POJU OYEMADE AND THE STRANGE THEOLOGY OF SOUNDS THAT ATTRACT DEMONS (PART I)

“The Revelation that Came from the Bush”

By Akin Ojumu

Preaching as a guest speaker at the recently concluded Annual Youth Conference of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Sheraton Hotel Assembly, Poju Oyemade took his audience to two passages of Scripture: Colossians 2:6–7 and Ephesians 3:16–17.

Colossians 2:6–7

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

Ephesians 3:16–17

“That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”

Now, these are two magnificent passages of Scripture, rich in theological meaning and profound in their implications for the Christian life.

In Colossians, Paul exhorts believers to continue walking in Christ, firmly rooted in Him, built up in Him, established in the faith they have received, and overflowing with thanksgiving.

In Ephesians, the Apostle prays that believers might be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in their inner being, that Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they might be rooted and grounded in love.

Straightforward enough, wouldn’t you say?

Well, not quite. Not when Poju Oyemade gets hold of the microphone.

Combining these two passages, Oyemade informed his audience that being rooted and grounded in Christ requires believers to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving. From there, he launched into a warning against murmuring, grumbling, and complaining.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with exhorting Christians to cultivate an attitude of gratitude and refrain from sinful grumbling. Scripture repeatedly commands believers to give thanks to God and warns against the rebellious complaining that characterized Israel in the wilderness.

But that wasn’t where Oyemade stopped.

Oh, no!

The man had a rather extraordinary piece of supernatural intelligence to share with the impressionable young people gathered before him.

According to Oyemade, demons have a peculiar attraction to certain sounds human beings make.

Apparently, murmuring and complaining emit some sort of spiritual distress signal that summons demons to the scene. The moment demons hear the sound of grumbling, they come running, presumably salivating at the prospect of another unfortunate human being to devour.

On the other hand, thanksgiving and praise allegedly produce a different spiritual sound that attracts angels.

So, in Oyemade’s theological universe, complaining functions as a demonic summons, while thanksgiving serves as an angelic invitation.

One sound attracts demons. Another sound attracts angels. And depending on the noises coming out of your mouth, you might find yourself entertaining either heavenly assistance or demonic predators.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the supernatural acoustics department of Poju Oyemade’s theological university!

Now, if you are wondering how on earth Oyemade managed to excavate this extraordinary doctrine of spiritual soundwaves from Colossians 2:6–7 and Ephesians 3:16–17, your guess is as good as mine.

Neither passage teaches anything remotely resembling it.

Paul says nothing about demons responding to complaints. He says nothing about angels congregating wherever they hear thanksgiving. He certainly does not suggest that heaven and hell operate some kind of spiritual sound-detection technology.

So, where did Oyemade get this remarkable piece of theological information?

Well, brace yourself.

FROM AN AMERICAN PREACHER WHO WENT HUNTING IN THE BUSH!

Yes, you read that correctly.

He didn’t get it from Moses. He didn’t get it from the Prophets. He didn’t get it from the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t get it from the Apostles.

He got it from an American hunter who allegedly received a divine revelation after spending six unproductive hours in the wilderness waiting for animals to appear.

And because I wouldn’t want anyone accusing me of misrepresenting the distinguished preacher, I think it is only fair that we allow Oyemade to explain his theology in his own words.

Here is what he told the audience:

“Let me just say this. Complaining and murmuring about things attract demons. Which means if you get somewhere and you are complaining and murmuring about the condition that you met, demons come out. If you offer thanksgiving and praise, angels come out.”

“Angels come out to help a person who comes in contact with something that may not be convenient, but they sacrifice…because in Heaven, God told me, what angels do is constant worship. And therefore, it is where there is constant praise and worship, angels gather on the earth.”

Oyemade then proceeded to explain where this supernatural intelligence originated.

An American preacher friend of his had gone hunting with another preacher who was a bishop. The two men reportedly camouflaged themselves with leaves and settled down in the bush at midnight, hoping to kill some animals.

Six hours passed. Nothing. Not one animal appeared.

At approximately six o’clock in the morning, the bishop suddenly began making strange noises.

“Ho ho! Ho ho!”

His bewildered companion wondered whether the man had lost his mind. But the bishop assured him that the animals would soon appear and instructed him to prepare his gun.

Sure enough, according to the story, the animals emerged, and the hunters began shooting.

