When Compared with ‘Things Spiritual’, the Christ-is-God Doctrine Fails

WHAT SETS THE BIBLE apart from other books is the complete absence of error and contradiction among the writings contained therein. Owing to its inerrancy, the Bible alone is the ultimate basis and standard for determining the correctness and validity of any religious doctrine. One can rest assured that the teachings he follows are right and sound if they agree with the Scriptures; he can hence renounce or reject, without fear or worry, any belief that is contrary to even just a single correctly-translated verse of the Bible.

The most controversial religious issue, on which innumerable debates since the days of the Roman Emperor Constantine have been and still are engaged in by people professing to be Christians, is probably the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ: Is He God or man? What never fails to make many an inquisitive observer wonder, though, is the fact that both sides use the same unimpeachable source and basis – the Bible. Certainly, they cannot be both right. It behooves all to query: If the Bible contains no contradictions whatsoever, then how could two opposing sides use it as their common source and basis?

To test whether the use of a certain verse by either side is correct or not, one only has to compare it with the other related verses, for Apostle Paul says, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (I Cor. 2:13, King James Version)

Spiritual things will not contradict with other spiritual things when they are compared with one another. In no way will they manifest disagreement, but only harmony and unity. They go together perfectly well – at all times. With this apostolic method of teaching, nothing is added to or taken away from the Word. Corollarily, when one Bible verse seems to clash in meaning with another verse, the former or the latter is either mistranslated or misinterpreted.

Philippians 2:6One of the most oft-cited Bible verses relative to the issue under consideration, and which itself has given rise to much deliberations is Philippians 2:6, which says, “Who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Ibid.). That this verse has been either paraphrased or liberally rendered by some translators who believe that Christ is God is very evident in the following versions:

“Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God.” (Contemporary English Version)

“Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. (New Living Translation)

“Who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God.” (Living Bible)

The most common explication of the verse by the advocates of the Christ-is God doctrine is that God divested Himself of His divine nature and became man or, as some would put it, that God walked incognito on earth in the person of Jesus Christ.

Even without delving into the Greek language in which Philippians 2:6 was originally written, one cannot but notice immediately the obvious and great discrepancy, incongruence, and absurdity of the three foregoing renderings and the interpretation that is responsible for them. Mere spiritual comparison of this verse with the other related verses plainly shows that such an interpretation, and its concomitant renderings, are wrong.

Two distinct beingsVerse nine, for example, states, “Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” (KJV). The existence here of two distinct beings is undeniable: one is God, who “has highly exalted [Christ] and given Him the name which is above every name,” and the other one is Christ, who has been highly exalted by God. If “Christ was truly God,” as CEV rendered, how could He be “highly exalted … and given … the name which is above every name” by God? How could Christ and the God, who exalted Him, be both “truly God”?

In verse six itself, and using CEV, the mistranslation is quite obvious – “Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God.” Again, the existence here of two distinct beings is very evident: one who “was truly God” and another one whom He “did not try to remain equal with.”

User-friendly translations seek to make the Bible more readable and easier to understand, but if a verse is rendered in such a way that its original meaning is lost or twisted in the process, then the verse cannot be relied upon as God’s Word. In view of this, strict accuracy, achieved by faithfulness to the original languages in which a text was written is, therefore, to be immensely preferred to readability.

Form, image: ‘near synonyms’The KJV renders the verse: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” The phrases “being in the form of God” (which is written) and “being God” (which is concluded) definitely do not mean the same thing. Just because Christ is “in the form of God,” it does not necessarily mean that Christ “is God.” In fact, not only do they mean two different things – they also are “spiritually incomparable.” They are simply scripturally irreconcilable, considering the meaning of “form” and the fact that “form” and “image” (man, let it not be forgotten, was created in the image of God) are “near synonyms” (Christology in the Making: An Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, p. 115).

According to The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, “form” (“morphe” in Greek) denotes an expression of “essential attributes” or “essential qualities” of God: “6. Being in the form of God (AV). Better, Though in his pre-incarnate state he possessed the essential qualities of God, he did not consider his status of divine quality a prize to be selfishly hoarded (takingharpagmos passively). Morphe, form, in verses 6 and 7 denotes a permanent expression of essential attributes, while schema, fashion (v.8), refers to outward appearance that is subject to change” (p.1324).

Wycliffe’s commentary is corroborated by a more pronounced explanation by other Bible commentators, who says that “in the form of God” does not refer to the “divine essence” or “divine nature” but to “the external self-manifesting characteristics” of God. “… Who subsisting (or existing, viz., originally: the Greek is not the simple substantive verb, to be) in the form of God (the divine essence is not meant: but the external self-manifesting characteristics of God, the form shining forth from His glorious essence. The divine nature had infinite BEAUTY in itself, even without any creature contemplating that beauty: that beauty was ‘the form of God’; as ‘the formof a servant’ (vs. 7) …” (Practical and Explanatory Commentary on the Whole Bible, p. 1305)

Contrary to the popular understanding that Christ’s “being in the form of God” in Philippians 2:6 means that Christ is God, the use by the Apostle Paul of the word “form” (which is synonymous with “image”) to refer to Christ is in itself an unequivocal proof that Christ is man, for, of all creatures, it is really man who was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). “It has long been recognized that…(form) and,,,(image) are near synonyms and that in Hebrew thought the visible ‘form of God’ is his glory …” (Christology in the Making: An Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, p. 115).

Therefore, Apostle Paul’s reference to Christ as “being in the form of God” in Philippians 2:6 is synonymous – or spiritually comparable – with his allusion to Christ as being “the image of the invisible God” in Colossians 1:15. But Christ’s being “the image of the invisible God” does not make Him God, just as all other men’s being created in the image of God does not make us all Gods. No doubt, Philippians 2:6 and Colossians 1:15 are spiritually comparable; they both underscore Christ’s being a man, and not His allegedly being God.

In righteousness and holinessLest Christ’s being the image of God be misconstrued to mean in the visual sense, Apostle Paul, at once, clarifies that God is “invisible” (Col. 1:15; I Tim. 1:17) – a term spiritually comparable with Christ’s statement that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), which means that God has no flesh and bones (Luke 24:36-39).

In what sense then is Christ the image of the invisible God, a characteristic that not only He, in fact, but all men should possess since all men have been created in God’s image? In righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:23-24,TEV)

Although God has made mankind upright in keeping with His desire that men be in His image, yet men “have gone in search of many schemes,” thereby failing to live up to his Maker’s design. “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes” (Eccles. 7:29, New International Version).

It is for this reason that all men need the Lord Jesus Christ, for Christ, being the only man who is sinless (I Pet. 2:21-22), is the only one who has lived up to God’s purpose of creating man in His image. Apostle Paul says, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption” (I Cor. 1:30, NIV, emphasis ours).

Owing to this, Paul urges the Christians who have truly “heard about [Christ] and were taught in him” that for them to be in “the likeness of God,” they must “put off [their] old nature which belongs to [their] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of [their] minds, and put on the new nature, created after likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:20-24, Revised Standard Version, emphasis ours).

And to be able to heed this exhortation, they need to have the mind of Christ – humble and obedient. Paul says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, … And being found in appearance as a man, He humble Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5, 8, New King James Version).

Christ is in the form or image of God in righteousness and holiness, and His followers should be so, too.

God does not change
The error in the belief that “God became man” lies in the fact that the true God of the Bible – who is neither man nor the son of man (Num. 23:19) – is immutable. God does not change, as He Himself says, “For I the Lord do not change” (Mal. 3:6, RSV). Consistent with this, Apostle James write:

“Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17, Ibid.)

Clearly then, the belief that “God became man” is, to say the least, not spiritually comparable with other related verses. We can come up with a host of other related Bible verses with which the Christ-is-God interpretation of Philippians 2:6 simply cannot be spiritually compared. Instead of the verse introducing Christ as God, it actually all the more affirms the doctrine that Christ is man, and not God. Thus, when compared with “spiritual things” (I Cor. 2:13, KJV), the Christ-is-God dogma miserably fails.

References:

Dunn, James D.G. Christology in the Making: An Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation. London: SCM Press Ltd. 1980.

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown. Practical and Explanatory Commentary on the Whole Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961.

Pfeiffer, Charles F. and Everett F. Harrison. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: A Phrase by Phrase Commentary of the Bible. Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1990.

The Fact And The Process Of Apostasy

APOSTASY IS A defection, a falling away from what one believed in, as apostasy from one’s religion, creed, or politics. Thus, one becomes an apostate as soon as he departs from his former belief, whatever it was. What undergoes change is not the person nor his nature but his beliefs.

