by O. Yemi Tubi

Artwork Description

The Robbery Revival (Matthew 21:13)

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“It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[b]” Matt. 21:13 O. Yemi Tubi had spoken about African colonial masters robbing African people through their evil practices. This painting is about African religious leaders holding up and robbing African people using the Holy Bible as their weapons of armed robbery. Hence the painting is titled "The Robbery Revival.” Africans are very religious and they are devoted to God Almighty. They have strong belief that God is the solution to every problem and this strong belief makes them a prey to false religious leaders, both men and women. These "Archbishop U. K. Sterling and Rev. (Mrs) Easy Money are using the Bible to rob my fellow Africans of their God-given resources. Africans longing to be free from poverty, will do anything and this leads some of them to the den of ferocious blood-sucking prosperity preachers. Our Lord Jesus Christ while physically on earth didn't collect money from His followers. He fed them freely and healed them freely. Many missionaries left Europe and America to win souls for God around the world. David Livingstone’s cry was "Lord, give me the souls of Africans" He served God and African people and died in Africa. The modern day prosperity preachers are not after the souls of Africans; they are after the wealth of Africans. They are not soul winners but cash winners. At the background of the painting is a banner which is one of the mediums that prosperity preachers use to advertise their business. In it the artist uses the currencies of some nations to name these prosperity preachers. In the middle ground are their preys and in the foreground is one of the prosperity preachers and the Tithe Box. The artist puts a bandit’s mask on the face of the property preacher for two reasons. First to show him as a robber that he is really is and second, to show that he puts on the mask of “The man of God” to hide who he is really what the Holy Bible says he is - “A wolf in the sheep cloth” The artist of this painting is a Christian. The aim of the artist is to admonish people not to follow fake men and women of God. They should read the Bible to know the truth and the truth will set them free.

Artwork Details

Medium: Painting Oil

Genre: Figurative