Babalola then came and order the corpse be brought down, he then torched the corpse with the rod in his hand, rang the bell three time and prayed in the name of Jesus, the child was then resuscitated. S.G. Adegboyega, who was a delegate to the faith Tabernacle meeting and an eyewitness, reported that: The mother of the dead child that was restored to life went about spreading the news round the town of Ilesha, shouting that a wonder working prophet has come to the town of Oke Ooye ilesa. This attracted a large number of people of oke-Ooye to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. On seeing a tumultuous crowd of people, the F.T leader and the delegate abandoned their meeting and went out to join Babalola to minister to the fast crowds. This was to the beginning of monumental change within the society and the church. This was the beginning of what was to be known as PENTECOSTALISM IN NIGERIA. THE CROWD continued to increase day by day until no hall could be found to accommodate them. These meeting were to continue for the next three months in Ilesha and were to attract people of varying degree from all works of life and even from abroad. In the words of the eyewitness, it is doubtful, whether there is any town in Nigeria that did not send people to Ilesha during those revival periods. Ilesha became a mecca of sorts as hundreds and thousands from different towns of Nigeria and Africa nations and even beyond found their ways to the revival site. The sick, the barren and those having protracted pregnancy without delivery or miscarriage, and in some cases, even corpse were brought for prayer. By the third day, the delegate could hardly even sit to take their meeting before dispersing to join Babalola and the mammoth crowd at the revival site. News of great happenings began to travel far and wide, and before the week was over, multitude from various towns began to converge in Ilesha for a period Ilesha became the center for action, not only in the Yoruba nation but also in Nigeria, due to the revival. Said an eyewitness; All roads led to Ilesha .if you see any passenger vehicle passing Ibadan, Oshogbo, Ede; Ile-Ife and you ask for its destination, there is no other answer than Ilesha. The commercial motorists seemed not to have any other catch phrase to attract passenger other than "come and watch cinema in Ilesha" many who had no transport fare to Ilesha took to trekking to get there to meet the prophet. Joseph Ayo Babalola suddenly found himself at the center of a great revival, a road he had never travelled before. Barely 24 years old, he found himself thrust into fame and stardom, which no religion leader in Nigeria ever experienced. His name became a household name throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria and even beyond. For several weeks, the revival was the subject of often favorable and something critical comment in the press. There was no Nigeria newspaper of note that did not feature a story about revival in Ilesha. One particular newspaper in Lagos ( Akede Eko) which ran the stories on the revival for several days, even got to a point that it pasted Badalona's photo at the entrance of their office in Lagos and requested their readers to come and see how the young man look like. The Oke-Ooye revival was indeed historical and significant.it was history because it was the first time in the history of Nigeria when a major revival would be lunched by an indigenous prophet figure. It was also significant because this was the first Holy Ghost revival in the entire West Africa sub region. It marked the definite beginning of modern-day Pentecostalism in Nigeria and West Africa. Based on this fact Joseph Ayo Babalola could be regarded as the father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. Oke-Ooye thus marked the high point of spiritual regeneration of the people of Nigeria. It became the crux of r4eligious and moral transformation of the society, the water shed of evangelical activity and spiritual rebirth. |
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THE NATURE OF THIS REVIVALEvery revival has its peculiarities and distinctiveness. The Oke-Ooye revival was a spiritual revival through and through. Spiritual in the sense that it was not a mixture of human flesh will, or desires but God will. It was only Christ and Christ crucified. No one else was exalted, promoted or raise before the people, only Jesus. And because Jesus was the only focus and center of attraction, the only person magnified, He had to draw men unto Himself. "John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Every religious enthusiast or seeker visiting to the revival program was pointed to Jesus and not to any man or denomination.Joseph Ayo Babalola the human instrument of the revival did not direct people to himself, in actual fact he made himself a point of no resistance, and also a point of no importance, so that Jesus could be seen. He made it clear to the numerous seekers after one cure or another, that he had nothing as a person to give them but that if they could look to Christ and believe him forsaking their idols and images, he would receive and heal them. This Jesus methodology may perhaps account for the heavy presence of the Holy Spirit at the revival and the main reason for unusual signs and wonders, and also for the success of the