God

Two months after my death in 1967, I became a follower of Meher Baba. He is alive amongst the Shembe Zulu Nazarites of South Africa.

Jon The Nazarite

Zulu Christians, belonging to mission churches, often claim that followers of Isaiah Shembe believe he is God. On the basis of our conversations and my own research, I believe, it would be wrong to describe Isaiah Shembe as God, a god or even as a Black Jesus Christ. Rather, he was, and still is, a reflection of “Jehova” in the iBandla lamaNazaretha. This is because his spirit rules supreme in the hearts and minds of his people within the church. Londa Shembe believed that the spirit of his grandfather Isaiah Shembe was manifest in his father, Johannes Galilee Shembe, and finally, in his own person, thus giving unique authority to his own ministry.

In the history of religions people have often built messianic features into a founder of a religious movement and members of the iBandla lamaNazaretha are no exception. The hymns of Isaiah Shembe played a great role in this regard by elevating Isaiah Shembe above mortal men. To understand this development it is necessary to review the history of the founding of the church and Isaiah Shembe’s spiritual development.