JOSHUA SELMAN AND THE SPIRIT ENTITIES POWERING HIS ANOINTING (PART I)

“When Pagan Metaphysics Is Disguised as Christian Theology”

By Akin Ojumu

In an African Plume Blog commentary published on January 24, 2026, titled “CONNECTING THE DOTS OF JOSHUA SELMAN’S ANOINTING,” I examined the individuals, encounters, and spiritual experiences to which Joshua Selman has attributed the so-called anointings, mantles, and graces associated with his ministry.

In that commentary, I wrote:

“Joshua Selman is not the type that shies away from talking about the sources of his power. When it comes to the root of his anointing, the guy is proud of his ancestry. On numerous occasions, he has told his followers and admirers that he is a beneficiary of encounters. Like a collector of fine things, Selman is a connoisseur of what he calls “graces.”’

‘From campgrounds to burial grounds, Joshua Selman goes to and fro and all over the place praying for encounters, craving mantles, and seeking anointings with hunger and expectation in his heart.

“Disciples of Joshua Selman are well acquainted with the names of God’s “Generals” and powerfully “anointed” fathers of the faith who have influenced him and his ministry over the years. They’ve heard him tell the story of a time when, while watching William Branham’s interview on television one night, he experienced a profound and strange phenomenon that radically changed the trajectory of his life.”

The commentary proceeded to examine the spiritual pedigree of some of the men Selman has identified in his accounts of supernatural encounters and impartations.

First was William Branham, whose teachings included serious departures from historic Christian orthodoxy, particularly his teaching on serpent seed which asserts that the sin that Eve committed in the Garden of Eden was that she had sexual intercourse with the serpent and that through that sexual encounter that Cain was received. Branham was also an advocate of Oneness theology, a heretic belief that affirms that God simultaneously manifest as Father (transcendent), Son (incarnate), and Spirit (in the Church) as one indivisible God.

Then there was Kobus van Rensburg, the South African preacher associated with extraordinary claims of supernatural power and impartation. I also discussed the connection between van Rensburg and T. B. Joshua, the Nigerian shaman and sorcerer whose doctrines, spiritual claims, and religious practices bore more resemblance to the mysticism of pagan, idolatrous religion than biblical Christianity.

The theological question I raised was straightforward.

If a preacher claims to have received special spiritual power, mantles, or supernatural graces through encounters with men whose doctrines and practices are demonstrably contrary to Scripture, on what grounds should Christians accept those experiences as manifestations of the Holy Spirit?

Does a supernatural experience validate the doctrine of the person who claims to have experienced it?

Does an extraordinary manifestation establish the divine origin of the power behind it?

Absolutely not!

The Bible commands believers to test the spirits, not surrender their discernment whenever someone narrates a spectacular supernatural experience.

1 John 4:1

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

The standard is not the intensity of the encounter. It is not the reputation of the person involved. It is not the extraordinary nature of the manifestation.

The standard is the revealed Word of God.

And that brings me to another remarkable assertion recently made by Joshua Selman.

Listen to the man himself.

“If you have lived long enough in this life, you’ll know that everything you see has a spirit entity that supports, powers, or manipulates it. Don’t wait until you get unnecessarily old to learn this lesson. And I’m not being superstitious. Hallelujah!

“Now, whether the person sitting on the throne is aware that his throne is being powered by spirit entities or not does not change that fact…

“I have taught you and you are intelligent to know that there is a certain threshold of dominion you cannot cross beyond without a connection to a spirit. It’s impossible. Even unbelievers agree on this.

“There is a level of dominion—financially, spiritually, in terms of influence—when you see a man rise beyond a certain threshold, that immediately reveals, whether he will admit it or not, whether he consciously got there or not, that there has to be a spirit entity—demonically or divine from God—assisting this man.

“There is a level of result that ordinary man, unassisted by the spirit realm, cannot attain unto. It is true.”

There you have it!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the mystical universe of Joshua Selman, where every throne apparently has an invisible spiritual power station, every successful businessman has an unseen supernatural sponsor, and every influential personality must have crossed some mysterious threshold requiring assistance from a spirit entity.

In this peculiar theological universe, financial prosperity is not merely financial prosperity. Political influence is not simply political influence. Human achievement cannot just be human achievement.

Somewhere behind the curtain, according to Selman, a spirit entity must be pulling the strings.

And just in case anyone mistakes this for superstition, the preacher thoughtfully assures his audience that he is not being superstitious.

How reassuring!

Unfortunately, announcing that one is not being superstitious does not magically transform superstition into biblical truth.

The question is not whether Joshua Selman believes what he is saying. The question is whether what Joshua Selman is saying aligns with the revealed Word of God in Scripture.

And the answer is NO.

THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH THAT EVERY THRONE IS POWERED BY A SPIRIT ENTITY

Selman’s foundational assertion is that everything we see has a spirit entity that supports, powers, or manipulates it.

Where is that written? Which prophet taught this doctrine? Which Apostle explained this supposed spiritual mechanism?

Where did the Lord Jesus Christ teach that every political throne, economic empire, or position of extraordinary influence must be powered by a supernatural entity attached to its occupant?

Nowhere!

The Bible certainly teaches the reality of the spiritual realm. It teaches the existence of angels and demons. It teaches that Satan exercises influence in this fallen world. It also teaches that demonic powers can deceive and manipulate human beings.

But the existence of spiritual beings does not establish Selman’s sweeping assertion that every extraordinary human accomplishment must have a specific spirit entity powering it.

That is a conclusion he has imported into the text, not one he has derived from it.

Consider what Scripture actually teaches about earthly rulers.

Daniel 2:21

“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

Daniel 4:17

“The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.”

Romans 13:1

“For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

Notice what these passages establish.

God is sovereign over earthly governments. He raises rulers and removes them. His providential authority extends over kings, kingdoms, governments, and political institutions.

But none of these passages teaches that earthly rulers require a special connection to a spirit entity before attaining a particular threshold of dominion.

The sovereign providence of God is not the same thing as Selman’s invented system of supernatural sponsorship.

To say that God rules over earthly authority is biblical.

To insist that every powerful person must have an assisting spirit entity operating behind the throne is an additional claim for which Selman has provided no biblical warrant.

God’s sovereignty is not a mystical power-sharing arrangement between human beings and invisible spiritual sponsors.

And this is precisely where Selman’s argument begins to unravel.

He takes a biblical truth—that God sovereignly governs all creation—and turns it into something altogether different: a speculative theory that extraordinary human achievement necessarily requires a supernatural patron.

But the Bible does not tell Christians to examine every wealthy businessman, every political ruler, and every influential personality in search of an invisible spirit allegedly powering their accomplishments.

It tells us that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of men.

Period!

The moment we begin inventing spiritual mechanisms that God has not revealed, we have abandoned biblical exposition and entered the territory of religious speculation.

And no amount of theological-sounding vocabulary can rescue such speculation from its lack of biblical foundation.

In Part II, we will examine Selman’s extraordinary assertion that there is a threshold of financial success, political influence, and human achievement beyond which no ordinary person can advance without assistance from a spirit entity.

We will ask a very simple question.

Where, exactly, is this mysterious threshold located in the Bible?

To be continued.