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African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa and Eschatology

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African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa and Eschatology AFRICAN INDEPENDENT PENTECOSTAL CHURCH CF AFRICA AND ESCHATOLOGY J ' L/NivERsrcy o f NAIROBT LIBRARY OY NAHASHEjN WAMATHAI j’NDUNGU NDUi IBM IUB8M n « B B M ACCEPtBD TO4 I’titii bRtnti'14 t'Pti.MioUTi.i>• * ! . .... ( Asb A FOi'V MA¥ M4 PLACED in THE bhiVfew&iTV HuHir\UV. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FGR THE DEGREE OF MASTER GF ARTS AT THE UNIVERSITY CF NAIROBI. 1979. DECLARATION This, thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other University. V' { V This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as University supervisors. (i) DR. S.G. KIBICHO L ' t V \ , O'— $, (ii) MR. E.M. KASIERA \ (iii) TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Abbreviations............................ ........... ) ■/x List of maps, tables and photographs .............. viii Abstract............................................ ix Acknowledgements........... ....................... xi INTRODUCTION (a) Defining the problem....................... (b) Location................................... (c) Literature review.......................... (d) Organisation of Chapters.................... CHAPTER ONE THE' HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (a) The Kikuyu (or Agikuyu) people ........... 1 (b) Arrival of Missionaries in Kikuyulend.... a (e) Early developments towards Independent Schools and Churches among the Kikuyu..... 9 (d) The new teaching and is breakaway......... 16 CHAPTER TWO THE FOUNDING OF THE AFRICAN INDEPENDENT PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF AFRICA (a) Establishment of Kikuyu Independent Schools 5 Churches................................ 2B (b) The naming of che new Church page: (c) The Political impact on the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa 1940-1952......... 39 (d) The closure of the Independent Scnools and Churches.... 42 (e) The African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa re-opened...................................... 45 CHAPTER Vi-13155 THE MEANING OF THE WORD 'ESCHATOLOGY' IN THE BIBLE AND THE WORD 'ENO' IN KIKUYU_______________________ (a) The term "Eschatology".................................. 61 (b) Eschatology in the Old Testament ...................... 63 (c) Eschatology in the New Testament....................... 67 (d) How the Kikuyu express the idea of the "end"........... 65 (e) Summary of observations................................ ■Y CHAPTER FOUR ESCHATOLOGY AND THE AFTER-LIFE *• (a) Death and the after-life in the Old Testament........ 77 (b) Death and resurrection in the N^w Testament.......... BO (c) Death and the after-life among the Kikuyu............. 61 (ri) Death and the after-life among the members of the • Af rican.Independent.Pentecostal.Church.of.Af rica... 90 (v) CHAPTER FIVE PAGE LIFE IN THE WORLD TO COME (a) Heaven and Hell. 101 (b) After-life in heaven and hell .......... • • 102 (c) After-life in heaven and hell among the members of African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa....'...'..'....'................. 108 / CHAPTER SIX THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND TIME (a) Some interpretations of the Kingdom......... 119 (b) The African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa members' view of the Kingdom of God __ 123 (c) Da t i n g of P a r o u s i a ............... .... ......... • • 131 y CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSION (a) Co nc lu di ng r e m a r k s ................. .....>.. ...... 140 (b) Future o u t l o o k s ............. .*... ..... ............. 145 BIBLI0C3UPHY. ...... .. .. ... .... ... ....... ... 148 Appendix I - Questionnaire used during the research ............................ ■ < 152 Appendix II- List of the informants.......... 155 ABBREVIATIONS AIC African Inland Church AIM African Inland Mission AIPCA African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa ACC African Orthodox Church CMS Church Missionary Society CSM Church of Scotland Mission Dan. Daniel DC District Commissioner EAA East African Association Eccles. Ecclesiastes ■ En. Enoch GMS Gospel Missionary Society Heb. Hebrews « Is. Isaiah / . Jer. Jeremiah Y Jn. John KAU Kenya African Union KCA Kikuyu Central Association KISA Kikuyu Independent Schools Association KKEA Kikuyu Karinga Education Association Lk. Luke Macc. Maccabees Mk. Mark Mt. Matthew NT New Testament (vii) OT Old Testament Rev. Revelation RC Roman Catholic Tim. Timothy TTC Teacher Training College Thess• Thessalonians . ( viii ) Maps Page I. Kikuyuland........................ xxiv II. The area of study (Tetu and Muhoya's Locations)..................... xxv III. The areas where the AIPCA is established in Kenya.......................... 53 Tables ' Table I - Distribution of AIPCA by districts.................................. 51 * Photographs (i) The Archoishop Daniel William Alexander....... 56 (ii) The baptismal cards issued by D.W. Alexander.... ;57 (iii.) Archbishop Benjamin Kahihia........ 58 y (iv) Kiriti AIPCA which functions as a seminary...... 59 (v) Muthua-ini and Kabage AIPCA........ 