In the field of religion, apostasy is one of the most controversial and confused terms. Reformers accused the Catholic Church of having departed from the original teachings of Christ. The Catholic Church turns the table on them by calling them apostates or separated brethren.

This article will determine the issue of who really departed from the truth or from the teachings of Jesus Christ. Two things must be made clear: a) what Christ and the Apostles taught and b) if the bishops who succeeded the Apostles in the administration of the Church continued such teachings or not. If they did, then there was no apostasy; if they did not, then there was an apostasy.


Christ’s Teachings Are In The Bible

Not all the things done by Christ and the Apostles were written (cf. Jn. 20:30-31). In fact there were some things that God did not want to be written (cf. Dan. 12:4; Rev. 10:4). The Apostles wrote down what they witnessed (cf. 1 Jn. 1:1-4). All such writings were inspired by God, should be used for doctrine, correction, instruction, and they make man perfect (cf. II Tim. 3:16-17). What were written are enough and nothing should be added to them nor subtracted from them (cf. Rev. 22:18-19) for what are written were written so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing we might have eternal life through His name (cf. Jn. 20:30-31). Apostle Paul adds that we must not go beyond what is written (cf. I Cor. 4:6). And if the Apostles did give instructions by word of mouth, such instructions were taken from what they had witnessed and such things they wrote down (cf. I Jn. 1:1-4).

Thus, the teachings of Christ and the Apostles on which we must remain if we are to be true Christians are written in the Bible, and for as long as we remain in them, we are truly Christ’s disciples (cf. Jn. 8:31) or Christians (cf. Acts 11:26).


The Process of Apostasy

The process of apostasy or the turning away from the teachings of God as written in the Bible, was already at work even during the times of the apostles (cf. II Thess. 2:7). Apostle Paul warned the Christians in Galatia that those who teach doctrines different from what the Apostles already taught be accursed (cf. Gal. 1:6-9). But for as long as the Apostles were still alive and in control of Church administration, such forces of iniquity did not succeed in enticing the entire living members of the Church away from what the Apostles taught them (cf. II Thess. 2:7).

With the death of the Apostles, however, something happened to the Church of Christ:

“For the years after the record in Acts ends, evidence for the history of the Christian Church becomes more scanty. There began to be passing references to it in pagan writers. These writers make it seem likely that the Roman Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for the burning of the city of Rome in A.D. 64. It is also very likely that Saint Peter and Saint Paul were put to death at Rome about this time… .

“When the original Apostles died, the leadership of the Church was taken over by local pastors known as bishops. Under them were ministers of lower rank, known as presbyters and deacons. The Church organized the area of the Roman Empire into provinces. The bishops at the head of the Christian communities in the large cities such as Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage ranked highest.” (The New Book of Knowledge, vol. 3, pp. 280-281)

Thus, when the Apostles died, not much was recorded on what went on in the Church of Christ but during this period of silence the administration of the Church fell into the hands of the bishops.

Apostle Paul describes the bishop as he was in the first century Church of Christ. His qualities are detailed in I Timothy 3:2-7 as:

“…blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?). Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” (King James Version)

Apostle Paul further says that a bishop should be “holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” (cf. Titus 1:9)

Thus, among other things, a bishop in the first century Church of Christ is a husband of one wife and a teacher of things taught by the Apostles and Christ, things that are written in the Bible.

The bishops that took control of the Church administration in the second century were of a different breed. They were priests who were not allowed to marry and taught things not coming from the Bible. Moreover, the bishops of the first century Church were not monarchical:

“In Acts 20:28, …the fact that there were several bishops in one community excludes the monarchical concept of the term…” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2, p. 585)

In spite of this clear evidence from the Bible that the original bishop in the Church of Christ was not monarchical, Catholic Church authorities inject the idea that the monarchical episcopate which prevailed in the second century must have come from oral tradition:

“Therefore, since there is no clear evidence in NT for a monarchical episcopate, this office, which was firmly established by the early decades of the 2d century must have been based on oral apostolic tradition going back ultimately to Christ.” (Ibid.)

A monarchical episcopate is defined as “one single bishop assisted by priests and deacons” (Ibid. p. 589), a thing that did not prevail during the time of the Apostles. In spite of this difference in administration between the first century Church of Christ and that of the second, Catholic authorities reject the first and accept the second:

“The testimony of Ignatius from the first decade of the 2d century, along with the evidence of the writers from the second half of that century and the earliest catalogs of bishops in the principal Churches – all of which trace a line of succession of individual bishops back to the apostolic age – satisfies most Catholic theologians that this form of Church government was the only one ever recognized as normal and regular.” (Ibid.)

This control of the Church administration by the bishops who began to teach different doctrines was the fulfillment of what Apostle Paul prophesied concerning the overseers (bishop):

“Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:30, KJV)

Soon after the bishops took over the administration of the Church in the second century, the doctrines of this Church began to be infected with poison:

“At first the history of the Roman Church is identical with the history of the Christian truth. But unhappily there came a time when streams of poison began to flow from the once pure fountain.” (The World’s Great Events, vol. 2, pp 163-164)
From Church of Christ To Catholic Church

The great apostasy did not consist in the destruction of the first century Church of Christ and the establishment of another one. It consisted in the deterioration of the Church established by Christ. As already mentioned, there was a sort of “news blockout” during the years immediately after the death of the Apostles. During this period the bishops took over the administration of the Church. When events began to be recorded again, what was revealed was a Church very different from what Christ founded:

“For fifty years after St. Paul’s life a curtain hangs over the church, through which we strive vainly to look; and when at last it rises about 120 A.D. with the writings of the earliest church-fathers, we find a church in many aspects very different from that in the days of St. Peter and St. Paul.” (The Story of the Christian Church, p. 41)

The differences between what used to be the Church of Christ in the first century and the Church that was revealed in the second to the fourth centuries are profound:

“It is necessary to note that we should recall the reader’s attention to the profound differences between this fully developed Christianity of Nicaea and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth….What is clearly apparent is that the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth was a prophetic teaching of the new type that began with the Hebrew prophets. It was not priestly, it had no consecrated temple, and no altar. It had no rites and ceremonies. Its sacrifice was ‘a broken and contrite heart’. Its only organization was an organization of preachers, and its chief function was the sermon. But the fully fledge Christianity of the fourth century, though it preserved as its nucleus the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, was mainly a priestly religion, of a type already familiar to the world for thousands of years. The center of its elaborate ritual was an altar, and the essential act or worship the sacrifice, by a consecrated priest, of the Mass.” (The Outline of History, pp. 552-553)

These profound changes, made on the original teachings of Christ, dealt great violence on the teachings of the Bible for the purpose of enhancing the interests of the Catholic Church:

“Jesus too, being a Galilean, was of Aryan stock, a remarkable man whose teachings had, in the course of centuries, been deformed out of all recognition in the interests of the Catholic Church.” (The Vatican in the Age of Dictators, p. 168)

Adding insult to injury, Catholic authorities acknowledge such changes without shame and even with pride:

“We Catholics acknowledge readily, without any shame, nay with pride, that Catholicism cannot be identified simply and wholly with primitive Christianity, nor even with the Gospel of Christ, in the same way that the great oak cannot be identified with the tiny acorn.” (The Spirit of Catholicism, p. 2)

“ ‘Without the Scriptures’, says Mohler, ‘the true form of the sayings of Jesus would have been withheld from us….Yet the Catholic does not derive his faith in Jesus from Scripture’.” (Ibid. p. 50)

Hence, those responsible for this apostasy of the first century Church of Christ were the bishops under whose administration these profound changes took place. The first bishop identified as having introduced changes into the Church was Ignatius, bishop of Antioch who was martyred in Rome about 110 A.D. He was the first to use the term Catholic Church in reference to the Church of Christ:

“The name Catholic as a name is not applied to the Catholic Church in the Bible. ..St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing to the Christians of Smyrna about the year 110, is the first to use the name ‘The Catholic Church’ …” (The Question Box, p. 132)

This same Ignatius introduced the doctrine that Christ is both God and man. “He asserted unequivocally both the divinity and humanity of Christ, the Savior.” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 7, p. 353)

Ignatius is one of the so-called Antenicene Fathers who were divided into three groups, namely:
1. Apostolic Fathers – supposedly had personal contact with the Apostles or were instructed by their disciples. To this group belong Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyna, and Clement of Rome.
2. Greek Apologists – born of the Church’s reaction to paganism. To this group belong Justin Martyr, Athenagoras of Athens, Theophilus of Antioch, and Irenaeus.
3. Theologians – to this group belong Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, and Cyprian.

