After being evicted from Bible study by my minister who said this to my neighbors;

“Greg is on the mountain, but, will soon come down.”

I wrote on a piece of paper……….

“I am a Nazarite.”

I then went to the McKenzie River and baptized myself. Three weeks later I went to the Eugene library, got on the internet and found the Shembe Zulu Nazarite in South Africa. I composed a letter addressed to Shembe who was struck by lightning on his mountain, and had a near-death experience.

Three months before my self-baptism, I went to a gathering of Baba Lovers in Portland. Followers of the Avatar of our Age came from all over the world. On Sunday I met with fifty people in a rose garden located on a Catholic college. Rick Chapman had set up a camera and bid us to speak on the idea of founding a religion on the teaching of Meher Baba. He bid us to just open out mouths – and Baba would speak through us using our divine intuition. I was the first to speak. I used Baba’s own words to nix this – attempt. When I got home, my kindred offered me a new Bible. In three months I am walking down the street in the small town of Blue River Oregon, on my way to the free library, when I am struck on the head by this question – out of the blue;

“Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet born of women. Why don’t we have John’s words of prophecy, so we can compare them to the other lesser prophets in the Old Testament?”

I had been cast out of Bible study held at my friend’s house who ran a video store out of a little cabin. My minister accused me of going over and over this verse just to trip him up;

“He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God¹ has been given to you. But to those on the outside² everything is said in parables.”

“Why didn’t the disciples write this secret down so we can own it this day. Instead, we have the tedious and contradictory teaching of Saint Paul – who was not one of the Twelve!”

What I was saying, is, that somehow the original disciples of Jesus never conveyed the Secret of the Kingdom of God. Not once does Paul attempt to solve the riddle of any parables Jesus spoke. Indeed, he invents confounding riddles of his own that have tied up all brands of the Christian Faith, hence, into a Gordian Knot, a morass of schisms. I had no problem taking that little bowlegged demon and drop-kicking him thru the goalpost of hell, and getting down to work by reading the Old Testament – from the beginning. I can now solve many parables. I considered becoming a Jew and talked to a Rabbi at the Hillel Center in Eugene.

What I saw, was, that John the Baptist the Nazarite for life, opened the door that Jesus then shuts in Mark 4. Who really did this? I conclude that it was Paul and his followers who did not understand the Torah, even though Paul claims he studied under Hillel’s grandson. No way! Paul invents anti-Semitism, and goes after the Judaizers – after he went after the Nazarites. He is not reformed. He was never blinded by the light. He used the first church called ‘The Way’ – that ISIS latched on to invent their own prophecy, and own the same excuse to hunt down those who do not believe as you do.

The Doomsday I see, is ISIS overcoming Pakistan causing India to launch a nuclear attack because ISIS will own nuclear weapons. I believe I have been anointed to merge the teaching of Meher Baba, Shembe, and Herbert Armstrong, in order to destroy the false prophecy of ISIS. Some Muslims are saying Jesus will defeat ISIS, but, it is the false evangelical prophets who got us into Iraq by telling us lies – for our own good! The evangelicals born of the heresy of John Darby, gave birth to ISIS.

Shembe and Armstrong had visions about Elijah. Christians are making these visions grow very faint in hope they fade away. They do this to bolster the power of the Republican Party founded by my kindred – as an abolitionist party. As the embodiment of Elijah and John the Baptist, I will confront ISIS, and demand they let God’s people, go! What is the nature of this “curse”?

http://www.gcww.org/herbert_w__armstrong_the_final_elijah.htm

With the appearance of the N brand ISIS is putting on the home of Christians, Armstrong’s teaching that has been done away with – is reborn! I have traced the Nazarites to the church of the Eastern Star in Iraq. Shembe said he was like Elijah, but, this claim is being buried. It is time to bring John out of the Wilderness – as the Spirit of Elijah – for I say unto you………..the Jesus of ISIS will not come until Elijah come!

Jon Presco ‘The Nazarite’

http://www.russellmoore.com/2014/07/25/n-is-for-nazareth/­

https://rosamondpress.com/2014/08/10/isis-marks-nazarites-for-death/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-david-liepert/muslims-predict-jesus-def_b_6725486.html

Was John the Baptist really Elijah?