revival. To say that The Revival Was Spiritual Means That, it was done according to the sprit leading and the Holy Ghost was the controller and the executor. Everything was done in accordance to the spirit leading. Babalola made it clear that he was pursing the divine leading and nothing more. When the spirit spoke to him, he acted accordingly. When, for instance, the tradition leaders from other towns invited him to come to their town for revival, while he was still at Oke-ooye, he told them that the spirit had not yet told him to leave Ilesha. Thus because he followed the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit personally, and because the revival too gave the prominence to the direction of the Holy spirit, the holy Spirit had his ways to move in the revival. As a result of this, terrible things happened. Gifts of the Holy Spirit came upon many just as it happened in the house of Cornelius with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Many fell under the power of the Holy Spirit at the revival, and also on entering the town of Ilesha and to some while approaching the town Ilesha. Obviously, the cloud of Glory, like the kind that was over Israel and shining the wilderness journey, had descended on the town of Ilesha. To the extent that, the spiritualist, witches, juju priest, witchdoctors, and other fetish practitioners were disgraced by the superior power of the Holy Spirit, while wicked people who had killed other using evil power, were dealt with by the holy Spirit in the same way He dealt with Ananias and Saphira in the Bible. |
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TESTIMONIES OF THE REVIVALIt is not that Holy Spirit was given chance to do as he would, But he was indeed the person incharge. The presence of the spirit at Oke-Ooye was so strong that it would be difficult, if not suicidal for the huiman condoctors to disobey the leading of the holy Spirit. All the written accounts that were availble pointed conclusively tom the awesome demostration of the Holy Spirit. J.A Medaiyese, a particpant and one of the close associate of babalola at the revival wrote:- God raised this servant Babalola for the revalation and inspiration of all things, so that people could receive the Holy Spirit. Some were hearing ther voice of God, some other wer speaking in tongues. All the nine different gifts of the Holy Spirit were clearely manifested at this time. What al and sundry thought was no longer possible and had lost hope for at that time, were clearely revealled by God through His servant Prophet Joseph Ayo Babalola.Thus Oke-Ooye as a Holy Ghost revival in the sense that for the fist time on the record, the Holy spirit was poured out on a mass people, resulting in varied manifestations just as the beginning of the church. They submit that such a thing had never happened anywhere in the west Africa prior to the time. Again another strange manifestation of the Holy Spirit that was experienced at oke –Ooye had to do with people being torched in their places outside of the revival vanue. Many people who,did not visit the venue, were torched by the Holy spirit in their farm, homes, and places of works. In some cases , this places were several kilmetres away rom the revival site. To site three cases of those who had experience in their different places. A man called Toro Owo heard a voice while working on his farm , which instructed him to go to Apostle Ayo Babalola at oke-Ooye for further directive. This man would later precipitate the revival at ipogun near Igbara –oke. Another man named Joshua ojo, while also working on his farm saw a light of the lord, a sign that would later in the birth of the revival atIjero –ekiti. Elijah Babajide, while on his natural assignment heard a voice, telling him that he had been called to be a shepherd of sheep, an expresion, he found not only foolish but also unreasonable, especially in 1930 when understanding of spiritual things was still shallow. The same voice directed him to ilesha to meet Babalola who then eplained things to him. He would later become the first generation pastor of CAC. It geos for Peter Adewuyi of Efon Alaaye. This way the revival moved beyond a particular individual and beyond the point where an individual could claim the glory. Because the revival moved and spread to certain towns without babalola himself being aware of it or having hand in it. He only got there later to consolidate what the Spirit had already started on his own. Hus oke-ooye revival assert itself as a bonafifide holy Ghost Revival, a spiritual revival. This explains why why the results and products or fruit of that revival endured long and lasted. |
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A HEALING REVIVALThe Oke-Ooye revival was also a healing revival. Healing both spiritual and physical, healing of souls long disfigured by sin and the devil. And of the body ravaged by sickness and diseases was a dominant phenomenoh in the reviaval. Healing was prominent and dominant that the revival itself has been chritened "healing revival". Fisrt were the spiritual healings. Souls that had been long ubder the afflition of the enemy were set free. Many suffering under the yoke of torment of evil forces of witchcrafft and satanic power were librated free and healed. |
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