These Church Fathers were the source of the teachings that the Catholic Church taught and implemented beginning the second century and formalized by the decrees of the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Such persons were not immune from errors and yet, the apostatized church approved their teachings:

“Obviously much that Christ and the apostles preached was in time reduced to writing. Hence there grew up a library composed of men called ‘the fathers of the Church’. They were called so because in apostolic days the word ‘father’ also meant teacher of spiritual things, and these were among her earliest teachers. But, unlike the apostles, all of whom enjoyed infallibility, they were not immune from error nor inspired as the scriptural writers had been. In so far as they dealt with questions of faith and morals, much of what they wrote was approved by the Church, and thus, became part of written tradition.” (Whereon to Stand: What Catholics Believe and Why, p. 142)

As a result of the teachings of these early Church Fathers, the Church of Christ or Christianity became Roman Catholicism, the last and the greatest of the mystery religions:

“On that dies Domini, or Lord’s Day, the Christians assembled for their weekly ritual. Their clergy read from the Scriptures, led them in prayer, and preached sermons of doctrinal instruction, moral exhortation, and sectarian controversy…

“By the close of the second century, these weekly ceremonies had taken the form of the Christian Mass. Based partly on the Judaic Temple service, partly on Greek mystery rituals of purification, vicarious sacrifice, and participation through communion, in the death-overcoming powers, of the deity, the Mass grew slowly into a rich congeries of prayers, psalms, readings, sermon, antiphonal recitations, and, above all, that symbolic atoning sacrifice of the ‘Lamb of God’ which replaced, in Christianity, the bloody offerings of older faiths. The bread and wine which these cults had considered as gifts placed upon the altar before the god were now conceived as changed by the priestly act of consecration into the body and blood of Christ, and were presented to God as a repetition of the self-immolation of Jesus on the cross. Then, in an intense and moving ceremony, the worshippers partook of the very life and substance of their Saviour. It was a conception long sanctified by time; the pagan mind needed no schooling to receive it; by embodying it in the ‘mystery of the Mass’, Christianity became the last and the greatest of the mystery religions.” (Ceasar and Christ, pp. 599-600) 
From Persecuted Church To Persecutor Church

The first century Church of Christ suffered persecution at the very moment of its inception. Christ was Himself crucified by the Jews; Stephen the deacon was stoned to death with the approval of Saul who was to become the Apostle Paul later. After the Jews came the Roman emperors, from Nero (54-68) to Diocletian (284-305). The persecution was in progress when the Church of Christ developed into the Catholic Church in the second century. Thus, those faithful to the Church of Christ in the first century were killed and wiped out by the second century in the Roman persecution. By the second century the Church of Christ had already apostatized into the Catholic Church but the Roman persecutions continued, and those getting killed were no longer true Christians but followers of the bishops called Catholics. Among the victims was Ignatius himself who began calling the Church of Christ Catholic Church. Even Popes were killed. A former Jesuit priest says:

“Between the death of Simon Peter the Apostle in A.D. 67, and the year 312, there were thirty-one popes, successors to Peter as bishops of Rome. Not one of the first eighteen popes died in bed. All perished violently.” (The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Church, p. 3)

These two centuries of intermittent persecutions led to the killings of thousands of Catholics still called by historians as Christians.

Emperor Constantine (306-337) stopped the persecutions, legalized and favored the Catholic Church and assumed control over it. Thus began a pro-Christian imperial policy which later turned into a policy of persecution of heretics and pagans:

“This pro-Christian imperial policy…began with Constantine, who favored the Christians and only tolerated paganism, hoping it to die a natural death. His three sons, however, who succeeded him at his death in 337, took a more resolute stance. This was especially true of Constantius, who was left sole ruler in 350. He aimed at total extirpation of paganism; he ordered the temples closed and imposed the death penalty for participating in sacrifices.” (A Concise History of the Catholic Church, p. 68)

“Meanwhile, Gratian was taking steps to stamp out paganism, and in 391 and 392 Theodosius issued stringent laws against idolatry. Sacrifice to pagan gods, whether in public or in private, was to be regarded as treason, and paganism gradually died out during the following century. The legal triumph of the Church over heresy and paganism and its evolution from a persecuted sect to a persecuting state church were complete.” (A Survey of European Civilization, p. 95)

Thus, the persecuted Church of Christ of the first century which became the persecuted Catholic Church from the second to the fourth century became allied with the Roman emperors in the fourth century and started persecuting not only pagans but also its own members who dared to refuse allegiance to it or who questioned its authority and teachings, members classified as heretics.

History records that by the 13th century, this persecution by the apostate Church surpassed in cruelty the persecutions done by the Roman emperors.

“The Inquisition lasted over two hundred years…If men or women or children refused to accept Christianity, they were tortured until they died.

“Even the early Christians, before Constantine, who were tortured and killed and fed to the lions in Rome, and who are known to us as Martyrs, were not treated more cruelly than the non-Christians during the Inquisition. (How the Great Religions Began, p. 214)
Conclusion

The true Church of Christ established by Christ in Jerusalem in the first century followed a set of tenets which Christ received from God, which the Apostles received from Christ, and which the Apostles committed into writing. Such written words make references to the Old Testament so that the true Church of Christ also recognizes the Old Testament as words of God. God commands that nothing should be added to nor subtracted from what has been written in the Holy Scriptures.

For as long as the Apostles were at the helm of Church administration, the Church followed to the letter all the commandments written in the Bible. But with the death of the Apostles, the bishops took control of the Church and they introduced teachings not drawn from what is written in the Bible but from tradition, writings of the so-called Church Fathers, theologians, and other sources.

By the second century, the bishops change the name of the Church, injected new doctrines into it, changed its hierarchy so that what emerged by the year 120 A.D. was a Church radically different in form and content from the Church during the time of Apostle Peter and Paul.

The apostasy did not consist in the establishment of a new Church but in the introduction of teachings foreign to it and not written in the Bible. The Church of Christ during the time of the Apostles became the Catholic Church of the bishops in the second century, persecuted by the Roman emperors until the fourth century, allied itself with the Roman emperors from that time on and became a persecutor Church, killing both pagans and alleged heretics with unspeakable cruelty.

This is the Church that turned away from Christ’s teachings as written in the Bible, the Church that took on teachings of men, the Church that apostatized, the Church that calls itself The Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church.


Bibliography

Books:

Adam, Karl. The Spirit of Catholicism. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1954

Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1977.

Brunini, John Gilland. Whereon to Stand: What Catholics Believe and Why. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1961.

Conway, Rev. Bertrand L. The Question Box. New York: The Paullist Press, 1929.

Durant, Will. The Story of Civilization, Part III: Ceasar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944.

Ferguson, Wallace K. and Geoffrey Bruun. A Survey of European Civilization. Bostan: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962.

Gaer, Joseph. How the Great Religions Began. London: The New American Library Limited, 1956.

Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman, D.D. The Story of the Christian Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969.

Martin, Malachi. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Catholic Church. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.

Rhodes, Anthony. The Vatican in the Age of the Dictators, 1922-1945. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.

Wells, H.G. The Outline of History. New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., 1931


General References:

New Catholic Encyclopedia, vols. 2 and 3. Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America, 1967.

The New Book of Knowledge, vol. 3. Connecticut:Grolier Inc., 1983.

The World’s Great Events, vol. 2:From BC 207 to AD 1190. New York: P. F. Gollier & Sons Corporation, 1948.

Mga Hidwang Aral Ng Nagtalikod Sa Tunay Na Iglesia

Narito ang isang maikling tala ng mga maling doktrina na itinataguyod ng mga humalili sa panahon ng mga Apostol:  

1. Ang dating pangalang Iglesia ni Cristo (Roma 16:16) ay binago nila sa pamamagitan ni Ignacio ng Antiokya na unang gumamit ng pangalang “Katolika” upang itawag sa Iglesia. Isang malinaw na katibayan ng paghiwalay sa dating doktrina at pagsunod sa hidwang aral. (Rev. Bertrand Conway, The Question Box, p. 132)

2. Itinuro din ni Ignacio na si Cristo ay Diyos. Ito’y salungat sa sinabi mismo ni Cristo na Siya ay tao (Juan 8:40) at ayon sa Diyos, ang tao ay hindi Diyos (Ose. 11:9). (Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, p. 305)

3. Itinuro ang pagsamba sa mga relikya na ito ay isang tahasang paglabag sa mga kautusan ng Diyos na nakasulat sa Exodo 20:3-5. (Rev. Bertrand Conway, The Question Box, p. 373)

4. Ipinagbawal ang pag-aasawa at ipinagbawal ang pagkain ng lamang-kati o karne (155-220 A.D.). Ito ang binabanggit ni Pablo sa I Timoteo 4:1,3 na mga aral ng demonio na ituturo ng mga tatalikod sa pananampalataya. (Ibid., pp. 313, 440; The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III, p. 484)

5. Ang pagkukumpisal sa pari ay itinuro sa panahon ni Origen, 185-254 A.D. (Conway, op. cit., pp. 285-286) samantalang sinasabi ng Biblia (Awit 32:5; I Juan 1:9) na ang mga kasalanan sa Diyos ay sa Diyos lamang dapat ikumpisal.