1. Yes, he was Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14) – “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14“And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come.”
2. No, he was not Elijah (John 1:19-21) – “And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

The teaching of reincarnation is against the Old Testament. Therefore, Jesus was not teaching that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated. So, what did Jesus mean when He said that John the Baptist was Elijah? We see in Malachi 4:5 this prophecy, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Jesus is referring to the prophecy concerning Elijah.

 7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

8 “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

9 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

10 “For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

In the 1930s Shembe (who was an autodidact in terms of literacy and theology) commissioned his neighbor, John Dube, to write his biography. This book, U-Shembe, appeared shortly after its subject’s death.[13] This biography contains much of the essential Shembe lore and hagiography. Because Dube was an ordained minister and not a Nazarite, he does not always present Shembe in flattering terms. His bona fides as a prophet are questioned, while his ability to extract financial contributions from his membership is highlighted.[14] Shembe’s followers, though, wrote down many of his teachings. As a result, the Nazarite church has an extensive written theological corpus, perhaps the largest of any African Initiated Church.

Nazareth Baptist Church (Alternatively called “The Nazarite Church” “iBandla lamaNazaretha”, or the “Shembe Church”) is an African Initiated Church founded by Isaiah Shembe 1910.[1]

It has approximately 4 million members.[2] The religion bans smoking, drinking, and fornicating.[3] It is seen as a mixture of Zulu tradition and Christianity. It reveres Shembe as an African Messiah and emphasizes the Ten Commandments.

It was divided into two groups after the 1976 death of Bishop Johannes Galilee Shembe. The larger group was led by Bishop Amos Shembe until his death in 1996, while the Rt. Rev. Londa Shembe led the smaller group of about 1000 members.[4]

As of 2009 it was divided into four factions – three in KwaZulu-Natal and one in Gauteng.[5]

The religion uses endangered leopard skins as part of their ceremonies, which some activists are trying to stop or replace with synthetic leopard skin.[6]

Isaiah Mloyiswa Mdliwamafa Shembe (c.1870^[1]– 2 May 1935), was the founder of the Nazareth Baptist Church, which is the largest African Initiated Church in Africa during his lifetime. A self-styled prophet who claimed to have been sent directly by God to the Zulu people, Shembe started his religious career as an itinerant evangelist and faith healer in 1911. Within ten years he had built up a large following in Natal with dozens of congregations across the province. Although the Nazarites were eventually eclipsed in size by several other Zionist churches, the Nazarite church eventually had well over a million members before it began to splinter into competing groups in the 1980s.

Birth and Early Life[edit]

Shembe’s early life is the subject of intense hagiography and is difficult to piece together. He was born at Ntabamhlophe (Estcourt district) in the Drakensberg region of Natal. Although some questioned his Zulu credentials, he insisted that he was of pure Zulu breed and that his family had fled from Shaka during the Mfecane period. His father, Mayekisa, traced his lineage four generations back among members of the Ntungwa tribe.^[2] His mother was Sitheya, the daughter of Malindi Hadebe, was born at Mtimkulu.^[3]

Shembe’s family left Natal for the adjacent Harrismith district of Orange Free State in the 1870s, ending up there as tenants for an Afrikaner family named the Graabes.^[4] The young Shembe appears to have labored for this Boer family as well, and spent considerable time working with the farm’s horses. In his early years Shembe attended Wesleyan churches and seems to have been religious for his whole life. There is a considerable lore of hagiographic tradition concerned with the young Shembe. He is alleged, for instance, to have died young before being resurrected after his relatives sacrificed a bull prior to his burial. He was also allegedly visited by God on many occasions in these years.^[5]

By the time of the South African War, Shembe was married and was working for the Graabes as a tenant in his own right. However, the war disrupted his situation. After abandoning his wives, he spent some time on the Rand as a migrant.^[6] During this time, he seems to have attended the African Native Baptist Church, led by William Leshega, in Boksburg.

