IGLESIA NI CRISTO ESTABLISHED BY MANALO

By Bro. Manny, OTFS Chief Apologist

Sa loob ng 100 Taon ang INC ay pinamunuan lamang ni Felix Manalo at ng kanyang 2 Anak

Isn't it ironic that the same doctrines that they preach to their blinded and deceived members will convict them? But such is the case of Iglesia ni Cristo which was founded and established by a man named Felix Manalo who led and deceived many souls to their damnation by presenting himself as the "Last Messenger of God" and even as an Angel. He did not even know what he really was a Messenger or an Angel. In the past it was easy for any man like Manalo to deceive others but today with the free flow of information, his false doctrines can be read and studied by us and Lo' not a single Doctrine would stand up for the truth.

If there are just one or two Doctrines that can't stand up for the truth then all the other doctrines of INC are false because their Doctrines stand up on two major Doctrines that they are the true church of Jesus Christ and the other one is that Jesus Christ is not Son of God but only the Son of Man and therefore he is not God. So in this Article we will only deal with the two doctrines and study them closely.

Brothers and sisters, my fellow Catholics, stay away from the INC religion. Do not allow yourself to be fooled by their growing numbers or by their influence in government because of their block voting. Don't listen to the false teachings which they promote and propagate through their vast media networks on television, radio, social media, print media and through their missionary works in the Philippines and to other countries. They have distorted the bible, the scriptures, not just by their self-serving interpretations of the bible to support their error laden doctrines and teachings designed to convinced the Catholic faithful to convert to them. They have in fact added words to the bible. Such practice is dangerous to the soul, a sure way to hell.

Such dangerous practice using the words of God in the bible and the scriptures to prove their false doctrines will fail and fall flatly when subjected to a test. Anyone with deeper understanding of the Bible which is a gift of the Holy Spirit will know the truth and spot the errors that the INC has been spewing out of the mouths of their preachers who follow a carefully scripted presentations when teaching their doctrines. In fact their doctrines are so full of inconsistencies when subjected to close scrutiny that in spite of their enormous resources to build up their library which is a library of errors they could not hide the errors. Therefore when one doctrine is false the others follow like a domino they will fall flatly when subjected to a careful scrutiny.

INC Doctrine #1 - There is only one true church, the Church of Christ which is Iglesia Ni Cristo

Here is an example of presenting and mixing half truth and half false the result of course is false. The bible tells us of the one true church yes but its not the Iglesia ni Cristo as they want us to believe. INC's conclusion comes from a mere assumption without any shred of evidence that the same true church in the bible is the Iglesia ni Cristo founded by Manalo in 1914.

How did Manalo develop the doctrine that INC is the true church? He came up first with a story that the church established by Jesus Christ apostatized after the death of the Apostles and the new leaders of the church then turned to heresy. The church was taken over by Heretics and became a FALSE CHURCH. Therefore the true church disappeared and was never found again in those times because what was existing from then on was the FALSE CHURCH, Manalo was referring to the Catholic Church as that originally true church and became false church. Therefore for more than 1,800 years there was no true church according to his doctrine but only the False Church. Then Felix Manalo who introduced himself as the Last Messenger of God was then called by God to restore the one true church of Jesus Christ. And he restored the lost church in the Philippines, registering it in the Securities and Exchange Commission as a Sole Corporation and named it IGLESIA NI CRISTO.

What an amazing story witnessed only by himself and believed to be true without any basis both in historical context or in biblical texts. Such kind of story would not even passed in the courts of law for you cant be a witness to yourself. Even God needed witnesses. When Jesus was to start his ministry, he had a witness, John the Baptist as told in John 1:29-30 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me'."

Imagine brothers and sisters, he preached that he was the Last Messenger of God to restore the one true church of Jesus Christ and he does not even have a witness that came from God like a prophet to declare to the world, here is my last messenger of whom I have called to restore the one true church of my begotten son. Not only that he did not have any witness, but also that even his witnessing of himself was all air because he could not even proved himself as the Last Messenger of God or even an Angel. Goodness, wake up people name a single Miracle in the scale of Jesus miracles that Felix Manalo did to validate his own claim.

