The most common attack of our DETRACTORS especially those who
believed in the TRINITY DOCTRINE or THOSE WHO FOLLOW A DOCTRINE NOT FOUND IN
THE BIBLE is the teaching of the IGLESIA
NI CRISTO regarding the PROPHECY OF THE
BIBLE that pertains to BROTHER FELIX Y. MANALO as
the LAST MESSENGER of GOD.
They oftenly said to us:
“You are saying that we
believe a teaching that is not found in the Bible, you often ask us where in
the Bible we can read the word “TRINITY”? Why? Is there a word “PHILIPPINES”
in the Bible? This is a proof that the members of the IGLESIA NI CRISTO
also believed in a teaching that is not found in the Bible.
QUESTION: Is the
word “PHILIPPINES” in the Bible?
ANSWER: Is a sign of IGNORANCE, because the PHILIPPINES got its name only on MARCH
16, 1521 (16THCENTURY) when it was discovered
by FERDINAND MAGELLAN, and during that time it was
named FELIPINAS (PHILIPPINES IN ENGLISH) which means
LAS ISLAS DE FELIPE (THE ISLES
OF PHILIP) which was named after the KING OF SPAIN during that time – KING PHILIP II, and
the Bible was completed since 96 AD (FIRST
CENTURY). How could you find
that word in the Bible? So it is absurd to even ask that question, and a real
sign of GRAVE IGNORANCE among our
detractors.
And another thing the IGLESIA NI CRISTO never taught ever that the word PHILIPPINES is
found in the Bible. So there is no reason for them to ask us that question at
all, for IT IS NOT AN IGLESIA NI CRISTO
DOCTRINE.
But does the LOCATION,
PLACE or the LAND which was NO NAME YET by the time the book
of PROPHET ISAIAH was written, which was named later the PHILIPPINES really
not mentioned in the Bible?
Well, before we go to that issue, let us ask our DETRACTORS a related question:
QUESTION: Does
the word IRAN, IRAQ and TURKEY in the Bible?
ANSWER: Of course no one among them
would dare to answer YES. For it is an undeniable fact that
these words cannot be found in the scriptures, for these names does not exist
yet during the time when the Bible was written.
So we will ask them again:
QUESTION: Does
the country of IRAN, IRAQ and TURKEY mentioned in the
Bible?
ANSWER: Do you think they would dare to
answer NO? if ever they would dare to answer No, then they are
committing a very big mistake for these countries were indeed mentioned in the
pages of the HOLY SCRIPTURES.
The word IRAN, IRAQ
and TURKEY of course can’t be found in the Bible because that names
do not exist yet? But do those countries already existed when the Bible was
written? Would they dare to answer NO?
No one would dare to answer NO as
I said already, because it is a fact that all countries
in the world already existed during that time, only their names weren’t for
some of them were NOT YET
DISCOVERED nor NAMED YET during
the time the Bible was written.
But those countries are mentioned in the Bible for
these countries already existed during the Bible was written. Since their names
were not yet IRAN, IRAQ, and TURKEY, the
author of the Bible as instructed of course by the Almighty used their OLD
NAMES during that time.
PERSIA is the old name of IRAN, and it is
mentioned in the Bible:
2 Chronicles 36:20 King James Version
“And them
that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were
servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of PERSIA:”
IRAQ is mentioned in the Bible as MESOPOTAMIA.
Acts 7:2 King James Version
“And he
said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our
father Abraham, when he was in MESOPOTAMIA, before he dwelt in Charran,”
TURKEY as ASIA MINOR or
plainly ASIA.
Acts 16:6 Young’s Literal Translation
“and having
gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the
Holy Spirit to speak the word in ASIA,”
Of course the word ASIA there
would never mean the MODERN ASIA that we knew today as one of
the SEVEN CONTINENTS, since that
passage pertains to the propagation of the Gospel by APOSTLE PAUL to the GENTILE
NATIONS.
The GREEK DICTIONARY has this to
say about that word.