Early Years As an Evangelist[edit]

Between 1906 and 1910 was a minor evangelist in Leshega’s church. The latter visited him in Harrismith in 1906 and baptized him there. For the following two years he worked as an itinerant evangelist, and was then given an official preacher’s certificate by Leshega in 1908. It would appear that Shembe then led a congregation for Leshega in Witzieshoek until 1910, when Leshega affiliated with John G Lake’s Apostolic Faith Mission.^[7]

Shembe served as a member of the White-led Apostolic Faith Mission for a year. During this time he seems to have taken Lake on two evangelizing tours of the area, one of which went as far as Basutoland.^[8] On these trips he listened to Lake’s preaching and saw him perform a number of faith healings.

Having imbibed the rhetoric and faith healing prowess of Lake, Shembe was inspired to strike out on his own,and he left for Natal in March 1911.^[9] Messengers preceded his arrival into various parts of Natal, proclaiming that “A Man of Heaven” had been sent by God to preach to the Zulu people. Shembe typically followed these messengers by a day or two, following which he would preach and perform faith healings similar to those typically performed by John G Lake. He also crafted a message of his calling as a prophet. Shembe maintained that he had been struck by lightning after ascending a mountaintop, following which he received his divine mission to preach to the Zulu nation.^[10]

Leader of the Nazareth Baptist Church 1910-1935[edit]

By all accounts, Shembe had an electric effect and was able to rapidly build congregations in a number of areas. He formed the Nazareth Baptist Church in 1910, with his converts consisting primarily of poverty-stricken migrants living at the margins of Natal’s urban areas. Soon after he purchased a freehold farm and established a holy city at ekuPhakameni that sought in part to keep his people on the land free of white control. He also established a yearly pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Nhlangakazi, an event that was central to the Nazarites.^[11] As his following grew and he could not provide land for everyone, Shembe began training his followers to be exemplary workers. His exhortation and strict religious regimens turned his followers into a distinctive group known for their honesty, punctuality, and work ethic.

In addition to his preaching and healing, Shembe was known for composing numerous Zulu hymns and sacred dances, for creating sacred costumes that combined Zulu and European clothing styles, for developing a new liturgical calendar (that omitted Christmas), and for dietary laws that included a restriction against eating chicken, pork and other unclean foods as found in the Old Testament of the Bible.^[12] He advocated worship of the biblical Sabbath rather than Sunday. Associating Sunday worship with the Jesus of the white missionaries, he chose to identify instead with the Sabbath of God, Jehovah. He saw the Sabbath as essential to the wholeness and well-being of Africans.

In the 1930s Shembe (who was an autodidact in terms of literacy and theology) commissioned his neighbor, John Dube, to write his biography. This book, U-Shembe, appeared shortly after its subject’s death.^[13] This biography contains much of the essential Shembe lore and hagiography. Because Dube was an ordained minister and not a Nazarite, he does not always present Shembe in flattering terms. His bona fides as a prophet are questioned, while his ability to extract financial contributions from his membership is highlighted.^[14] Shembe’s followers, though, wrote down many of his teachings. As a result, the Nazarite church has an extensive written theological corpus, perhaps the largest of any African Initiated Church.

Shembe’s legacy has created some controversy. In a 1967 book, G.C. Oosthuizen argued that the movement was “a new religion that sees Isaiah Shembe as ‘the manifestation of God.’” Oosthuizen was attacked by Bengt Sundkler and Absolom Vilakazi as being too Westernized to understand Zulu culture, and claimed that the movement remained Christian. However, Oosthuizen’s view has been embraced by two of Shembe’s successors, his younger son Amos Shembe and his grandson Londa Shembe, who (although they fought with each other over who was the legitimate successor and eventually formed two separate branches of the church), both of whom believe that Shembe did indeed create something new.[9]

On Sunday afternoon when the TRC national Chairperson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was conducting a church service, in his sermon he said that we are all partners to God. We are here to assist God to mould this country and to make it fit living here. In my view, the religious community and cannot fail to do this. If only we would clearly understand what our mission is. This is irrespective of whether we are Christians, Nazarites, Jews, Moslems, Hindus or traditional religions. Our main mission is to work for God and working for God means doing what God appreciates. Whilst we are liberated politically, we acknowledge that there is a fast deterioration of humanity in our society, which is reaching an intolerable level. We have to focus our attention as churches and faith communities on this reality. As religious people, we must not allow ourselves to be too influenced by political rhetorics which are only meant to win votes, but we must face the truth. It is our duty as religious people in South Africa to put aside our religious differences and to work for a common goal of making South Africa become a decent country. In doing this, we have to look at the causes of our problems. It seems to me that among us blacks there is a culture of indolence, lack of work ethics and general irresponsibility, which we have to address without fail. We cannot expect other people to do so, less they be labelled as racist. The greatest enemy of a black man is liquor. As long as we are producing the generation of drunkards, we can forget about a decent society. Drunkenness always goes hand in hand with laziness, irresponsibility and uncouthness. We can think of many projects, create many jobs, but unless we address this problem seriously, we are just wasting our time.

