Friday, 21 October 2011

Priest sees mystery snake in vision, few days later, same reptile shows up in church member’s house

Till this moment, many are still trooping into St Peter’s Anglican Church in Alaba, near Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos. They want to see the remains of a mystery snake which was brought there dead by a certain Mr Mathias Umeh, a businessman living at 13, John Akinwale Street, Ilufe, Ojo near Alaba International market area.

Since Tuesday October 18, when the reptile was brought there, the church has been turned into a Mecca of some sort. Many have been thronging the place to feast their eyes on the serpent, which measures almost two meters in length. It was found and killed in the house of the man a little after 12 midnight. How the reptile found its way into the Umeh’s fortified house unnoticed has continued to puzzle many just as others are asking where he found the courage to kill the mystery snake at that hour of the day.

For now, the only clue to the appearance and subsequent killing of the reptile appears to have its root in a vision of a snake a certain reverend gentleman had about two weeks ago. As the tale goes, two months ago, a cleric Rev. Reginald Okpala, vicar St Peter’s Anglican Church Alaba, Ojo in Lagos had embarked on fervent prayers asking God to restore his new church.

He was recently posted to the church from another parish in Agege also in Lagos. Determined to improve on the standard he met at his new station, he was said to have embarked on a series of prayer sessions for restoration of the church and uplift of the members. While the exercise was underway, he had a vision in which an ancient serpent appeared before him. Then from nowhere, he swiftly drew a sword and cut off its head leaving it dead. When he woke up, he celebrated victory over the serpent and everything it represented. He even told some of his trusted friends about the vision. Somehow he knew that the vision held some meaning for the future but didn’t know in full, what that might be.

And so to consolidate on the victory over the reptile, he contacted the church community and convinced them on the urgent need to stage a three-day prayer of liberation. The programme, which starts today, will last till Sunday October 23, 2011. The event is tagged “Make a joyful noise to the Lord.” In the flier to facilitate the programme one of which was made available to Daily Sun, a picture of the ancient serpent, which the cleric killed in his vision, had long been printed. The head of the serpent was coolly severed from the rest of the body as a sign of victory. But none of the church members – not even the priest knew that the same serpent – in colour, size stature and even length printed on the leaflet would show up in a church member’s house live last Tuesday.

Daily Sun gathered that while the church got down with preparation to stage the liberation programme, on Thursday October 12, Mr Umeh had approached Rev Okpala for counselling and prayers to revive his ailing business which he told him was at the brink of collapse. After listening to his complaints and fears, the priest in line with his calling, prayed for him and then blessed a bottle of olive oil and asked him to anoint his home and the entire compound. Then Mr Umeh who is the landlord of the house thanked the priest and went away. On arrival home he did just what he was told to do.

On the night of October 18, Mr Umeh put a panicky call to Rev. Okpala informing him that a mystery serpent looking every inch a cobra was sighted in his compound. It was threatening everyone. None could tell how it made its way into the place. But a tenant of Mr Umeh had sighted the reptile at 12 midnight as he stormed out in desperate search for water to quench the thirst of his baby crying for water. The description of the serpent he gave the man of God over the telephone was a perfect march to the one the cleric killed in his vision. So instantly, Rev Umeh instructed him to muster courage and kill it, warning that the reptile should not be allowed to escape. So Umeh picked up a piece of wood nearby and killed the serpent. He then called for a machete and cut off the snake’s head in the same manner Rev Okpala killed the one he encountered in his vision.

“ I’m Mr Mathias Umeh, the landlord of 13, John Akinwale Street, Ilufe, Ojo in Lagos. I’m the man whose house the snake visited. On Thursday last week, I had gone to see the vicar of our church Rev Reginald Okpala for counselling. I’m an importer of goods. But for sometime now, business has not been as smooth as it used to be in the past. Things had become progressively though. So I needed a spiritual solution; so I approached the vicar for help. After listening to me, he prayed for me and then blessed a bottle of olive oil and asked me to go home with it and anoint everywhere in my home and compound.

“Few days later, I was awake by 12 midnight. I want to say my midnight prayers when suddenly I heard my neighbour screaming the ‘Blood of Jesus!’ ‘Blood of Jesus!’ Instantly, I charged down stairs to know what was amiss. Just then I saw a long, huge snake lying like a stick on the ground. I was scared stiff. Realising that it was a snake, I quickly linked it with the vision of the snake our vicar saw earlier on and the liberation prayers, which we had scheduled. So I picked up my phone and rang the man of God. He then instructed me not to allow it escape. Instantly we fetched a piece of wood and killed it. I then cut off the head in the manner our vicar killed the serpent he saw in his vision. I then began to rejoice that God had librated us from all our troubles.

“In the morning, we took the snake to the church. To tell you the truth, just days after that snake was killed, I have started seeing a lot of difference in my family and business life. Even my neighbours can confirm that some difference is now being experienced in our compound where the snake was killed. I’m appealing to Nigerians to run to God and have victory and ever lasting peace.”

Corroborating Umeh’s account, Rev Okpala told Daily Sun that a “member of the church Mr Umeh, had come to me for counselling. He told about the hiccups he had been experiencing in his business. I then prayed with him and consecrated a bottle of olive oil and asked him to go home with it and anoint his house. On the night of October 18, he called to inform me that, a snake visited to attack him in his house. I then instructed him to ensure that he killed it.

Thank God he did. At dawn, he brought the snake to the Church. The mystery behind the snake in question is that, it is a true resemblance of the one on our already printed poster for the programme we are having this weekend. The Lord, who has brought me to St. Peter’s Anglican Church Alaba, will accomplish breakthrough and every good thing in life through me. I urge the world to embrace Christ because he is the Alpha and the Omega. Without Him, we are nothing. With Him, we will always make exploit.

“All that happens in this life starts in the spiritually realm and later manifest in the physical. I’m advising Nigerians to come close to God with their body spirit and soul. We need to abandon ourselves to God so that He can have compassion for this nation. If we didn’t declare a programme earlier before this snake was killed, the people would not have understood what was going on both in the spiritual realm which would later manifest in the and the physical realm.”

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