"When Christ Comes"

By Lawrence Ubah

Leader Olumba Olumba Obu has not taken the world by surprise. Predictions of His manifestation date back to the roots of Christianity nay, eternity. Some have stumbled on this truth by design or otherwise. Others who are on verge of attaining this knowledge remain clouded with uncertainties. Still others are completely ignorant of Him.

To the knowledgeable is due occasional reinforcement, to the unsure, conviction, and the ignorant, authentic information. For all these groups and the intermediaries, this book has become a necessity. Yet, it cannot boast of demystifying Our Lord Jesus Christ nor Leader Olumba Olumba Obu.

The book attempts to examine the events leading up to His manifestation in their sequence from Genesis to the present time. That again sounds like a lot that can hardly contain in many volumes talk less of just one. It does not aspire to repeat all the Bible stories. After all, the validity of the Bible itself either as a narration of Jewish history or as a set of moral principles, first for Judaism and secondly for Christianity, has for centuries been shrouded in controversy. Its intent is to show that the precision with which its predictions come to pass authenticates its viewpoint.

It focuses on predictions or prophecies within the aforementioned time-frame. The examination of these prophecies appears to be a conscious and deliberate journey from creation to salvation and beyond. By so doing, the identities of the personalities of the Godhead are revealed.

Owo-Ette

This topic, when Christ comes, is capable of covering volumes. There are equally many ways of discussing the topic. Since this book is a summary of a much larger volume, discussions within this volume are limited to one theory per chapter.

The first chapter (How will He come?) uses the theory of reincarnation to affirm a possible physical manifestation of God. The second chapter (when will he come?) examines the sequence of God's promise from the capture of Judah in 607 BC to the AD 1914 World War l.

Perhaps the most absurd, most inconceivable claim in the book is the assumption that the physical manifestation of God could be in Africa. God as a black man? Chapter three (Where will he come from?) makes this claim by critically analysing the predictions in the Bible from Esau; supporting it with a blend of historical antecedents. Nebuchadnezzar's dream as interpreted by Prophet Daniel constitutes the ingredient in the fourth and final chapter (why will He come?)

The intention of this book is to introduce a new way of thinking by elucidating on already known facts. Whether readers agree with these arguments partially, totally, or not at all, it is hoped that they will find the propositions rewarding.

Lawrence Ubah

March 1996

My special gratitude goes to my Teacher, Leader Olumba Olumba Obu, the Sole Spiritual Head of the Brotherhood of the Cross & Star, from whom my knowledge emanates.

Much thanks to His Holiness, Roland Obu, the King of kings for his inspiration; Christ Witness Esther Roland Obu and Patricia Etim Iwok through whom God has taught me consistency and diligence; Christ Witness Treasure Edemikoh and Sister Elizabeth Maduka for their interests. I am particularly thankful to Deaconess Veronica Otutu for her overwhelming motherly concern.

This book might never have been published without the invaluable judgements of Karen Crowley and Kriss Fearon, my colleagues and excellent Copyeditors.

Needless to say, none of these people is responsible for any technical or judgement errors in any aspect of this book.

How Will He Come?

The title 'When Christ Comes' may arouse several thoughts, among which is some Christians' belief that Christ has come before. The Living New Testament confirms this line of thought when it says:

'And Christ became a human being and lived on earth among us.(John 1:14). But it must quickly be added that in those days, He was not believed to be the Christ John l:l0-12,John 10:30-33). There are various reasons that people did not believe in Him. One theory will be dealt with in this section. Among the various predictions preceding Christ's birth, Malachi said:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse

(Malachi 4: 5-6).

The great and dreadful day of the Lord most likely refers to His first coming. And Elijah was to return before that first coming. As far as the Jews knew, Elijah was translated. For any claim to Christ-hood to be taken seriously, Elijah should jump down from the sky where he was last seen ascending.