6. Itinuro na dapat bautismuhan ang mga sanggol sa panahon ni Ireneo, 185 A.D. (Ibid., p. 243) gayong labag ito sa aral ni Cristo na ang dapat lamang bautismuhan ay ang pinangaralan ng ebanghelyo at sumampalataya, na hindi magagawa ng isang sanggol.

7. Noong 381 A.D. ay itinuro ng Konsilyo ng Konstantinopla na ang Espiritu Santo ay Diyos, isang aral na hindi kailanman itinuro ni Cristo at ng Kaniyang mga Apostol. (Rev. Clement H. Crock, Discourses on the Apostles’ Creed, p. 206)

8. Ang pananalangin para sa patay ay itinuro ni Cirilo ng Jerusalem ( 315-386 A.D.) na isang tahasang pagsalungat sa aral ng Diyos na nakasulat sa Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. (Conway, op. cit., p. 395)

9. Ang diumano ay kawalang kasalanan ni Maria na ina ni Jesus ay itinuro ni Agustin ng Hippo, 354-430 A.D. (Ibid., p. 360). Sa Biblia, si Jesucristo lamang ang ipinakikilalang tanging tao na hindi nagkasala.

10. Sa panahon din ni Agustin lumitaw ang aral tungkol sa “kasalanang orihinal” at tiniyak ng Konsilyo ng Kartago, 418 A.D., (Ibid., p. 220). Ang kasalanan ayon sa Biblia (I Juan 3:4; Sant. 4:17; Roma 5:14) ay hindi minamana.

The fulfillment of biblical prophecies

THE PROPHET ISAIAH gave the standard by which we can determine whether a religion belongs to God or not. He said: “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Is. 8:20, New King James Version)

The law is the word of God written in His inspired book and the testimony is the spirit of prophecy as is written in the book of Revelation, thus:

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’.” (Rev.19:10, Ibid.)

Hence, for a religion or church to be the true one and its preachers true messengers of God, it must pass this yardstick. Otherwise, such church is in the dark and cannot enlighten and lead its members to salvation.

The Iglesia ni Cristo satisfies these scriptural requirements. It upholds the laws and commandments of God written in the Bible. In fact, it is this very adherence to biblical teachings that sets it apart from other churches.

The testimony of prophecy and the other sheep of Christ

There is more to the Iglesia ni Cristo than its strict adherence to God’s laws written in the Bible: it has the testimony of the prophecy.

Though it may be easy for any church to claim that it adheres to God’s words written in the Bible, it may not be as easy to prove this in the light of biblical truth. But granting that a church appears to be upholding the teachings of the Bible, the one thing it cannot feign is the testimony of the prophecy. The Iglesia ni Cristo can show numerous prophecies testifying that it indeed belongs to God.

It was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself who testified to the truth of the Iglesia ni Cristo that reemerges in the Far East in these last days. In the gospel according to John, the Lord prophesied about His other sheep, thus:

“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” (Jn. 10:16, Ibid.)

The Lord said that the other sheep who were not yet in the fold at the time of His public ministry and even of His apostles would hear His voice and He would bring them to become one flock. What He meant was that His other sheep would also become members of His Church inasmuch as the flock or fold is the Church of Christ. Apostle Peter clarified this, thus:

“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Version)

Who, then, are the other sheep of Christ which did not belong to the first-century Church of Christ? In a related prophecy, Apostle Peter mentioned of the three groups of people who have been promised to receive the Holy Spirit:

“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39, NKJV)

Each of the phrases “to you,” “to your children,” and “to all who are afar off,” corresponds to a particular group of people. “To you” refers to “all the house of Israel” (cf. Acts 2:36-39) and “to your children” refers to the Gentile converts whom the Israelites have begotten through the gospel (cf. I Cor. 4:15, NKJV), particularly the fruits of Apostle Paul’s preaching. These first two groups, the Jews and the Gentiles, received the promised Holy Spirit and were called in the Church of Christ in the first century (cf. Rom. 9:24). They were the sheep of Christ who were in the fold then.

The third group which would constitute the other sheep of Christ were yet to be called: “as many as the Lord our God will call.” That is why Christ said of this group, “which are not of this fold.” They “are afar off” or they are in “distant times and places” (cf. Rieu Version).

As it was prophesied, and so it was fulfilled: the Church of Christ emerged at the designated place on God’s own appointed time.

From the Far East

The history of the Iglesia ni Cristo, from the time of its inception and place of origin to its growth and march to progress until it has reached its present glorious stature, is clearly delineated in biblical prophecies. As the prophesied events in the Church unfold one after the other, we could clearly see God’s hand at work, proving that this Church came about through His will and not by any human plan or design.

Prophet Isaiah recorded many of these prophecies that have found fulfillment in this Church, one of which is this:

“Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” (Is. 43:5-6, King James Version)

According to Isaiah, there would emerge God’s sons and daughters at the ends of the earth. The ends of the earth is the time when the end of the world or the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is near, “even at the doors” (cf. Mt. 24:3, 33, Ibid.). One of the signs given by our Lord Jesus that we are already “at the doors” or “at the ends of the earth” is the war that broke out on July 27, 1914, known in history as the First World War (cf. Mt. 24:6-8; World History, pp. 478-479; The Nations at War: A Current History, p. 8; The Story of the Great War, vol. 3, p. 923).

As to the place, it was specifically mentioned that this work of salvation to which God’s children belong would arise from the Far East. The same verse is rendered by James Moffatt this way:

“From the far east will I bring your offspring, and from the far west I will gather you.” (Is. 43:5, Moffatt Version)

It was God’s design that this work concerning God’s children would come from the Far East, the same “afar off” place mentioned by the apostles when they prophesied about the third group of people who would constitute the Church of Christ. There is no denying that the Philippines where this prophecy found fulfillment is in the Far East. Jesuit scholar Horacio dela Costa says of the Philippines:

“It cannot be without significance that the country which stands almost at the geographical center of the Far East, the Philippines, should also be that in which Christianity has taken the deepest root.” (Asia and the Philippines, p. 169)

Hence, on God’s appointed time, the Church of Christ was registered with the government of the Philippines on July 27, 1914 in fulfillment of this prophecy.

Moreover, Isaiah’s prophecy mentions of events which were undoubtedly fulfilled in the Iglesia ni Cristo. According to the prophecy, the north and the south were holding back God’s servants: “I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” God’s children must be released from the bondage of the north and the south. North and south represent Protestantism and Catholicism, respectively.

The book, The Reformation, by Owen Chadwick affirms this:

“… In the north the Protestants were in control – Lutheran churches in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, the northern and central states of Germany; Calvinist or Reformed churches in Scotland, the Netherlands, Hesse, the Palatinate, and a few of the western German states. In the south the Catholics were in control – Spain, Italy, Austria, Bavaria, and elsewhere in southern Germany.” (p. 366)

Therefore, God’s children would be taken out from these two major religions. No wonder, most members of the Church of Christ were former Catholics and Protestants. And to symbolize the exodus of God’s people from the apostate church, on July 27, 1994, the Iglesia ni Cristo officially established its congregation in Rome, Italy, the center of Catholicism.

To the Far West

Isaiah’s prophecy also ascertained where the Church would reach when it would embark on its foreign mission and the manner by which God would make this come to pass. It says in the prophecy:

“From the far east will I bring your offspring, and from the far west I will gather you.” (Is. 43:5, Moffatt Version)

The worldwide expansion of the Church of Christ will begin in the Far West. God would gather His servants in the Far West to form the nucleus of the Church in the West. Historically, when the Church of Christ spread in the West, it started with the gathering of God’s children in the Far West. What is referred to as the Far West? The World Almanac provides us this information:

“Far West: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii…” The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1976, p. 88)

The gathering of God’s people scattered in the West was fulfilled when the first locale of the Church was established by the executive minister, Brother Eraño G. Manalo, in a worship service he officiated in Hawaii on July 27, 1968. Brethren who migrated from the Philippines were gathered and this started the spread of the Church of Christ not only in the West but in other parts of the globe as well.