And yet by claiming to be the messenger that restored the one true church of Jesus Christ he has put himself on equal footing with the Lord since it was the Lord who established his church and it was lost according to Manalo. Then he was called by God to restore it according to him. Such claim must be validated before it was to be believed. Now remember this and it is very important, even John the Baptist has sent an emissary because he was imprisoned during the start of the ministry of Jesus to ask the Lord if indeed he was the Messiah. Jesus told the emissary of John tell him what you saw referring to the miracles that Jesus performed. Now that is what Felix Manalo should have done, validated his claim not by interpreting the bible to suit his claim but by showing the same wonders Jesus did when he established the true church.

Yet now even the interpretation of the words of God in the Bible used by INC to justify their claim is erroneous as we can see:

What are the implication of this false doctrine of the Iglesia Ni Cristo or INC?

1.It contradicts the word of God coming out of Jesus that says "And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." - Matthew 16:18

There is the promise of the Lord that his church because he called it MY CHURCH that he will build since it was not yet built at the time he said these words will never be prevailed upon by the gates of hell. Jesus used the "gates of hell" as the metaphor inferring that the devil will apparently wage war against the church and battled with it opening all the gates of hell to subdue and defeat it but the Lord said "the gates of hell shall not prevail." These gates of hell have also been called heresies or false teachings.

Pope Vigilius at the Second Council of Constantinople, in 553 called “the tongues of heretics” the “gates of hell.” Pope St. Leo IX, In terra pax hominibus, Sept. 2, 1053, said to Michael Cerularius that “the gates of Hell” are the “disputations of heretics.”

So then two Popes of the Catholic Church have identified the gates of hell as the tongues of heretics and the disputation of the heretics. They have stated that the heretics and their heresies which are the "gates of hell" will never overcome the Church. The Church will always exist without error. It means the one true church will never become an apostate church. The two Popes have only expressed the truth in what the Lord Jesus has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.

2. It contradicts the words of God coming out of Daniel 2:44 that says "In the days of those kings the God of heavens will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed and the kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever"

It is true that the one true church is the kingdom that was to be set up. And Daniel said three important things that will be the marks of the kingdom:

- the kingdom will never be destroyed. (It is indestructible.)
- It will not be left for another people. (It will not be lost)
- It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms but it will itself endure forever. (It will exist continuously)

Now even Iglesia Ni Cristo teaches that the kingdom is the one true church of Jesus Christ. But Daniel prophesy said it clearly and plainly it will never be destroyed no will it be left for another people which means it will not be lost because the same succession of people from the church will lead the church. So who are we going to believe Felix Manalo who said the church was lost or Jesus and Daniel who both said the kingdom which is the church will not be prevailed upon, destroyed or lost?

But the Doctrine of INC must be proven true by them so they just insisted against the words of God in the Bible. The word of God has spoken plainly and not in metaphorical sense that the kingdom will never be destroyed. Now the reason for the error of Manalo as we see it is that he failed to realize that the kingdom that is the church is set up by God himself so how can it be destroyed? Did it not say "God of the heavens will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed"? Oops something there you have it. For INC Jesus who set up the the kingdom or the church is just a man not God. But the bible says, God of the heavens will set up a kingdom. There's the confusion and the mixed up. Anyone who distorts the scripture to form a doctrine will always end up with contradictions.

So the problem of Manalo is he could not understand, its beyond his understanding that Jesus is God, the Son of the Living God who is the 2nd person in the Trinity. And so Daniel speaking the word of God is right on the dot that God of heavens is the one to set up a kingdom, that is Jesus Christ. It is Jesus kingdom, it is his church that is why he used the word, MY CHURCH. This is why it has been stressed in the bible 8 times that the church is the Church of God which is the Kingdom of God.

