WHEN MYSTICAL ALTARS REPLACE THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST (PART I)

“The Myth of Priesthood-Powered Kingship: How Joshua Selman Turns Biblical Truth Into Mystical Religious Fiction”

By Akin Ojumu

On Sunday, October 11, 2026, the Koinonia Global Instagram account published a quote attributed to Joshua Selman, the self-styled apostle who presides over a sprawling religious empire built around his peculiar brand of charismatic Christianity.

The quote reads:

“Priesthood is what powers kingship. The crown upon your life is powered by what happens on your altar. An altar is a spiritual system of authorisation. The strength of your prayer life, study of the Word, fear of the Lord, commitment to prioritising Jesus, and consecration are what power your altar.”

Now, being the incurable rabble-rouser, theological troublemaker, and enthusiastic hornet’s-nest-stirrer that I am, I could hardly allow such a magnificent exhibition of theological creativity to pass without comment.

After all, when someone strings together biblical-sounding words, wraps them in the language of spiritual profundity, and presents the resulting concoction as divine revelation, someone ought to have the audacity to ask a rather inconvenient question:

WHERE, PRECISELY, IS ANY OF THIS TAUGHT IN SCRIPTURE?

And so, naturally, I waded into the comment section.

What follows is an expanded version of the response I posted beneath the Koinonia Global Instagram publication.

I have decided to share it here because the theological errors concealed beneath Selman’s impressive-sounding religious vocabulary deserve careful examination and biblical scrutiny.

More importantly, I believe Christians need to understand how easily ordinary biblical concepts can be hijacked, redefined, and repackaged into elaborate spiritual systems that neither the Lord Jesus Christ nor His Apostles ever taught.

Because when religious imagination is allowed to masquerade as biblical revelation, the result is not deeper Christianity. It is an entirely different religion dressed in Christian clothing.

So, let me begin by stating the obvious.

NONE OF THESE IDEAS IS TAUGHT ANYWHERE IN SCRIPTURE.

Not one of them.

The notion that priesthood somehow generates the spiritual power necessary to operate kingship is not a biblical doctrine. 

The suggestion that Christians possess invisible crowns whose authority depends upon the activities taking place on equally invisible altars is a narcissistic theological fabrication.

And the claim that an altar constitutes a supernatural “system of authorization” is an invention for which Joshua Selman cannot produce a single biblical text when that text is interpreted in its proper context.

You may search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, scrutinize every chapter, examine every verse, and interrogate every theological proposition. You will not find the Lord Jesus Christ or any of His Apostles teaching that Christians must operate mystical altars to activate their royal identity.

Neither will you find instructions about charging, powering, servicing, maintaining, or replenishing spiritual altars through prayer, Bible study, consecration, or other religious exercises.

These are not hidden mysteries of the Kingdom of God revealed to super-apostles like Joshua Selman. They are nothing more than the excretory products of religious imagination masquerading as profound spiritual revelation.

And the tragedy is that millions of professing Christians have become so accustomed to this kind of theological absurdity that the more incomprehensible a preacher sounds, the more spiritually profound they imagine him to be.

Apparently, nonsense becomes revelation once it is attributed to the Holy Spirit and it is delivered with sufficient solemnity and exceptional eloquence accompanied by dramatic gestures.

But Christianity is not built upon the imaginative inventions of charismatic personalities. It is founded upon the revelation of God recorded in Holy Scripture.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACH ABOUT PRIESTHOOD AND KINGSHIP?

The Apostle Peter writes:

1 Peter 2:9

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Notice the language.

Believers are a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD.

Peter does not say that the priesthood of believers generates spiritual power for their kingship.

He does not divide the Christian identity into two supernatural departments, one responsible for producing spiritual electricity and the other for distributing royal authority.

He does not suggest that Christians carry invisible crowns that must be connected to invisible altars before they can function.

Peter is describing the identity and calling of God’s redeemed people.

Believers belong to God. They have been set apart for His purposes. They are called to proclaim His excellencies. Their royal priesthood is not an independently manufactured spiritual status. It is a privilege derived from their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Apostle John makes this unmistakably clear.

Revelation 1:5–6

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Read that carefully.

Who made believers a kingdom and priests?

JESUS CHRIST.

And how did He accomplish it?

Through His redemptive work, by which He freed His people from their sins through His blood.