https://rosamondpress.com/2012/08/07/my-nazarite-church/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ75g8BsTXU

http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/ricsa/commiss/trc/nazatest.htm

At his early boyhood, he had many visions which came to him in the form of a voice from the firmament. Before Isiah Shembe knew anything about Christianity or the bible, he spoke of God with whom he claimed to be in communication, who he knew as Inkosi or …[inaudible]. This voice which usually came with thunder and lightening directed his life and was the source of all the teachings and beliefs he, at a later stage, instilled in the minds of his followers. Later, when Isiah Shembe had already been in communication with his God, he met the bible. Through the mysterious powers of his revelations, he was able to read it basing his understanding of it on the visionary messages he received from Umbeli Nqangi. Although later he was in contact with the Christians, he never relied on the Christian interpretation of the bible, but he read and understood it as he was guided by the visionary messages. The prophet, although from his boyhood he was always in communication with God, he never joined any church until he got married according to Zulu custom. After having married his fourth wife, God ordered him to leave all his wives, his children and the family at large an follow him. This Shembe eventually complied with. From that time, Isiah Shembe became the greatest prophet this country ever produced.

In 1910, he came to Natal still preaching the word of God, healing and performing all kinds of miracles in his ministry. In 1911 he founded his mission station at Inanda, near Durban, called Ipakamini, which became the headquarters of his church. In 1913 he was led by the Holy Spirit to Ntlagagazi which is a distance of about 80 km from Durban. From that year to this day, AmaNazaretha barefootedly take this pilgrimage in hundreds thousands or millions yearly, to worship God on the Mount Ntlagagazi for the period of two weeks. As I have pointed out earlier, Ibandla lama Nazaretha is very unique if one approaches is from the Christian perspective. Because, although AmaNazaretha use the bible in their teachings, Isiah Shembe as a prophet did not regard the bible as his sole authority of his teachings, but as a reference to his main authority, which is God. As a prophet, Isiah Shembe was converted by no man, but by God. The bible was there to support and confirm his authority. It is therefore through this that it is not very correct to categorise Ibandla lama Nazaretha as one of the independent churches. It was never a part of any Christian teachings, but it is part of the biblical teachings we built through the might of the almighty. This church can also not be categorised under traditional religions, for the simple reason that whilst traditional religions based their teachings on “Izwelabantu” which is the voice of the people, Ibandla lama Nazaretha bases its teachings on “IzweleZulu” which is the voice of heaven which came to the prophet, and through him spread to the all the people. The prophet explored the name, AmaNazaretha, to its biblical roots as being the only name given by God to the believers, namely the Nazareths. The prophet outlawed the drinking of any beverages including beer or sorghum beer. He also outlawed smoking of any kind, albeit they are part of African tradition, for they are incompatible with laws relating to the Nazareths. Isiah Shembe regarded beer drinking and smoking as health hazards and not suitable for AmaNazaretha. He further outlawed pre-marital sexual intercourse, the use of medicine as a form of healing, the practice of divination or sorcery, the use of mediums or spirits, although these form part of African traditions. For such practices are repugnant to biblical teachings. Isiah Shembe allowed polygamy and when confronted by Christians, his reply was simply this: “I was not sent by man, but by God and God did not tell me of a sin called polygamy. Those who sin are the ones who divorce and thereafter take another wife”.