At present, the Church has already reached about 70 countries and territories worldwide and now counts among its members about 111 nationalities. Indeed, God’s kingdom which was likened to a mustard seed in the parable or our Lord Jesus Christ has grown – and great is its growth (cf.Mt. 13:31-32).

Back to its original home

God’s plan for the Church of Christ does not end with its successful mission in the West and in other parts of the world. There is more in the prophecy of Isaiah about this Church than meets the eye. To understand this important event designed by God to occur in this commissioning, it behooves us to take a second look at Isaiah’s prophecy:

“Do not be afraid - I am with you! ‘From the distant east to the farthest west I will bring your people home’.” (Is. 43:5, Today’s English Version)

God would bring His people home. The true Church of Christ is God’s habitation or home in the Spirit (cf. Eph. 2:20-22). But this Church built by our Lord Jesus Christ in the first century was overtaken by apostasy. After it had apostatized and transformed into the Catholic Church, it became the habitation or home of the devil. It is, therefore, necessary for God’s people to be brought back to the true Church. With the commissioning of Brother Felix Y. Manalo as the messenger in these last days, the work of restoring people back into the home of God in the Spirit or the true Church of Christ has been carried out.

But the true Church is not the only home where God’s people will be brought back. God’s plan for the Church goes beyond having people return to the true faith. The Bible clarifies which home this is, thus:

“O Lord, you have chosen Jerusalem as your home: ‘This is my permanent home where I shall live’, you said, ‘for I have always wanted it this way’.” (Ps. 132:13-14, Living Bible)

Jerusalem is a special place to God. This city of David is the original home of the Church built by our Lord Jesus Christ in the first century. God wanted His people not only to be brought back to the true Church but for this Church to be restored in the city which He calls, “my permanent home where I shall live.” Hence, with the official establishment of the Church’s congregation in Jerusalem last March 31, 1996 in a special worship service officiated by Brother Eraño G. Manalo, the true Church of Christ finally returned to its original place of origin.

Extension of the Gentile Mission

After the Church of Christ has returned to Jerusalem, another prophecy unfolded in her colorful history. It was also Isaiah who prophesied this event:

“and he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” (Is. 49:6, KJV)

The apostles of Christ, among them Peter, John, and James were commissioned by he Lord to preach the gospel to the Jews, while Apostle Paul and his companions were appointed the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles or the nations of the world. God wants this work of salvation to be extended to the end of the earth.

However, history attests that because of Apostle Paul’s limited time, he did not reach the ends of the earth, much less the world’s end. Thus, we can be certain that aside from the work of our Lord Jesus Christ and His 12 apostles, and that of Apostle Paul, God would commission another messenger who would continue the work of salvation until the world’s end. This came to pass with the commissioning of the messenger in these last days who had preached the Iglesia ni Cristo as the means to salvation. It is this Church which God has appointed to reach up to the end of the world and, therefore, to continue His work of salvation among the Gentiles.

The establishment of the Church’s congregation in Athens, Greece on May 10, 1997 symbolizes the extension of God’s mission of salvation among the Gentile nations. It was then that Isaiah’s prophecy concerning this mission had found further fulfillment.

The fulfillment of these prophecies proves that this is the true Church of Christ – God’s work of salvation until the end of the world.

Ang Pagtalikod Sa Iglesiang Itinayo Ni Cristo Noong Unang Siglo

Patotoo ng Biblia at ng Kasaysayan 

KINIKILALA AT TINATANGGAP ng mga relihiyong tinaguriang Cristiano, na ang Panginoong Jesucristo ay nagtayo ng Iglesia na tinawag ng Kaniyang mga Apostol na Iglesia ni Cristo (Mat. 16:18; Roma 16:16). Mula sa kalagayan nito sa pasimula na “munting kawan” (Luk. 12:32), sa dako ng mga Judio, ang Iglesiang ito, sa pamamagitan ng pangangaral ng mga Apostol, ay lumago at dumaming lubha sa kabila ng mga pag-uusig na kanilang nasagupa (Gawa 8:1; 6:7)

Subalit ano ang nangyari sa Iglesiang ito pagkatapos ng panahon ng mga Apostol? Nakapagpatuloy kaya ito sa kaniyang dating kalagayan na gaya noong pinangangasiwaan pa ito ni Cristo at ng Kaniyang mga Apostol?

Sa paniniwala ng Iglesia Katolika, ang Iglesiang iniwan ng mga Apostol ay namalagi at nagpatuloy nang walang lagot hanggang sa panahong ito. Ito raw ay walang iba kundi ang tinatawag at kinikilala ngayon na Iglesia Katolika. Inaangkin nilang gayon dahil ang Iglesia Katolika raw, kung susuysuyin ang kaniyang kasaysayan sa pamamagitan ng talaan ng mga papa at mga obispong nangasiwa sa kaniya, ay matutunton pabalik hanggang sa panahon na kasunod ng mga Apostol. Ang pagkakasunod nga kaya ng mga obispo ng Iglesia Katolika sa panahon ng mga Apostol ay katunayan na ito nga ang Iglesiang itinayo ni Cristo at pinangasiwaan ng mga Apostol?

Wala nang pinakamabuting sanggunian ukol dito kundi ang mga katotohanang nakasulat sa Biblia at ang patotoo ng kasaysayan at hindi ang pala-palagay o pag-aangkin lamang ng sinuman.


Ibinabala Ng Mga Apostol

Bago pa namatay ang mga Apostol at bago pa umakyat sa langit ang ating Panginoong Jesucristo ay may mga paunang pahayag o mga hula na sila tungkol sa mangyayari sa Iglesia na itinayo ni Cristo. Sa sulat ni Apostol Pablo kay Timoteo ay binanggit niya ang tungkol ditto:

“Nguni’t hayag na sinasabi ng Espiritu, na sa mga huling panahon ang iba’y magsisitalikod sa pananampalataya, at mangakikinig sa mga espiritung mapanghikayat at sa mga aral ng mga demonio…” (I Tim. 4:1)

Ibinabala ni Pablo ang magaganap na pagtalikod sa pananampalataya. Ang babala o hulang ito ay kaniya ring inihayag sa pulong ng mga Obispo sa Mileto:

“Mula na rin sa inyo’y lilitaw ang mga taong magsasalita ng kasinungalingan upang mapasunod ang mga alagad, at sa gayo’y mailigaw sila.” (Gawa 20:30, Magandang Balita)

Ang ibig sabihing matatalikod sa pananampalatay ay maliligaw ang mga alagad dahil iba na ang kanilang susundin. Ang susundin na nila ay ang magtuturo ng kasinungalingan at hindi na ang dati nilang sinusunod – ang Panginoong Jesucristo:

“Nakikinig sa akin ang aking mga tupa; nakikilala ko sila, at sumusunod sila sa akin.” (Juan 10:27, Ibid.)

Si Cristo ang sinusunod ng mga tunay Niyang alagad. Kaya ang humiwalay sa pagsunod sa Kaniya ay naligaw o natalikod sa pananampalataya.

Subalit ang mga alagd na maliligaw o matatalikod ay hindi naman sinasabing aalis sa organisasyon. Alinsunod sa sinabi ni Pablo, maliligaw o matatalikod ang mga alagad dahil nakinig sila sa itinurong kasinungalingan (Gawa 20:30 Ibid.). Ang mga kasinungalingang ito ay mga aral o doktrina na kapag tinanggap ng mga alagad ay makasisira sa kanilang pananampalataya:

“…Sa inyo naman, may lilitaw na mga bulaang guro. Gagamitin nila ng katusuhan ang pagtuturo ng mga aral na makasisira sa inyong pananampalataya. Itatakwil nila ang Panginoong nagligtas sa kanila, kaya’t biglang darating sa kanila ang kapahamakan.” (II Ped. 2:1, Ibid.)

Ito rin ang binabanggit ni Pablo sa kaniyang sulat kay Timoteo (I Tim. 4:1) na aral ng demonio na susundin ng mga tatalikod sa pananampalataya. Ang nakalulungkot sa pangyayaring ito ay ang katotohanang sa loob din ng Iglesia, ayon kay Apostol Pablo, magmumula ang magtuturo ng kasinungalingan na kung tawagin ni Apostol Pedro ay mga bulaang guro (II Ped. 2:1).

Ang pagtalikod ba sa pananampalataya ay magaganap sa ilang kaanib lamang ng Iglesia na gaya ng sinasabi ng mga awtoridad Katoliko? Gaano karami ang maililigaw ng mga bulaang guro o mga bulaaang propeta? Sa Mateo 24:11 ay ganito ang hula ni Cristo:

“At magsisibangon ang maraming bulaang propeta, at kanilang ililigaw ang marami.”

