DEATH
The death and last day of
Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola of The Christ Apostolic Church was a
unique and most glorious to behold in the life of every genuine
Christian. He fought the good fight, kept the faith and the final
drop his warfare praying sword and righteous helmet of great exploit
at the feet of his master; our Lord Jesus Christ.
The encounter of his death
and his last few words you are about to read was unveiled by one of
his fellow ministers of the Lord in the same ministry. He was a
companion and fellow soldier who stood beside our dear beloved
Apostle Joseph Ayodele Babalola.
HOW APOSTLE AYO BABALOLA
DIED
Until his sudden departure
to glory on Sunday, July 1959, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola showed no
sign of illness. On Friday 24 July, he returned to Ibadan to attend
the general council’s meeting slated for that day. On Saturday
morning, July, Apostle Babalola conducted the Morning Prayer for
ministers and members living in the residence of Christ Apostolic
Church; Olugbode, Ibadan and prayed for everybody.
The same day, he sent two of
his followers, Michael and another fellow to me at Ede that I should
prepare a place for him to sleep. I never knew he was talking about
his final sleep. Apostle Ayo Babalola arrived Ede around 6:30 pm in
the evening that Saturday and he was gladly received. Before his
arrival, I had prepared my bedroom ready for him.
We ensured that nobody was
allowed to rush into the bedroom with him; for it was Apostle
Babalola’s habit that he never turned away anybody who came to him
for prayer and counseling, no matter how weary he might be. After
prayer, I informed him that his meal was ready. He declined to take
any meal but requested to be allowed to have some sleep, because he
had been holding a series of meetings since the past nine days with
little or no rest.
He woke up three hours later
and took some tea and slept off again. At 4 a.m. on Sunday, he woke
up, took his bath, took some tea and had his morning meditation
without any disturbance. At 6 o’clock, I went to him in the bedroom
and he began to talk about a great convention which will soon be held
in his hometown, Odo-Owa.
He was speaking in parables,
so I did not suspect that he was talking about his approaching death.
He directed me to call in Prophet Babajide who was in the adjacent
room. Both of us knelt down beside his bed and he began to narrate to
us how he began his ministry. It was such a sublime experience. Both
of us just listened; we did not utter a single word during the course
of his narration. After this, we knelt down for prayer. The three of
us prayed. I took the lead. Prophet Babajide followed.
When it was Apostle
Babalola’s turn to pray, he prayed for a very long time, praying
for the church, the leaders and for us too. After the special
service, people came to Apostle Babalola in my bedroom and bid him
farewell before leaving for their various destinations with joy and
humor.
He bid everyone farewell and
prayed for them. Nobody suspected through his speech or action that
death was lurking in the corners. We left him alone to attend to
those who were waiting to see him.
Meanwhile, Michael Osabi and
Samuel Oluwatusin, the two young men who used to wait on him,
remained with him as he took a nap. When he woke up, he called me and
returned my covering-cloth to me. His action surprised me and I
asked, “Baba, why are you doing this?”
He replied, “A man should
sleep with his own clothes.” It did not occur to me that he was
speaking of his imminent death. He advised me to go and have some
sleep myself. By then, everybody else had gone to church for the
evening service.
Around 5 p.m. as he lay on
the bed, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola breathed heavily three times,
saying after, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost.” His breathing was like the rumbling of a
rain-storm and there was a great vibration in the bedroom. As this
was happening, his personal attendants (Michael and Samuel) ran to
call me to his bedside before he gave up the ghost. We began to pray
and quickly sent for the church leaders who had gone to church for
the evening service.
We all prayed for his
restoration. But while this prayer was on, the Lord opened my
spiritual eyes to see what was happening in the heavenlies. The
heavenly hosts had come to meet this great prophet and joyfully
admitted him into the glory above.
He had laid down his sword
at Jesus’ feet. So he could not return to earth again. The church
leaders and the elders who were present arranged for Apostle
Babalola’s corpse to be taken to Efon-Alaaye that same night.
NEXT: Joseph Ayodele Babalola 4 1904 - 1959 By David O. Olayiwola In Makers Of The Church In Nigeria
Wow!
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