From its inception, this church under its founder and subsequent successors in leadership, grew very fast and as Mrs Wells confirmed in her manuscript entitled Shembe, and I quote: “Everywhere, chapels and churches and schools were empty as Shembe approached and the people crowded to listen with great joy. Immorality was driven to shame. Mental snobbery was pricked like a bubble and a simple folk wearing skins or next to nothing accepted the gospel with great joy and were baptised. Then the greatest enemy were the missionaries who then waged warfare against Shembe because they said he was undoing much, if not most of what they had done. They had taught people to wear clothes and now Shembe said it did not matter if the people wore little or nothing, if they were modest and clean.” This warfare against Shembe by the missionaries had a very negative impact on the growth of this church. Because of the short time given to me to prepare for this hearing, I am unable to give all the specific incidents that led to the suffering, scorn, persecution and false representations against the church from the time of the prophet to this day. The missionaries had vowed to wipe it from existence and in so doing, they agitated the government of the day to stop all its activities. For example it is a fact that there were laws which were passed in Natal forbidding the Shembe to enter the black reserve, if he did not have permission from the Magistrate. And the Durban municipality forbade him to enter the locations. All Shembe’s moves were closely monitored for his was not regarded as a church, but a political movement under the cloak of religion. As Mrs Wells further revealed, Shembe was much hated by the missionaries. She further stated: “I remember a certain European superintendent of missions meeting outside Town Hall in Durban and accusing and denouncing Shembe with much hate. He brought his clenched fist down in his open palm and affirmed ‘Shembe works those wonders through the power of the devil!’. Have you ever seen Shembe, or have you been present at healing services, I asked him. ‘No’ said the Superintendent, “and I don’t want to see him. All I want and intend to do is to crush him out of existence”.

The government, through the influence of the missionaries was in important, wanted to crush this church out of existence. Shembe was told in no uncertain terms that his was not a church. In 1931 he was called to Pietermaritzburg, where he was told to demolish all his church settlements, that he was not allowed to build any church house or to use the church bells in calling people to the church service. It therefore came to pass that the Nazareths developed a culture of worshipping God whilst seated under the trees and calling people to the church service by shouting loudly, up to this day.

As I pointed out the church had long been instructed never to build church houses or to establish any further church settlements. The church was ordered to demolish even those houses which were already existing. In 1950, the successor in leadership, the Lord of …[inaudible] built a big church house at …[inaudible] with the installation of a church bell. He was then confronted by local missionaries and was again reminded that his was a not a church and therefore the building of that church house and the installation of the bell was repugnant to the government. The church building and bell was then confined to a …[inaudible] only. The question facing the church was how to spread its gospel in the face of the government’s restrictions. The prophet had instructed his son and successor in leadership, Johannes, to take many wives. According to Zulu custom, the man is entitled to establish his home when he has a wife, and a man can have as many homes as his wife. Whenever Johannes Galile Shembe wanted to establish a church settlement, he pointed out that he was a man with many children and he wanted the land for his children. When the land was then allocated to him, it became a church settlement and the government was unable to attach him, as the home was always registered in his personal name, so was everything that belonged to the church because the church was not recognised as a church. The struggle in favour of the church recognition was fought for years until in 1985, when the church joined RICA and was assisted by Bishop R.P.B. Mbwela.

The death of the prophet Isiah Shembe in 1935 brought in great joy among the missionaries in Natal. Their aim as the superintendent had vowed was to see to it that no only Shembe was dead, but that everything about him was intact with his bones. They met and discussed the matter and thereafter sent to Galile Shembe a very prominent black leader, Dr L. Dube to convince the successor in leadership that it was not worth his education to lead Ibandla lama Nazaretha which is full of amaQaba, or heathens. As Galile once put it in his sermons, and I quote, “After my father’s death there were many people who advised me to abandon this church and join the Wesley Church or American Board. They promised me money to go overseas, where I was to be trained as a minister so that I could come back and become their priest. This church of your father is wrong, it takes people away from the path of God. The first person to say this was a black man. He said, these people will give you trouble for they are not educated, you will not be able to lead them. After two months I met a white man in Durban who knew my father. He said, ‘Is it you who took over from the work of Shembe?’, I said yes. He then said, ‘No man, what can you do, you cannot rule black people. Black people always fight. By the way, you say that you do not drink liquor, you shall see that all of them drink. And if you talk to them, they will fight you. Leave this people, if you want to be a priest, go to American Board, or to the Wesley Church and be a priest there. I did not reply to this white man, but I wondered how his talk came to be the same as that of the black man who had come to tell me the same story.”