THAYER’S GREEK
DEFINITION
“G773
Ἀσία
Asia = “orient”
1) ASIA proper or proconsular Asia embracing Mysia, Lydia, Phrygia, and Caria,
corresponding closely to TURKEY today”
These countries were mentioned by the BIBLE using their OLD NAMES,
that’s why those were used for those NAMES
already existed during that time as an identification of the said countries.
Would you mind answering this question our beloved DETRACTORS?
QUESTION: So is it wrong to say that IRAN, IRAQ and TURKEY is
in the Bible?
Now let’s go back to the PHILIPPINE ISSUE:
QUESTION: Does
the PHILIPPINES have a name already existed during the time when the
Bible was written?
ANSWER: Of course the answer would be a
definitely NO! For what I have mentioned already that the PHILIPPINES only got its name in 1521
(16th Century).
QUESTION: Does
the PHILIPPINES have an OLD NAME during the time when the Bible
was written?
ANSWER: Of course the answer again would
be a big NO, for there is no record in History that the PHILIPPINES used an OLD NAME,
like CHINA which was called CATHAY before.
QUESTION: Does the land, place or country which was
named later the Philippines already existed during the time when the Bible was
written? Would anyone among our DETRACTORS would dare to answer this question NO?
ANSWER: Of course no one with the NORMAL STATE OF MIND would ever dare to
answer that question NO. For it is an UNDENIABLE FACT THAT ALL THE LANDS IN THE WHOLE WORLD EXISTED SINCE THE
TIME OF CREATION, so it is even proper and logical to say that the LAND or PLACE which was later named the PHILIPPINES, already existed even before the time of MOSES or even long before than the time
when the Bible was written.
QUESTION: Does
the LAND, PLACE or COUNTRY which was later named PHILIPPINES
mentioned in the Bible?
ANSWER: This is the PROPER QUESTION that they should ask the IGLESIA NI CRISTO.
If we ask them this question, I know that they
would dare to answer NO, but the question is:
QUESTION: Can
they prove that the country which was later called the Philippines is not
mentioned in the Bible?
So let us go now where in the BIBLE the COUNTRY of the
PHILIPPINES which was no name at
that time was mentioned.
Isaiah 46:11 King
James Version
“CALLING a RAVENOUS BIRD from the EAST, the man that executeth
my counsel from a FAR COUNTRY: yea, I have spoken it, I
will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do
it.”
The Bible specifically said that the RAVENOUS BIRD, which is a MAN that will EXECUTE GOD’S COUNSEL will come from a FAR COUNTRY FROM THE
EAST.
QUESTION: What is the characteristic of this FAR COUNTRY from
the EAST?
Isaias 24:15 New International Version
“Therefore
in the EAST give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God
of Israel, in the ISLANDS OF THE SEA.”
ANSWER: See? Very clear were the
descriptions of the BIBLE regarding
the FAR COUNTRY from the EAST
from where the RAVENOUS BIRD will
come from. This passage said: “ISLANDS OF THE SEA” it is clear then that
the FAR COUNTRY being mentioned is composed of ISLANDS.
There we have it our dear readers, these following BIBLICAL DESCRIPTIONS.
It is a FAR COUNTRY from ISRAEL from
where the PROPHECY was written, from
the EAST and it is composed of ISLANDS.
But the EAST
is composed of THREE DIVISIONS.
NEAR EAST
MIDDLE EAST
FAR EAST
Here's the link:
The “FAR EAST” is
an English term mostly describing EAST ASIA (including the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included
for economic and cultural reasons. The term came into use in European
geopolitical discourse in the 19th century, denoting EAST ASIA as the
"FARTHEST" of the THREE
"EASTS", beyond the NEAR EAST and the MIDDLE EAST.
Significantly, the term evokes cultural as well as
geographic separation; the FAR EAST is
not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic. It never refers,
for instance, to the culturally Western nations of Australia and New Zealand,
which lie even farther to the east of Europe than East Asia itself.