In his book 'The Christ Has Come', Evangelist Iyke of the Word of Life Church writes:

"According to the immutable law of reincarnation, any spirit, angel, demon, or God coming down to this earth plane of life must do so through the womb of a woman. Though it is possible to fly as a bird down to this earth, this would be against the cosmic law of reincarnation which Christ Himself established '

Two issues arise here. First, E]ijah did come. Second, God does not break His own laws, including the law of reincarnation. The angel announced the coming of 'Elijah' before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 1:13-17). Our Lord Jesus Christ told this to His disciples in very blunt terms (Matthew 11:14), and they understood that He meant John the Baptist (Matthew 17: 10-13).

On this basis, it would be fair to assume that John the Baptist was the reincarnated Elijah. No wonder his head had to be cut off as he did to the Baal prophets. The son of God Himself was a reincarnation of Adam (1Corinthians 15:4-5). Little wonder why no one else could pay the price of what mankind was plunged into except 'Adam' himself.

How does the reincarnation theory of His first advent support the expectations of the second coming? The temptation of superficial interpretations of the prophecies must be avoided unlike the Jews who gazed into the sky for Elijah. Acts 1:11 says, '..this same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. From the discussion above, it is fair to assume that 'in like manner' means as a human being.

Other predictions also confirm this position. One is Revelation 12:5:

She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre. And her child was snatched up to God to His throne.

When Will He Come?

Although the explanation is complicated, attempt will be made to keep it as simple as possible. To determine a time frame for His second coming, one of the prophecies concerning the last days will be examined.

And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24: 6-7).

As Pastor I W A Nwankwo states:

From our history, we have read of no one single war started by two nations which later escalated into world-war by the kingdoms of the world, and followed by unprecedented type of famines, pestilence, and earthquakes as in world War I of 194-1918.

History stated that it sparked off in June 18, 1914 when the heir-apparent of Austrian throne paid a visit to Serbia. The Austrian prince was assasinated by a Serbian zealot. Austria thereupon declared war on Serbia on June 28, 1914 after a month of hostilities between the two countries. Before this war went far, many kingdoms of the world had already taken sides and so joined the war…. Thus it turned into a global war.

An explanation of the relevance of 1914 or World War I to the second coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ can be reduced to an arithmetical process.

The 1260 days in Revelation 12:6 is equated with 'a time and times and a half in Revelation 12:14 and Daniel 7:25. If 'a time' is I, and 'times' 2, and 'a half is 1/2, it means 31/2 times equals 1260days;or a time equals 360days.

Seven times (or 2520 days) was to pass over man after the capture of Judah in BC 607 (Daniel 4-:16, 23 and Ezekiel 21:27).

According to Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, one day is counted as one year. That means 2520 days equals 2520 years.

Consequently,

From 607 BC to 1 BC is 606years

From 1 BC to AD 1914 is 1914years

Totalling 2520years

The First World War was therefore more likely to herald the manifestation of 'the Christ' on earth.

In the words of Pastor Nwankwo,

There was recorded also one very strange coincidence of historic timing related to the close of World war 1…. It is, that World War 1 ended at eleven o'clock in the morning of November 11, 1918, the year Olumba Olmba Obu was born. And this was "the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and at exactly 11 months after General Allenby entered Jerusalem on the 11th December 1917".

Were these chains of events coincidences or providential? I am tempted to say they were to mark the world's eleventh hour.

Where Will He Come From?

In answering this question, a cue will be taken from Professor Dominic Agwu, regarding the promises that God directed at Abraham. God promised that in Abraham shall the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 21:12). The promise was instantly extended to Isaac (Genesis 25:19-26). Before Isaac's children were born, the Lord revealed to Rebecca that:

Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels ... and the elder shall serve the younger (Genesis 25:23).

At birth Esau looked red (Genesis 25:25), a modest description of an average black man in comparison to a white counterpart at birth. The prophecy of the elder serving the younger was when Jacob received Esau's blessings (Genesis 27:35-36). But an aspect of Esau's blessing which said '... and finally, thou shalt come to have dominion', was yet to be fulfilled (Genesis 27:4-0). Esau was ridiculously nicknamed Edom (Genesis 25:29-30). The name Esau and Edom became interchangeably used to mean the same thing. The Edomites' homeland was Seir in Teman (Genesis 33: 14~-16). Seir in Aramaic means black. Great animosity between the two brothers and their descendants ensued. In later days, King David massacred the Edomites without mercy (2 Samuel 8:14·; 1 Chronicle 18: 12- 13). A remnant of the children of Edom escaped to Egypt with Hadad the Prince, who was the King's seed. They were allotted land by the Pharaoh (1 Kings 11:1$-22).