Samakatuwid, marami sa mga kaanib sa unang Iglesia ang maliligaw o matatalikod dahil sa pagsunod sa maling aral na itinuturo ng mga bulaang propeta.

Subalit kapag sinabing natalikod ang Iglesia ni Cristo noong unang siglo ay hindi nangangahulugan na nawala ang mga kaanib nito o naglaho ang organisasyon. Nagpatuloy ang organisasyon subalit wala na sa kaniyang dating uri sapagkat humiwalay na ito sa mga aral ni Cristo at sumunod sa mga aral ng demonio na itinuro ng mga bulaang propeta. Samakatuwid, naganap na ang pagtalikod.

Ang pananatiling umiiral ng organisasyon ay hindi katunayan na hindi natalikod ang Iglesia. Katulad lamang ito ng naganap sa unang bayan ng Diyos, ang baying Israel, na bagaman noong una ay kinikilalang bayan ng Diyos at may kahalalan upang maglingkod sa Kaniya, ay tumalikod din sa pamamagitan ng pagsalangsang sa mga utos ng Diyos.

“Ang buong Israel ay nagkasala sa iyo, tumalikod sa iyong kautusan at hindi nakinig sa iyong tinig….” (Dan. 9:11, MB)

Ang Israel ay natalikod hindi dahil nawala ang organisasyon o nawala ang mga tao nito. Ito ay natalikod dahil sa paghiwalay sa mga utos ng Diyos. Buo ang organisasyon ngunit wala na sa kaniyang dating uri at katangian.



Panahon Ng Pagtalikod

Kailan magaganap ang pagtalikod sa Iglesia o ang pagpasok dito ng mga maling aral na nakasira sa pananampalataya ng mga alagad? Sa Gawa 20:29-30 ay mababasa ang ganito:

“Alam kong pagkaalis ko’y magsisipasok ang mababangis na asong-gubat at walang patawad na sisilain ang kawan. Mula na rin sa inyo’y lilitaw ang mga taong magsasalita ng kasinungalingan upang mapasunod ang mga alagad, at sa gayo’y mailigaw sila.” (Ibid.)

Tinitiyak ni Apostol Pablo na pag-alis niya ay saka papasukin ng mga “asong-gubat” ang Iglesia at mula na rin dito ay lilitaw ang mga magtuturo ng kasinungalingan upang iligaw o italikod ang mga alagad. Ang pag-alis na binabanggit ni Pablo ay isang pag-alis na hindi na siya muling makikita ng mga kapatid na noon ay kasama niya, alalaong baga’y ang kaniyang kamatayan (Gawa 20:25; II Tim. 4:6).

Kung gayon, magaganap ang pagtalikod sa Iglesia pagkamatay ng mga Apostol o pagkatapos ng panahon nila. Bakit pagkamatay pa ng mga Apostol maisasagawa ng mga bulaang propeta ang pagliligaw sa mga alagad? Bakit hindi nila ito nagawa noong nabubuhay pa ang mga Apostol? Sa Galacia 2:4-5 ay ganito ang mababasa:

“At yaon ay dahil sa mga hindi tunay na kapatid na ipinasok ng lihim, na nagsipasok ng lihim upang tiktikan ang aming kalayaan na taglay naming kay Cristo Jesus, upang kami’y ilagay nila sa pagkaalipin: Sa mga yaon ay hindi kami napahinuhod na supilin kami, kahit isang oras; upang ang katotohanan ng evangelio ay manatili sa inyo.”

Sa harap ng paninindigang ito ni Pablo, hindi kataka-taka na ang pagtalikod ay maganap sa panahong wala na sila. Kailanman at buhay ang mga Apostol, hindi nila papayagang pigilin sila ng mga kaaway ng pananampalataya upang manatili ang ebanghelyo sa Iglesia.

Nangangahulugan ba na pagkamatay ng mga Apostol ay wala manlamang nanindigan at namalagi sa tunay pananampalataya? Ang lahat kaya ng mga kaanib noon ay pawang tumalikod? Mahalagang masagot ang mga katanungang ito sapagkat kung may nanatili sa tunay na pananampalataya at hindi humiwalay sa mga dalisay na aral ni Cristo ay masasabing hindi lubusang natalikod ang Iglesia.

Ano ang ibinabala ni Cristo na daranasin ng Kaniyang mga alagad tangi sa ang marami sa kanila ay ililigaw ng mga bulaang propeta? Sa Mateo 24:11,9 ay ganito ang nakasulat:

“At magsisibangon ang maraming bulaang propeta, at kanilang ililigaw ang marami.
“Kung magkagayo’y ibibigay kayo sa kapighatian, at kayo’y papatayin:…”

Ayon sa hulang ito ng Panginoong Jesucristo, hindi lamang maililigaw ang marami Niyang mga alagad kundi ang iba ay papatayin. Hindi nakapagtataka kung pagkamatay ng mga Apostol ay ibang Iglesia na ang masumpungan natin sa mga tala ng kasaysayan sapagkat kung mayroon mang nanindigan sa tunay na pananampalataya ay pinatay naman ng bagsik ng pag-uusig. Sino ang mga naging kasangkapan sa pagpatay at pagsila sa mga tunay na kaanib sa Iglesia? Sa Gawa 20:29 ay tiniyak ni Pablo ang ganito:

“Alam kong pagkaalis ko’y magsisipasok ang mababangis na asong-gubat at walang patawad na sisilain ang kawan.” (MB)

Ang tinutukoy na mga asong gubat na magiging kasangkapan sa lubusang pagtalikod ng Iglesia ay mga pinuno:

“Ang mga pinuno nila’y parang hayok na asong-gubat kung lumapa ng kanilang biktima…” (Ezek. 22:27, Ibid.)

Ang isa sa tinutukoy ng Biblia na mga asong-gubat ay ang masasamang pinuno na gaya ng mga hari at emperador “ na lumalapa ng kanilang biktima.” Tangi sa mga pinuno ng bansa na umusig sa Iglesia, sino pa ang itinulad ng Biblia sa mga asong-gubat? Ganito ang pahayag ng Panginoong Jesucristo:

“ ‘Mag-ingat kayo sa mga bulaang propeta; nagsisilapit sila sa inyo na animo’y tupa, ngunit ang totoo’y mababangis na asong-gubat’.” (Mat. 7:15, Ibid.)

Maging ang mga bulaang propeta na nagtuturo ng aral ng demonio ay itinutulad din ng Biblia sa asong-gubat. Sila ang mga naging kasangkapan hindi lamang upang iligaw ang mga alagad at pasunurin sa maling aral kundi upang ang mga ito ay patayin o silain. Madali nating malalaman kung sino ang kinatuparan ng ibinabala ni Cristo na magtatalikod sa Kaniyang Iglesia dahil sinabi rin Niya kung ano ang ating ikakikilala sa kanila, ”…mga bulaang propeta na nagsisilapit sa inyo na may damit tupa,…”

Kung gayon, makikilala ang mga bulaang propeta na nagpasok ng mga hidwang aral sa Iglesia. Sila ay nakadamit tupa. Sa Biblia, si Cristo ang ipinakikilalang cordero o tupa (Juan 1:29). Samakatuwid, ang mga bulaang propeta ay tumulad sa pananamit ni Cristo. May mga tagapagturo ng relihiyon na nagdaramit nang katulad ng damit ni Cristo. Sa aklat na pinamagatang Siya Ang Inyong Pakinggan: ‘Ang Aral Na Katoliko’ na sinulat ng paring si Enrique Demond ay ganito ang nakasulat sa pahina 195:

“Ang paring gayak sa pagmimisa ay nakatulad ni Jesucristo noong umakyat sa bundok ng Kalvario…”

Hindi kataka-taka, kung gayon, na ang mga sumunod sa panahon ng mga Apostol ay ang mga Obispo at mga papa ng Iglesia Katolika dahil sila mismo ang ibinabala ng mga Apostol na mga taong magsasagawa ng pagtalikod sa Iglesiang itinayo ni Cristo. Sila ang mga nagpasok at nagturo ng mga maling aral na ikinaligaw o ikinatalikod ng Iglesia.