The American preacher later asked his bishop friend what the strange sounds meant. The bishop explained that he had been imitating the distress cries made by the prey of the animals they were hunting.

The predators, hearing what sounded like a trapped victim, supposedly came out to investigate.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was when the heavens allegedly opened!

According to Oyemade:

“He said, ‘And revelation hit him.’ Then God said there is a sound you make that demons know you are trapped. And once you start making that sound, they show up to come and feed on their prey.”

There you have it!

FROM THE HUNTING GROUNDS OF AMERICA TO THE PULPITS OF NIGERIA: THE MIRACULOUS TRANSMUTATION OF AN ANIMAL CALL INTO CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE!

Let’s examine what just happened.

An American preacher allegedly goes hunting with his bishop friend. For six hours, the two men sit in the bush, camouflaged as vegetation, waiting for animals that stubbornly refuse to show up.

Eventually, the bishop begins making strange animal sounds.

“Ho ho! Ho ho!”

The animals supposedly respond to the sounds, believing that one of their preys has been trapped.

The hunters shoot. And somewhere between the animal noises, the hunting rifles, and the excitement of finally finding something to kill, a revelation allegedly descends from heaven.

God, we are told, reveals that demons behave like those predatory animals. They listen for the sounds of trapped human beings.

When people murmur and complain, demons interpret those sounds as evidence of vulnerability and descend upon their unfortunate victims. But when people offer thanksgiving and praise, Satan supposedly recognizes that they are dangerous to attack.

And just like that, a hunting anecdote becomes a theological explanation of how the demonic realm operates.

A wildlife observation becomes a spiritual law. An animal distress call becomes the interpretive key to understanding demonic activity. And a private impression becomes a message delivered to young Christians as though it were an established truth of Scripture.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how theological superstition is manufactured and marketed as divine revelation.

But Oyemade wasn’t finished. He proceeded to explain the practical financial implications of this supposed revelation.

According to him, when you go to the market and discover that prices have increased, complaining about the rising cost of goods can attract demons that will come to punish you.

However, if you respond to the same economic hardship by declaring, “Praise the Lord for you are good and your mercy endureth forever,” angels will supposedly intervene and help you financially.

Imagine that!

Inflation is ravaging the economy. The purchasing power of your income is declining. Food prices are climbing beyond the reach of ordinary families. And according to this extraordinary theology, your greatest concern should be that your expression of frustration might summon demons to finish the job.

Apparently, the difference between demonic punishment and angelic financial assistance is the sound you make when the market woman tells you the new price of tomatoes.

Complain, and demons come out. Praise, and angels come to your financial rescue.

What a remarkably convenient arrangement! Who knew that heaven’s financial intervention department operated on the same principle as a hunter imitating the distress cries of trapped animals?

But beyond the absurdity of the illustration lies a profoundly serious theological problem.

Where is any of this taught in Scripture? Which passage of the Bible teaches that demons are summoned by the sound of human complaints? Where did the Lord Jesus say that grumbling gives demonic spirits permission to attack? Which Apostle taught that angels respond to praise by intervening in financial difficulties?

And by what exegetical process did Oyemade arrive at these conclusions from Colossians 2:6–7 and Ephesians 3:16–17?

The answer is painfully obvious.

He did not derive this teaching from either passage. He brought the teaching to the passages.

The supposed revelation came first. Scripture was subsequently recruited to give it an appearance of biblical legitimacy.

And this is precisely where the danger lies.

When a preacher begins with an unverifiable spiritual experience and then searches Scripture for passages that can be made to accommodate it, he is no longer allowing Scripture to determine his theology. He is making Scripture serve his theology.

A hunter’s private impression has been promoted to divine revelation. An animal analogy has been elevated into a spiritual principle. And the inspired Word of God has been reduced to supporting material for a story that cannot be independently verified.

An anecdote is not revelation. An illustration is not doctrine. And an American hunting expedition is certainly not an additional book of the Bible.

In Part II, we will examine what Scripture actually teaches about murmuring, thanksgiving, angels, demons, and the sovereignty of God.

We will also examine the extraordinary manner in which Oyemade turns God’s judgment upon rebellious Israel into a supposed demonstration of demons responding to the sounds of human complaints.

Because the question is not whether his hunting story is entertaining. The question is whether his theology is biblical.

And that is a question no amount of “Ho ho! Ho ho!” can answer.

TO BE CONTINUED.