The Edomites settled in Egypt, outside the metropolis. They grew and became known as Sudan. Sudan in Arabic means the region of the black race. Therefore, the nouns Seir and Sudan refer to the same thing.

Moses warned the Israelites that because of their spiritual slothfulness, the Lord would forsake them for a different people (Deuteronomy 32:16-21; Romans 10:19). Isaiah told them that their faithlessness and recalcitrance would cause the Father God to pass over them and reveal Himself to a nation that He was not identified with from the beginning (Isaiah 65:1-7; Romans 10:20-21). Jeremiah also confirmed that the Lord God would manifest Himself to another people, whom the prophet called men (Jeremiah 5:4-6). One of Moses' prophecies in his last days was:

And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death;

And he said, the LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran... (Deut.33: 1-2).

The Israelites never set foot upon Seir during their exodus (Numbers 20:14--21) so Moses was certainly talking about a future event. Habakkuk3:3 revisited Moses' prophecy when he said, 'God came from Teman, and the Holy one from mount

Paran... '

The Edomites in Sudan spread south with time. Some retained their names and others were called different names by their neighbours. Among the clans migrating in a southeasterly direction from Sudan was the Teman with its Paran component.

In Nigeria, this tribe has now settled between the Igbos on the west, the Cameroun mountains on the east, and the Ibibios on the south.

A European historian C M Matthew in his book How Place Names Began and How They Developed, agrees with lexicographers about the evolution of names of places. In most cases, consonants remain while vowels undergo changes over time.

Given that their Ibibio neighbour starts most of words with the letter 'A', it is hardly surprising that such dialectical fragmentation should result in the word Teman being called Atam. Thus when the prophet said that God came from Teman, he was saying in effect the Godhead in His physical manifestation is a Temanite or Atamite.

Again, the prophecy teIls us that the Lord shone forth from Mount Paran or the hill of Paran. Another prophet, Isaiah tells us that the Lord emerged from Bozrah or Bosra (Isaiah 63:1).

Bozrah, which is a sub-clan of the main Teman, maintained their historical identity. They became known in later days as Biaseh. A chosen family of this sub-dan of Bozrah, known as Paran, later became known as Biakpan.

The word Biakpan and Biaseh mean brethren, except that Biakpan means brethren of the first estate. Therefore, the new Jerusalem of the Lord God is Paran in Bozrah in Teman, all of which are in Seir. These in the modern world refer to Biakpan in Biaseh, in Atam, being part of Sudan- the black race.

Why Will He Come?

The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)

The above revelation given to John the Divine supports a most dramatic prophecy recorded by Daniel which says:

And in the days of these Kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed:

and the kingdom shall not be left to other people,

but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and shall stand forever. (Daniel 2:4~4~)

Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful ruler in the world at that time (Daniel 2:37). God revealed to him in a dream the structure of successive kingdoms. In interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel traced the stages of development of the five world empires or kingdoms. Going by his interpretation, four of those kingdoms have passed already and the fifth and last is with mankind today.

The past four world empires were, Babylon represented in the dream by gold, Medo-Persia represented by silver, Greece represented brass and Romans represented by iron.

Since the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 4-76, the world has not seen any more world power but rather heterogeneous kingdoms indicating a strange mixture of strength and weakness, symbolic of the iron and clay mixture part of the dream.

Quotting Arthur S Maxwell, Nwankwo describes the scenario:

Like a mighty beacon it shines across the centuries, illuminating the greatest events of time with Iight from heaven - glittering on the gold of Babylon, shimmering on the silver of Medo-Persia, shinning on the Grecian brass and the iron of Rome, Iiqhting up the struggles and concflicfs of our modern world, it glows at last upon the King of Kings as He returns to the earth in glory.