There was no altar-activation ceremony. There was no mystical authorization process. There was no requirement to accumulate enough spiritual energy through prayer, fasting, Bible study, and consecration before qualifying for, or maintaining, membership in God's kingdom.

Christ accomplished it through His blood.

The same truth is reinforced in:

Revelation 5:9–10 

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

The redeemed worship the Lamb because He was slain and, by His blood, ransomed people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation. And through that redemption, He made them a kingdom and priests to God.

Once again, the foundation is not human religious activity. It is not an invisible altar. It is not an imaginary crown. It is not a supernatural authorization mechanism.

IT IS THE FINISHED REDEMPTIVE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST.

Furthermore, the priestly and royal identity of believers must never be confused with the unique offices of Jesus Christ.

Believers are priests unto God because they belong to Christ. They have access to the Father through Him and offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Him. They share in His kingdom and anticipate reigning with Him. 

But they do not become independent sovereigns. Neither do they possess autonomous spiritual authority disconnected from their Savior.

Their identity is derivative.

CHRIST IS THE SOURCE. BELIEVERS ARE THE BENEFICIARIES.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE TRUE PRIEST-KING

There is indeed a biblical relationship between priesthood and kingship.

Unfortunately for the manufacturers of mystical theology, it is nothing like the supernatural electrical arrangement Joshua Selman has invented.

Under the Old Covenant, the offices of priest and king were ordinarily distinct.

Kings governed the nation. Priests administered the sacrificial system and represented the people before God.

But the Old Testament anticipated the coming of a Messiah in whom royal and priestly functions would be perfectly united.

Prophet Zechariah speaks prophetically of the Branch who would build the temple of the Lord, bear royal honor, and rule upon His throne, with priestly and royal functions joined in peace.

Zechariah 6:12–13

“And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’

The Psalmist declares:

Psalm 110:1

“The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”

Then, we read:

Psalm 110:4

“The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’”

Here is the genuine biblical Priest-King.

Not a self-appointed apostle claiming possession of supernatural commodities. Not a religious entrepreneur marketing spiritual authorization systems. Not a charismatic personality who supposedly possesses the technology for activating invisible crowns.

JESUS CHRIST.

He is the exalted King who reigns at the right hand of the Father. He is the eternal High Priest who intercedes for His redeemed people.

The writer of Hebrews explains:

Hebrews 7:24–25

“But he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

Christ’s priesthood is permanent. His mediation is sufficient. His authority is absolute. His saving power does not depend upon the performance of any religious activity by those He has redeemed. And His kingship does not require some mystical altar to supply it with supernatural energy.

1 Timothy 2:5

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

One Mediator. One eternal High Priest. One sovereign Lord.

JESUS CHRIST.

The believer’s access to God rests upon the perfect mediation of Christ, not upon an elaborate network of supernatural authorization systems imagined into existence by contemporary preachers.

And herein lies the fatal flaw in Joshua Selman’s theological construction.

He takes two biblical realities—priesthood and kingship—and transforms their relationship into an imaginary spiritual power arrangement.

But Scripture does not present priesthood as the engine that powers kingship.

Rather, it presents Jesus Christ as the eternal Priest-King through whose redeeming blood believers have been made a kingdom and priests unto God.

The distinction could hardly be more important.

One teaching directs the believer to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. The other directs him toward a collection of religious activities supposedly necessary to activate a spiritual status that Christ has already secured.

One is biblical revelation. The other is mystical speculation. One the religion of divine accomplishment. The other is the religion of human achievement. 

And no amount of apostolic posturing can turn the latter into the former.

But this is only the beginning.

Because Selman's peculiar spiritual arrangement does not end with priesthood powering kingship.

Oh, no!

There is also an invisible crown. There is an invisible altar. There is an elaborate spiritual authorization system. And apparently, the whole supernatural contraption requires regular supplies of prayer, Bible study, and consecration to keep it operational.

In Part II, we shall venture into this magnificent imaginary spiritual power station and examine its supposed machinery against the teaching of Holy Scripture.

For now, this much should be unmistakably clear.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE PRIEST-KING.

BELIEVERS ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD THROUGH THEIR UNION WITH HIM.

AND NO IMAGINARY ALTAR IS REQUIRED TO MAKE HIS REDEMPTIVE WORK EFFECTIVE.

To be continued in Part II.