FAR EAST in its usual
sense is comparable to terms such as the ORIENT, which means EAST; the EASTERN
WORLD; or simply the EAST.
SOUTHEAST ASIA and the RUSSIAN FAR EAST might now be INCLUDED
IN THE FAR EAST to some extent.
QUESTION: Which EAST is being
mentioned by the PROPHECY?
Let us go have a look at Isaiah 46:11 in the HEBREW BIBLE, the original
language of the OLD TESTAMENT.
The word EAST mentioned
in the passage in ENGLISH is
mentioned in HEBREW as “MIZRACH”
In the DICTIONARY
OF THE BIBLE “MIZRACH” means:
SMITH’S BIBLE
DICTIONARY: William Smith, page 154
“EAST. The Hebrew term, KEDEM, properly means that which is before or in front of a person, and was
applied to the east, from the custom of turning in that direction, when
describing the points of the compass, before, behind, the right and the left representing
respectively east, west, south and north. Job 23:8-9.
The term as
generally used refers to the lands lying immediately eastward of Palestine,
namely, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Babylonia; on the other hand, MIZRACH, is
used of the FAR EAST with
a less definite signification. Isa
42:2; Isa 42:25; Isa 43:5; Isa 46:11.”
This dictionary said, MIZRACH is
used of the FAR EAST and he also mentioned Isaiah 46:11 as
you can see above. So the RAVENOUS
BIRD, the MAN that God
will send to execute his counsel will come from a FAR COUNTRY from
the FAR EAST, composed of ISLANDS.
QUESTION: Is the PHILIPPINES located in the FAR EAST?
ASIA AND THE
PHILIPPINES, written
by a Jesuit Priest Horacio dela Costa, page 169
“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.”
And a prominent HISTORICAL BOOK affirms also.
WORLD HISTORY:
by E. R. Boak, Preston Slosson, Howard
Anderson, page 445
"The PHILIPPINES were
Spain's share of the first colonizing movement in the FAR EAST; The
name means the ISLANDS OF PHILIP and refers to that grim ruler, King
Philip II."
Can
anyone among our DETRACTORS dare to prove that this is not the PHILIPPINES?
If it is not the PHILIPPINES, kindly tell us which country it is that
bears the said characteristics as mentioned in the Bible?
Do they think ISAIAH
would not mention the name PHILIPPINES if that name already
existed during the time he wrote the prophecy? An undeniable truth that
our country during that time have NO NAME YET, that’s why it was
only described by the scriptures.
Remember Isaiah 46:11 is a PROPHECY about the coming of GOD’S
LAST MESSENGER and not about the emergence of a country.
The subject matter there is the RAVENOUS
BIRD, it just so happen that the COUNTRY
where he would come from has NO NAME
YET. That’s why the PROPHECY did
not mention any name of a country0 and just described how we can be able to
know and identify the country that is being spoken of.
So it is very illogical and absurd to insist that
the name of the PHILIPPINES should be found in the Bible,
because those people who are insisting that, is displaying their GRAVE
IGNORANCE in BIBLICAL and HISTORICAL FACTS.
Some would say this upon
realizing the teaching of the INC regarding the Philippines:
“It was so hard to
believe that God would chose his LAST MESSENGER from a POOR and
belonging to the 3rd WORLD COUNTRY like the PHILIPPINES,
why not He chose from AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, UNITED KINGDOM, etc?
Why not from a strong COUNTRY which have highly educated persons, and
from a STRONG RACE?”
Those people who oftentimes said this
statement, are those who have a LACK OF
KNOWLEDGE about the SCRIPTURES
and often rely only on what they believed which is only the product of their OWN UNDERSTANDING and OPINIONS. For they do not know the CRITERIA OF GOD in choosing his PEOPLE and his MESSENGERS.
The Bible has this to say.