Patotoo ng Kasaysayan

Ang mga natalang pangyayari sa kasaysayan ang magbibigay sa atin ng mga kaalaman upang mabatid at matiyak natin ang naganap sa Iglesia pagkatapos ng panahon ng mga Apostol. Natupad ba ang ibinabala ng mga Apostol na ang Iglesia ay papasukin ng mga maling aral? Sa isang aklat na pangkasaysayan na pinamagatang World’s Great Events, Vol II. Pp. 163-164, ay ganito ang mababasa:

“Noong una, ang kasaysayan ng Iglesia Romana ay katulad ng kasaysayan ng katotohanan ng Cristianismo. Datapuwat nakalulungkot na dumating ang panahon nang magsimulang dumaloy ang mga batis ng lason mula doon sa nang una’y dalisay na bukal.” (salin sa Pilipino)

Pinatutunayan ng kasaysayan ang pagdaloy sa Iglesia ng mga lasong aral na ikinamatay ng pananampalataya ng mga kaanib nito. Ang pangyayaring ito ay naganap alinsunod sa panahong ibinabala ng mga Apostol – pagkamatay nila o pagkatapos ng panahon nila magaganap ang pagtalikod ng Iglesia. Kung ang larawan ng Iglesiang ipinakikita ng mga tala ng kasaysayan pagkatapos ng panahon ng mga Apostol ay katulad din ng larawan nito sa kanilang kapanahunan, masasabi nating hindi natupad ang pagtalikod na kanilang ibinabala. Subalit ayon na rin sa patotoo ng kasaysayan, ano kayang uring Iglesia ang masusumpungan pagkatapos ng mga Apostol? Sangguniin natin ang isa pang akat na tumatalakay sa kasaysayan ng Iglesia, Story of the Christian Church, p. 41:

“Sa loob ng limampung taon pagkamatay ni Apostol Pablo ay isang lambong ang nakatabing sa buong Iglesia, na sa loob nito ay sinisikap nating may kabiguan ang makaaninaw, at sa wakas pagkahawi ng tabing na ito, 120 A.D., sa pamamagitan ng sulat ng tinatawag na mga unang ‘Ama ng Iglesia’ ay matatagpuan natin ang isang Iglesia na sa lahat ng bahagi ay ibang iba na sa Iglesia sa kapanahunan nina Apostol Pedro at Pablo.” (salin sa Pilipino)

Hindi pa nalalaunan ang pagkawala ng mga Apostol, ang Iglesia ay wala na sa dati nitong uri. Pinatutunayan ng kasaysayan na may limampung taon pa lamang ang nakalipas pagkamatay ng mga Apostol, ay ibang iba na ang Iglesia sa lahat ng bahagi. Ano ang ilan sa mga aral na hindi naman itinuro ni Cristo at ng Kaniyang mga Apostol subalit ipinasok ng mga bulaang propeta sa Iglesia?

Makagagawa tayo ng isang mahabang talaan ng mga maling doktrina na nagsimulang lumitaw pagkatapos ng panahon ng mga Apostol, mga doktrinang unti-unting ipinasok sa Iglesia at naging sanhi kaya naligaw o natalikod ang tunay na Iglesia na kinalaunan ay naging Iglesia Katolika.
Bawat paghiwalay sa mga aral ng Diyos na itinuro ni Cristo ay pagtalikod sa pananampalatay at ang pagsunod sa mga maling doktrina na itinuro ng mga bulaang propeta ay pagtatayo naman ng Iglesia Katolika. Kaya ang organisasyong dati’y dinadaluyan ng mga dalisay na aral ng Diyos, sumusunod kay Cristo, at tinatawag na Iglesia ni Cristo ay bumaling sa mga aral ng demonio, sumunod sa mga bulaang propeta, at naging Iglesia Katolika.



Pagpatay Sa Mga Cristiano

Hindi malulubos ang pagtalikod kung nanatiling buhay ang mga nanindigan sa mga dalisay na aral ni Cristo. Kaya, gaya ng ibinabala ni Pablo, ang Iglesia ay sinalakay ng mga “asong-gubat” na sumila at hindi nagpatawad sa kawan. Dapat nating alalahanin na ang ipinakikilala ng Biblia na mga asong gubat o mga lobong maninila ay hindi lamang ang mga bulaang propeta o mga tagapagturong Katoliko kundi maging ang masasamang pinuno na umusig sa Iglesia. Ang mga ito ay naging kasangkapan din sa pagpatay sa mga alagad ni Cristo na nanindigan sa tunay na pananampalataya at nanghawak sa mga dalisay na aral ng Diyos. Ang katuparan nito ay hindi nawaglit sa mga tala ng kasaysayan gaya ng isinasaad sa Halley’s Bible Handbook, sinulat ni Henry H. Halley sa mga pahina 761-762, sa pagkakasalin sa Pilipino:

“Domitan (96 A.D.). Itinatag ni Domitian ang pag-uusig sa mga Cristiano. Maikli ngunit lubhang malupit.

“Trajan (98-117 A.D.). Ang Cristianismo ay ipinalagay na isang ilegal na relihiyon, … Ang mga Cristiano ay hindi ipinaghahanap, ngunit kapag napagbintangan ay pinarurusahan.

“Marcus Aurelius ( 161-180). Pinasigla niya ang pag-uusig sa mga Cristiano. Ito ay malupit at mabangis ang pinakamabagsik simula kay Nero. Libu-libo ang pinugutan ng ulo o kaya’y itinapon sa mababangis na hayop…

“Septimus Severus (193-211). Ang pag-uusig na ito ay totoong napakalupit,…

“Decius (249-251). Buong tatag na pinasiyahang lipulin ang Cristianismo.

“Valerian (253-260). Mas mabangis kay Decius; tinangka niya ang lubos na pagwasak sa Cristianismo. Maraming lider ang pinatay…

“Diocletian (284-305). Ang huling pag-uusig ng Imperyo, at siyang pinakamalupit; …ang mga Cristiano ay pinaghahanap sa mga kuweba at gubat; sila ay sinunog, itinapon sa mga mababangis na hayop, pinagpapatay sa pamamagitan ng mga pagpapahirap bunga ng kalupitan.”

Mapapansin natin na halos kaalinsabay ng pagpasok ng mga maling doktrina sa Iglesia ay dinanas ng mga alagad ang bagsik ng pag-uusig na ginawa ng mga emperador Romano – pag-uusig na hindi lamang naging sanhi upang matakot ang mahina sa pananampalataya at tanggapin ang maling aral, kundi pumatay sa nanindigan sa dalisay na ebanghelyo. Sa madilim na bahaging ito ng kasaysayan ng Iglesia ay dapat nating mabatid na hindi lamang ang lumupig sa Iglesia ay ang masasamang pinuno ng pamahalaan kundi ang mismong kapapahan:

“Leo I (A.D 440-461)…, tinawag ng ilang mananalaysay na Unang Papa…Ipinahayag ang kanyang sarili na Panginoon ng Buong Iglesia; itinaguyod ang Natatanging Pangkalahatang Kapapahan; sinabi na ang pagtutol sa kaniyang kapangyarihan ay Tiyak na Pagtungo sa Impiyerno; itinaguyod ang Parusang Kamatayan ukol sa erehiya.” (Ibid., p. 770)

Hindi kataka-taka na tawagin din ng mga Apostol na mga “asong-gubat” ang mga bulaang propeta hindi lamang dahil sa naging daan sila ng pagpasok ng mga maling doktrina sa Iglesia kundi sila mismo ang sumalakay at hindi nagpatawad sa kawan.

Kaya, gaya ng paunang pahayag ni Cristo at ng mga Apostol, ang Iglesia ni Cristo na nagsimula noon unang siglo sa Jerusalem bilang isang organisasyon na nagtataguyod ng mga dalisay na aral ng Diyos, pagkamatay ng mga Apostol, ay unti-unting bumaling sa mga maling aral at tinalikuran ang kaniyang pananampalataya.

Are Christ and Jehovah one and the same God? (Genesis 17:1)

Belinda Alvarez Wrote:

I BELIEVE THAT  'there is only one true God; He is invisible and His name is Jehovah or Yahweh. Although I do not believe in the Trinity, I believe that Christ is God incarnate or else who would the Bible be referring to as Jehovah Who appeared Himself to Abraham in Genesis 17:1?

Editor's reply:

     To begin with, the word “Jehovah” is not the correct rendition of YHWH-the tetragrammaton or the Hebrew word for one of the names of God. The tetragrammaton is never spoken out loud by the Jews, and because it is composed of consonants only, the correct way of pronouncing it has long been forgotten. Whether it is rendered as “Jehovah” or “Yahweh,” we firmly believe that it does not refer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

     Your conclusion that Christ is God rests on the premise that Christ is Jehovah Who appeared before Abraham. Such premise relies on two basic assumptions that are biblically untenable.