50 ABSTRACT Since Jesus ascended to his Father nearly twenty centuries ago, Christians have been waiting For his return. On his return, a^-coroing to Christian belief, the eschatological end, the end of this world, wil! take place. The resurrection of the dead, the transformation of the living and the last judgement will also take place. The faithful peopli v^ill be rewarded with eternal life in heaven and the wicked will face eternal punishment in hell. The Christian message was brought tc Africans by western missionaries. The message landed on people with different woiid views and beliefs. The members of the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (ATPCAJ among the Kikuyu for example, shared the Kikuyu beliefs. The Kikuyu never thought that Bod (Ngai) would ever bring the world to an end. Such Christian ideas as the world coming to an end, last judgement, heaven and hell, have no counterparts m the Kikuyu religious beliefs. Some AIPCA members still maintain the Kikuyu view, that, a person comes to the end of the world at his physical death. At the same time, in line with Christian belief, they look forward to the return of Jesus when the end of the world will take place. The Kikuyu belief, that the spirits of the departed continue to participate in the affairs of their living relatives, has not been abandoned by some AIPCA members. During times or crises such as dea-i sickness or lack of children, ancestral spirits are often looked at as possible causes. (x) The belief about the coming end of the world is tied up with the notion of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus' teaching the Kingdom is both present and future. Some AIPCA members, by interpreting the Kingdom from a spatial point of view lay emphasis on the futuristic, aspect. Furthermore, they interpret the symbols related to the Kingdom, such as country, new Jerusalem, and paradise, from a materialistic point c*- view. From such an interpretation, the life in the world to come becomes something found only in heaven which will be seen only after the return of Jesus. The present dimension of the Kingdom, whereby Christians have a foretaste of the life in the Kingdom, is thus over­ looked . The nearness of the return of Jesus is emphasized by the AIPCA members. In the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus mentioned some of the things that would be seen in the last days. This is taken as the proof text to show that we are living in^Lho last days because some of the signs mentioned there (Mk 13) have already been seen. These include international wars, rise of various Christian sects each claiming to be the true one, and the increase of evil and immorality in society to name just a few, According to the AIPCA members, then, this is the end-time and Jesus is about to return, followed by the end of the world. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my deep gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. S.G. Kibicho and Mr. E.M. Kasiera, both of the Department of- Religious Studios in the University of Nairobi, for guidance and supervision during the course of this study. Particular thanks go to the members of the African Independent Pentecostal Church in Muhoyas 3r.d Tetu locations for the information they gave during my field work. This study would not nave materialized without their help. 1 also thank the staff of the University Library and the Kenya National Archives for their help in getting the books and documents I needed during the course of this study. Finally, I thank Mr. Mbugua for drawing the mapstu^ed in this study, and Mrs. Mary Owiti for typing tne tnesis. (xii) INTRODUCTION (a) The Problem Stated: This study is intended to find out how the members of the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa interpret the concept of eschatology; the Christian belief that the present world order will come to an end and a rev/ and different world order will be established through divine intervention. The belief in a coming end of the world developed very slowly in the Jewish history and only towards the end of the Old Testament period in the second and first centuries B.C. did it attain some consistency. The popular Jewish belief by the time of Jesus was that Yahweh would send the hoped-for Messiah who would re-establish the Davidic Kingdom. There was also the belief in the day of the Lord, when the end of the world would come, followed by the last judgement, and the rewards and punishment for the good and the bad respectively. » ■/ Jesus not only shared the Jewish beliefs but he went further than the Jewish prophets. He taught that the Kingdom which the Jewish people had long hoped and waited for had come and, therefore, the prophecies had been fulfilled. To the Jews, who expected a political Messiah to establish a political Kingdom of God on earth, Jesus' teaching made little sense. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, his followers began to realize that their master was the Messiah of whom the prophets had talked. The teaching of Jesus began to be understood in the light of that new understanding, that he was the Lord. (xiii) The early Church believed that its ascended Lord would return soon and that on his return, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgement, rewards and punishments would take place. As we shall see in the course of this study some of the believers raised questions of doubt regarding this Christian belief of eschatology, or the end of the world.
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