The
Church of Christ in the Philippines
MOST PEOPLE WANT to be 100 percent right and sure
in whatever they do. This holds true when it comes to making decisions on
matters concerning their everyday lives. But, should they not be even more
circumspect when it comes to spiritual matters, such as choosing one's
religion? For, it is vital for one to be truly 100 percent confident that the
religion he has decided to join is really of God and of Christ. This is because
a great destruction will befall those who have been deceived to join false
religions, whereas a great blessing awaits those who belong to the true
religion.
We, the members of the Church of Christ that emerged in the Philippines in these last days, firmly believe that it is this Church alone that truly belongs to God and to Christ as attested by the fulfillment of biblical prophecies regarding its establishment.
CHRIST'S CHURCH
Christ
and His sheep
Christ prophesied about His other sheep or disciples
who, on the future on these last days, would become one flock:
JOHN 10:16 "I have other sheep too. They
are not in this flock here. I
must lead them also. They will listen to my voice. In
the future there will be one flock and one shepherd." [Easy-to-Read
Version]
The flock being referred to in the
prophecy of the Lord Jesus is no other than the Church
of Christ:
ACTS 20:28 "Take heed therefore to yourselves and to
all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to fee
the CHURCH
OF CHRIST which
he has purchased with his own blood." [George M. Lamsa Translation]
THE PLACE AND TIME ACCORDING TO
THE BIBLE
The Far East
First
World War (1914)
Why are we sure that the fulfillment of the
prophesied "other sheep" of Christ, is the Church
of Christ that emerged in the Philippines in our time? Where will
Christ's "other sheep" or God's sons and daughters come from? A
related biblical prophecy enlightens us:
ISAIAH 43:5 "From the far east, will I bring your
offspring, and from the far west, I will gather you." [James Moffatt, A New Translation
of the Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments, New York: Harper Brothers
Publishers, © 1954]
ISAIAH 43:6 "I will say to the
north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from
afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—" [New King James Version]
According to God's prophecy, God's sons and
daughters will come from the Far East. Is the Philippines located
in the Far East? Yes.
"Far East: It comprises Australia, Cambodia,
China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, North Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam." [The New York Times Manual of
Style and Usage, pp. 129]
Indeed, the fulfillment of this prophecy is the
Church of Christ which emerged in the Philippines. Not only was the place of
origin of Christ's other sheep prophesied but also the time of their emergence—"ends
of the earth."
When is the time "ends of the earth"? It
is when the end of the world or earth is near. Our redeemer explained:
MATTHEW 24:3, 33 "And as he
sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? ... So likewise ye, when ye shall see
all these things, know that it is
near, even at the doors." [King James Version]
The Lord Jesus Christ told us that one of the early
signs to be seen when the time is already "at the doors" or "the
ends of the earth", is a war that would be heard or talked about—a war of
global proportions:
MATTHEW 24:6-8 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of
wars.
See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come
to pass, but
the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there
will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the
beginning of sorrows." [New
King James Version]
The fulfillment of that war prophesied
by Christ is the First World War in 1914. Even Bible scholars attest to this:
"24:6-8a: Wars between nations, or even
between kingdoms, is and has been a common occurrence. History has
recorded famines at various times. There have been times of
great disease epidemics. There have been earthquakes in
the past, but increasingly so in the present day. Jesus tells his disciples,
however to be awaiting a specific time during which all of these phenomena
would be in evidence at the same time. The first such time in world history
occurred during the years of World War I (1914-1918) and immediately following." [Matthew 24:6-8 Last Days Bible,
footnote]
Concurrent with the outbreak of the First World War,
the Church of Christ was registered with the government in the Philippines
on July 27, 1914. Therefore, Christ's other sheep that would come
from the Far East at the time ends of the earth refer ONLY to the members of
the Church of Christ that emerged in the Philippines in 1914.
UNITED WITH CHRIST
In the prophecy in Isaiah 43:5-6, it was
made clear that God Himself would bring His sons and daughters in these last
days. To whom would He bring them?
JOHN 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father
who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day." [New King James Version]
God's purpose in bringing His people to Jesus Christ
is for them to have fellowship or be in union with His son (I
Corinthians 1:9 NKJV). This union between Christ and those whom God has
given to Him is in the one body or Church:
COLOSSIANS 3:15 "The peace that Christ
gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you
together in the ONE BODY. And be thankful." [Today's English Version]
COLOSSIANS 1:18 "He is the head of his body, THE CHURCH; ..." [Today's English Version]
Since the Church is the body of Christ, we are
certain that the church referred to is the Church of Christ. Accordingly, those
who were prophesied as the other sheep of Christ who would come from the Far
East during the time ends of the earth and whom God called and brought to be in
union with Christ are found in the Church of Christ that emerged in the
Philippines.
THE PROPHESIED MESSENGER
Another biblical prophecy fulfilled in the Church of
Christ that emerged in the Philippines is the one concerning the man instrumental
in starting it:
Brother
Felix Y. Manalo
The First Executive Minister of the Church of Christ in the Philippines
The First Executive Minister of the Church of Christ in the Philippines
This is God's prophecy concerning His messenger in these last days, Brother Felix Y. Manalo. Why are we sure that this prophecy refers to Him? Because of what it says concerning his place of origin as well as mission or works—"the man who executes [God's] counsel from a far country," whose work is likened to that of "a bird of prey from the east."
The term "far country in the
east" mentioned in the prophecy corresponds to "Far East," the
fulfillment of which, as discussed earlier, is the Philippines—the country
where Brother Felix Manalo first preached the Church of Christ in these last
days. Furthermore, the work of the messenger who would be called to bring God's
righteousness or the gospel (Romans 1:16-17) near to people
was likened to that of a bird of prey because the people to whom he was sent
were being held back by the north and
by the south:
ISAIAH 43:5-6 "Fear not, for I am
with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the
west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them
back!’ Bring
My sons from afar, And My daughters
from the ends of the earth—" [New King James Version]
The "north" mentioned in the prophecy
refers to the Protestant religion and the "south" then refers to the Catholic religion [Encyclopedia of World Religions, pp. 745]. Indeed, those
who would eventually become the first of God's children in these last days were
snatched from these two major religions. Brother Felix was able to do this
because, as prophesied, he would "execute [God's] counsel" by
preaching the pure words of God (Psalms
107:11)
written in the Bible.
All the prophecies concerning the Church of Christ
and God's messenger in these last days have been fulfilled. This only proves,
based on the Bible, that the Church of Christ that emerged in the Philippines
on July 27, 1914 belongs to God and to Christ.
That is why we are encouraging, you, dear readers to
be ardent in seeking the true religion and worship of God. We hope that you
would join us—make the right and sure decision to be deemed worthy for
salvation.
Source: PASUGO—God's Message: The Magazine of the Iglesia Ni
Cristo (Church of Christ) January 2018 Edition, pp. 34-36
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