'…..the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed….'

The first part of this revealing conclusion by Daniel, namely ~..the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed...' was fullfilled in the days of the Roman Empire. It was during this period of Roman domination that Our Lord Jesus Christ laid the foundation of God's kingdom on earth.

According to Nwankwo, one American Pastor had this to say in 1972:

After studying the Bible prophecy, the Bible clearly foretells that during the great tribulation period, there uill be one vast reliqious system - all others amalgamated into it. Naturally, such a thing as religious unity cannot take place overnight. It therefore must begin prior to the tribulation period.

There is agreement with him to the extent the prophecy confirms Isaiah which says:

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days

That the mountain of the LORD's house

Shall be established on the mountains,

And shall be exalted above the hills;

And all nations shall flow to it (Isaiah 2:2).

The stone which Nebuchadnezzar saw smashing the image to pieces grew into a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:34·-3 5).John the divine saw this kingdom and declared:

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,

and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people,

and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God

(Revelation 21:3).

But He has to be on earth physically to dwell with His people. The Ancient of Days will hand over the rule of the kingdom to the Son of Man and the Lamb of God; Christ the King (Daniel 7: 13-14·; Revelation 17:14; Psalm 110:1, 8:6; 1 Corinthians 15: 24~-27).

When everything has been handed over to the Son, the Son will then subject himself to the Father who has put all things under him (1 Corinthians 15:28). Then will there be no more Europe, Asia, or America but one kingdom under one Shepherd.

In trying to answer questions about who will come, it has been indicated that Christ will have to return as a human being. This human must have been born among the black race of Paran in about 1914~ and His purpose is to establish the kingdom of God on earth.

Leader Olumba Olumba Obu, the Sole Spiritual Head of Brotherhood of the Cross & Star (BCS), was born in 1918 in the rural town of Biakpan, Cross River State, Nigeria. He received little formal education and never attended any church nor Sunday school, but from a very early age began to teach people how mankind, through the practical application of the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, can be led into a higher state of consciousness called 'the kingdom of God'. He teaches 365 days a year at the world headquarters of BCS in Calabar, Nigeria.

Brotherhood of the Cross & Star is a world-wide organisation with around two million members drawn from different nations, cultures and faiths. It has hundreds of different centres (known as 'bethels') for worship, teaching and healing. Although it may outwardly resemble a church or a sect, in fact there is more to it than that. It is an organisation for men, women and children who embark upon a path of spiritual growth and development - a path that can only be followed by those willing to serve their fellow human beings. BCS members are therefore involved in numerous practical humanitarian projects. Its central requirement is to love all people without discrimination.

Jesus is a common Jewish name. The title Christ means an annointed. In this book, the Jesus owned by Christians as the founder of Christianity is referred to as Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The term was understood in various senses during the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ. To the Zealot it meant someone like a glorified Judas Maccabaeus. To a Pharisee it meant above all else a righteous ruler over the people God set free from heathen oppression. To a pious recluse it might, and probably did mean a superhuman emissary from God. To a Sadducee it might have meant nothing at all.

Present day Christians possibly understand it to mean Our Lord Jesus Christ in His second coming in the manner graphically represented on page 12.

However, the 'Black Messiah' existed hundreds of years before Mantegna and Michael Angelo drew their first 'White Messiah' during the 15th and 16th centuries. The latter for Pope Julius II (1509 to 1511) of the Catholic Christian Church.

1. Evangelist Iyke Uzorma, 'The Christ Has Come, First Edition, Everlasting Gospel Centre, Page 4·
2. Pastor I W A Nwankwo, What WilI Help Us To Be Sure, Everlasting Gospel Centre, page 13.
3. Ibid., page 20
4. Ibid., page 6
5. Ibid., page 29

1.Professor Dominic O Agwu , Jehovah God in Human form: He Is Olumba Olumba Obu, First Edition, Ari-Jet Press.(1993)

2.C M Matthew, How Place Names Began and How They Developed.