1 Corinthians 1:26-28 Young’s Literal Translation
“For see
your calling, brethren, that NOT MANY ARE WISE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, NOT MANY MIGHTY, NOT
MANY NOBLE; BUT THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD DID GOD CHOOSE, THAT THE WISE
HE MAY PUT TO SHAME; AND THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD DID GOD CHOOSE THAT HE
MAY PUT TO SHAME THE STRONG; AND THE BASE THINGS OF THE WORLD, AND THE THINGS
DESPISED DID GOD CHOOSE, AND THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT, THAT THE THINGS THAT ARE
HE MAY MAKE USELESS”.
The Bible has given us enough
explanation on this issue. GOD CHOOSES
THE WEAK TO PUT SHAME THE STRONG. HE CHOOSES THE FOOLISH SO THAT THE WISE MAY
PUT TO SHAME, AND SO ON.
Bro. FELIX Y. MANALO came from
a WEAK COUNTRY and RACE. He has no HIGH
STANDING in society, he has no HIGH EDUCATION but God had
chosen him to become his LAST
MESSENGER, to SHAME the
STRONG and the WISE.
Which he had done many many
times, during his battle against OTHER RELIGION’S FALSE DOCTRINES which often came from the STRONG COUNTRIES
and RACE which he succeeded and contributed to the
unstoppable growth of the IGLESIA
NI CRISTO until today. A fulfillment of GOD’S PROMISE to his MESSENGER
IN THESE LAST DAYS and to the CHURCH OF CHRIST (IGLESIA
NI CRISTO) which emerged in the TIME of the ENDS OF THE
EARTH.
Isaiah 41:10-12 King James Version
“FEAR THOU NOT; FOR I AM WITH THEE: BE NOT DISMAYED;
FOR I AMTHY GOD: I WILL
STRENGTHEN THEE; YEA, I WILL HELP THEE; YEA, I WILL UPHOLD THEE WITH THE RIGHT
HAND OF MY RIGHTEOUSNESS. BEHOLD, ALL THEY THAT WERE INCENSED AGAINST THEE
SHALL BE ASHAMED AND CONFOUNDED: THEY SHALL BE AS NOTHING; AND THEY THAT STRIVE
WITH THEE SHALL PERISH. THOU SHALT SEEK THEM, AND SHALT NOT FIND THEM, EVEN THEM THAT CONTENDED WITH
THEE: THEY THAT WAR AGAINST THEE SHALL BE AS NOTHING, AND AS A THING OF
NOUGHT.”
So fellow brethren if anyone ask you
this question.
IS THE WORD “PHILIPPINES” IN THE
BIBLE?
You can simply say.
“The word
PHILIPPINES is not in the Bible, but the country of the Philippines which
was no name yet during that time the Bible was written was clearly mentioned as
the FAR COUNTRY from the FAR EAST (MIZRACH), composed of
ISLANDS as the place where the Ravenous Bird or the Messenger of God in
these last days would come from or appear as stated in Isaiah 46:11 and Isaiah 24:15.”
If he ask you again, just ignore him for
he is just displaying his GREAT IGNORANCE andCLOSE
MINDEDNESS.
So as we go back to the TRINITARIANS we can ask them this.
Can you show us a PROPERLY
TRANSLATED VERSE in the Bible that describes your Trinity which
is the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT, as the THREE
PERSONS in ONE GOD?
The PHILIPPINES has
a passage in the Bible that described it, but do that belief that I mentioned
regarding the TRINITY have a passage
in the Bible that described it?
Can they show us a VERSE or VERSES other than the popular 1 John 5:7 of the KING JAMES VERSION which was
proven even by the Trinitarian Bible Scholars to be a FORGED or a MISTRANSLATED VERSE?
We have proven that the COUNTRY of
the PHILIPPINES is indeed was mentioned in the Bible. It is
the FAR COUNTRY located in the FAR EAST composed of ISLANDS.
So it is
QUITE RIGHT to say that the PHILIPPINES is in the BIBLE.
Now it’s time for you our beloved DETRACTORS to show yours. Prove to us
that your TRINITY IS IN THE BIBLE.