     First, you are assuming that the mention of God appearing to Abraham in Genesis 17:1 means that Abraham saw God in the flesh as Jesus Christ. However, as you yourself have pointed out, the true God is invisible, which means, as clarified by Christ, that God cannot be seen in His form (Jn. 5:37; I Tim. 1:17). The way God manifest Himself to man is by means of His power through the things that He made (Rom. 1:19-20). And so, what Abraham saw were the manifestations of God’s power and not Christ appearing as God or “Jehovah.” The belief in Christ as God incarnate is not biblical.

     Second, you are assuming that Christ somehow has pre-existence, yet the Bible teaches otherwise. Christ did not exist during the time of the patriarchs and the prophets; He was not there before He was born (Is. 7:14; Mt. 1:20-24). Hence, Abraham, who lived during the dispensation of the patriarchs, could not have seen Christ in the flesh because the promise concerning Christ was not yet fulfilled (Rom. 1:2-3).

     If we were to take your premise that Christ is Jehovah as true, then we would end up with inconsistencies. For example, “Jehovah” is described as the Most High, yet Christ is called the Son of the Highest or the Most High (Ps. 83:18; Lk. 1:31-32). How could such be possible if Christ and “Jehovah” were one and the same God, as you claim? In addition, “Jehovah” is God Almighty, yet Christ is not Almighty because He will submit to the Almighty God (Exo. 6:3;  and    I Cor. 15:27-28).

     These biblical verses, and a host of others, prove conclusively that Christ is Himself not God. Christ, therefore, can never be the one true God.

     The teaching of the Bible is very clear; the one and only true God is the Almighty Father in Heaven who created all things (Jn. 17:1-3; I Cor. 8:6).

___________________

Bible Study Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free to visit the Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question you have in mind. 

The gift of understanding the words of God

THE HOLY BIBLE indisputably contains the words of God, and its importance
to man's life is beyond measure. With the wide array of knowledge and wisdom
that the Bible contains, it is the most read book ever written for all
time.

According to Apostle Paul, the Holy Scriptures not only teaches the wisdom
of God for salvation but it also serves as a guide for reproof, for
correction, and instruction in righteousness (II Tim. 3:15-16).
Furthermore, Apostle John attested that all the things contained in the Scriptures are written for us to believe, and by doing so, we can have life in the name of Christ (Jn. 20:30-31).


The great difference
Unfortunately, many people have not come to the right
understanding of the words of God written in the Bible. The proof of this is the proliferation of various religions having different and often contrasting doctrines
notwithstanding the fact that they are using only one Bible. How has this
happened? Many preachers have misunderstood the knowledge and wisdom of
God, which according to Apostle Paul is so profound as to allow human intellect
to fathom it. He wrote:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33,New King James Version)

Man can learn and understand human knowledge with his
intelligence. However, understanding divine wisdom or the words of God is not by means of
human intelligence because God's wisdom is a mystery. Apostle Paul said:

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory." ( I Cor. 2:7,Ibid.)

The profound wisdom of God cannot be discerned or understood
by just any man according to his mental capacity. In fact, from ages and from
generations, such mystery has been hidden from man. Apostle Paul attests:

"Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship
from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to
His saints." (Col. 1:25-26, Ibid.)

If God has hidden His wisdom from all ages and generations,
then how could it be preached by anyone? Anyone who assumes the right to teach the words of God without receiving His revelation does not preach the truth but his
personal opinion. In effect, what he would be preaching is not God's
commandments but human commandments instead. It is not surprising then that
so many different churches with conflicting teachings have multiplied
nowadays.



Not anyone can understand

Although the Bible has been translated into many different
languages so that many people may be able to read it, its translation does not guarantee that it is being understood. In fact, even the very translations, at times,
fall into error. How much more if man interprets the words of God? There is
always a danger of misinterpretation, because those who attempt to explain
or teach the words of God on their own end up twisting them. Apostle Peter
says:

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things, in which are some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and
unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the
Scriptures." (II Pt. 3:15, Ibid.)

Twisting the Scriptures is a grave offense: Anyone who does
this brings destruction upon himself, and to anyone who listens to him.
Being learned does not guarantee a correct understanding of the words of
God. Illustrating this fact is the case of the eunuch described in the Book
of Acts:

"So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch
of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all
her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And
sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit
said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot'. So Philip ran to him,
and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what
you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?, And
he asked Philip to come and sit with him." (Acts 8:27-31, Ibid.)

The eunuch, despite his learning, failed to understand the
Scriptures. So when Philip approached and asked him whether he understood what he was
reading, the eunuch humbly admitted that he could not. Thus, even though
one is earnest in knowing the wisdom of God that is written in the Bible, and
even if he undergoes training at seminary or a Bible college, without
proper guidance from the preacher sent by God, he will not be able to
understand the truth. Apostle Paul wrote:

"Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of
truth." (II Tim. 3:7, Ibid.)

Furthermore, earning a degree or obtaining a certificate in
religious training from a seminary or Bible college does not make one an authority on
the Bible and in preaching the gospel. So, one who listens to a preacher
must be careful and must examine the teachings that such preacher presents.
Why? Because a preacher who teaches a twisted gospel will lead the
unsuspecting and indiscriminate listener into the wrong church, which
upholds false beliefs.

Unfolding the mystery of His words

Fortunately, there is away by which we can understand the
wisdom and knowledge of God, which He has hidden in mystery through ages and
generations. Our Lord Jesus Christ explains:

"And He said to them, 'To you it has been given to know the
mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in
parables'." (Mk. 4:11, Ibid.)

A secret cannot be known, much less understood, unless it is
revealed and explained by the one who truly know it. Likewise, the wisdom that comes
from God cannot be learned from institutions or seminaries established by men
because only God holds the key that unlocks the mystery of His words. God
Himself confers the understanding to those whom He sends to preach, like
the apostles. As messengers of God, they bear His truth, the teachings
concerning the true Church, faith, doctrines, and salvation. Our Lord Jesus
Himself attest to this, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God,
for God does not give the Spirit by measure" (Jn. 3:34, Ibid.). Therefore,
only those whom God has sent have been bestowed the knowledge, the gift of
understanding, and the authority to preach the wisdom of God.

On the other hand, those whom God has not sent but who dare to
teach His words will preach twisted teachings of false faith. Such preachers belong
to false religions, which uphold erroneous doctrines, and which will bring
eternal damnation to those who listen and accept them. We should neither
listen to the preaching nor accept the teaching of those who are not sent
by God. Why? Apostle Paul answers:

"And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is
written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'" (Rom. 10:15, Ibid.)

Those who are not sent by God do not understand His wisdom.
So, how can they truthfully preach the words of God if they have not received true
understanding?

The messenger in these last days

Since the apostles already passed away and the Lord Jesus
Christ already ascended to heaven, who will give us today the right understanding of the words of God written in the Holy Scriptures? The Book of Revelation
prophesied another angel having the seal of the living God whose work is to
seal the servants of God:

"Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the
seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it
was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying 'Do not harm the earth, the
sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their
foreheads'." (Rev. 7:2-3, Ibid.)

The word "angel" in this verse literally means messenger.
Angels can be spiritual beings like angel Gabriel whom God sent to Zechariah, the
father of John the Baptist (Lk. 1:19) who are sent from heaven to deliver short
messages to specific individuals or groups of people at a particular time
and specific place (Heb. 1:13-14). Angels can also be human beings, like
John the Baptist (Mt. 11:7-10, Douay-Rheims Version), whom God sends to
preach the gospel to people.

The fulfillment of the "other angel" described in Revelation
7:2-3 pertains to a man whom God had sent to preach the gospel, because his work is to seal the servants of God. He and his companions would carry out the task to seal
the servants of God, as stated in the third verse," till we have sealed the
servants of our God." As to how the sealing would be carried out, Apostle
Paul explains:

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph.
1:13-14, NKJV)

Sealing is the preaching of the true gospel to receive the
Holy Spirit. The angel or messenger described in Revelation 7:2-3 preaches the gospel of truth, which is the word of God for salvation. He is a man whose work is to
preach to words of God. Those who listened and believed in his preaching
were sealed and received the promised Holy Spirit. The place where this
prophecy would be fulfilled is in the East or the rising of the sun,
fulfilled in the Philippines, which is in the Far East (Asia and the
Philippines, p. 169).

The Church of Christ firmly believes, based on biblical
prophecies and their fulfillment, that the messenger of God in these last days is Brother Felix Y. Manalo. He was given the right to understand the knowledge of God,
which is hidden in mystery. Through him, together with the ministers and
evangelical workers in the Church of Christ, the wisdom and knowledge of
God is made known to us in these last days, that we may be guided toward the
path that leads to Christ and to our salvation.