Now the Doctrine of the origin of the one true church leads to another erroneous doctrine. Because now Manalo has one doctrine of a kingdom which is the church that has been set up by Jesus which he calls the Church of Christ and yet in his other doctrine, Jesus is just a man and not a divine. Jesus for the INC is not God. Therefore he has one doctrine contradicting another doctrine. Again they start with the truth that is in the bible but using false assumption they ended up again with false conclusion that the kingdom, the church was destroyed and that he, Manalo, restored it in 1914 which is an absolute heresy!

The implication is serious because it puts question to Daniel as a true prophet and messenger of God and to Jesus as God because now Manalo is contradicting both. To Manalo Jesus established the kingdom which is the church well we agree on that but on the other hand and here is the lie, Jesus is just a man not God. But for Daniel he is God of heavens who will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. To Manalo the said kingdom which is the church established by Jesus was destroyed and became apostate, FALSE CHURCH. So then you have here Daniel and Jesus united on one end versus Felix Manalo and his false doctrines on the other end which will you believe?

This now brings us to the prophetic words of Psalm 45:6-7 which says "Your throne, O God is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joys above Your Fellows" If you have been deceived by the false doctrine of Manalo, wake up and sober up and take the blinders from your eyes for the truth in this word of God in Psalm will not lie.

"Therefore God, Your God, has anointed you" here the author of Psalm, David called on the anointed one as God. And who is the anointed one? Jesus Christ who is God the Son became man in obedience of God the Father's will and plans for mankind. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son". If then King David know that Jesus is God how can Manalo now say Jesus is not God but only a man? Because Manalo only looked at the humanity of Jesus being born of the Virgin Mary. HE WAS FOCUSED ON THE HUMANITY OF JESUS ONLY, the Son of Man, and rejected his being the Son of the Living God. But let us not digress from the issue. We have presented this to point out to the unity of the Word of God in the scripture that indeed it was God of heavens, Jesus Christ, who set up the kingdom which is the church and even in here it says, "Your Throne, O God is forever and ever" which is what Daniel said that it will never be destroyed and to which Jesus said, not even the gates of hell shall prevail against it.

Here is the Truth, the kingdom, that is the church, is the Catholic Church that was never destroyed nor has become apostate and false church as the Iglesia Ni Cristo claims but following the prophesy of the bible, the kingdom was never destroyed and that it will itself endure forever as it remains standing from the time it was established by Jesus up to this modern time and until the coming of the Lord. It has endured and continue to endure the non-stop attack from the Evil One the devil and his agents coming up with false doctrines and heresies and heretics both from the inside of the church and from the outside. THE CHURCH CAN NEVER BE APOSTATE BECAUSE IT IS JESUS. ONLY THE MEMBERS CAN TURN APOSTATE BUT NEVER THE CHURCH OR THE KINGDOM.

INC Doctrine #2 Jesus Christ is Only A Man Not God

Here is the heresy of all heresies which was condemned by the one true church. When Manalo preached of the heresies that he said destroyed the church making it into an apostate church and hence became the FALSE CHURCH. He was referring directly to that part of the history of the church when heresy or false teaching was rampaging the church from all sides. But the most famous heresy that had split the members of the church then was the heresy taught by Arius QUESTIONING THE DIVINITY OF JESUS.

Arius was a Christian Presbyter in Alexandria, Egyp therefore he was a priest in AD 250-336. The heretical teaching which is most damaging to the soul is Arianism, a Christian belief that asserts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was created by God the Father at a point in time, is distinct from the Father and is therefore subordinate to the Father. Its absolute heresy that was ultimately condemned by the Catholic Church Councils. However it lives on and from the said teaching the modern version of what is now known as Unitarianism, this heresy was developed in Poland by Peter Gonesius), a Polish student who spoke out against the Doctrine of the Trinity during the General Synod of the Reformed Churches of Poland which was a Protestant denomination that follow the teachings of Calvin.

Unitarianism was a new doctrine that came out from Poland. It DENIED OR REJECTED the Doctrine of Trinity which is a declared Dogma of the Catholic Church. Trinity teaches that there are Three Persons in One Godhead. However, under the doctrine of Unitarianism there is only one God, the Father and rejects the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ and the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. Iglesia Ni Cristo is not the only one that has embraced this Unitarianism doctrine, there are several groups that propagate this heresy they are among others Jehovah's Witnesses which was founded ahead of Iglesia Ni Cristo and in fact Manalo also joined this religious group. He must in have learned the Unitarianism doctrine when he joined that group and mixed it with the doctrines of other religions to form his own; The Way International, Christadelphianism and many more Bible Only believing churches and religions. Another term of the belief is Monarchianism and this also include Islam.

The denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ is the teaching of the Anti-Christs which were already present even in the time of the Apostles. It is not something new but an offshoot of the heresies fought against by the Apostles. And so it is but ironic that Manalo who preached that the one true church was lost due to heresy and heretics that populated the church making the church apostate, destroyed it and became the False Church had himself taught the same heresy that confounded the one true church the Catholic Church. In fact and in truth by historical account the Catholic Church was never destroyed for it can never be destroyed in fulfillment of the scriptures.

The Catholic Church which is indestructible according to the scripture and by historical account the One True Church of Jesus Christ and the promised kingdom profess that there is ONE GOD - THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God ALL IN ONE GODHEAD as revealed by God in the scriptures. There is no 3 Gods but only ONE GOD. This is a revealed mystery and anyone who wish to be saved must profess the same faith. This is the true Christian Faith therefore Iglesia Ni Cristo members are not Christians but Manalistas for they follow not the teaching of the Lord but the teachings of Felix Manalo their founder.

The bible teaches us that the mystery of God can be seen in his creation. God created One Day - Morning, Afternoon, and Evening but we can't call the Morning one day or the Afternoon one Day, or Evening one day, A DAY IS ONE IN THREE one cant separate them but they are united in one day although they are addressed separately. The same true with MATTER - Gas, Solid, Liquid, you don't call each a separate matter, they are the same Matter whatever their nature. MATTER IS ONE IN THREE. And the bible again is true that indeed we behold God in his creation. The same is true in time. TIME IS ONE IN THREE - Past, Present, Future but recognized it as ONE. And we asked, What is the time? The same is true of course with Man himself. He is physical, he is soul, and he is spirit. MAN IS ONE IN THREE but we dont see him as three we see him as ONE. Therefore is ONE IN THREE AND THREE IN ONE IMPOSSIBLE? Of course not for NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GOD. This is the mystery and even science agree, in the realm of God, there is no time and space, no limited numbers, its all infinity. Thus according to St. Peter to God 1 day is a thousand years for us on earth.

One would ask but there is no Trinity mentioned in the bible? There is no Trinity mentioned in the bible but the bible clearly presented Three Distinct Divine persons that are united as Godhead that is why they are called Trinity. In the same manner was the Bible is the word of God but the word bible is not in the bible but it does exist we read it and refer to it on matters involving the words of God. We shall discuss this more thoroughly in the Part II of this Article.

Do we still have to study the other false doctrines of Manalo passed on to Iglesia Ni Cristo if in just one or two doctrines we already see that his doctrines are flawed and can't stand? False is false even if millions of the followers of Manalo believe in it and True is True even if only one Catholic is left who believes in it.  

CONTINUE TO PART II ON THE INC DOCTRINE #2  JESUS IS JUST A MAN NOT GOD

In Part II we will not be the one to testify on the Divinity of the Lord Jesus but let the scriptures, the Holy Bible, the prophets, the Apostles, the Church Fathers, the Catholic Church and God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit testify to the true nature of Jesus Christ.

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