Iglesia ni Cristo

Historical Background: The lglesia ni Cristo (Tagalog, "Church of Christ) claims to be the true Church established by Christ, and Felix Manalo, its founder, heralded himself as Gods prophet. Since it was founded in the Philippines in 1914, it has grown to the point that it boasts over 200 congregations in some 67 countries outside the Philippines, including a large and expanding contingent in the United States. The exact number of members is uncertain because the Iglesia keeps that a secret but it is estimated to be between 3 and 10 million world-wide The organization publishes two magazines, Pasugo and God's Message, which devote most of their energies toward condemning other Christian churches especially the Catholic Church. Their Teachings: 1. The Iglesia ni Cristo believes that the "angel (or messenger) from the east" mentioned in Rev. 7:2 refers to its founder, Felix Manalo. Manalo himself claimed to be "God's messenger," divinely chosen to reestablish the true Church which, according to Manalo, disappeared in the first century due to apostasy. Response: Manalo did not believe himself to be God's final messenger back in 1914. He didn't use the last messenger doctrine until 1922. He appears to have adopted the messenger doctrine in response to a schism in the Iglesia movement. The schism was led by Teogilo Ora, one of its early ministers. Manalo appears to have developed the messenger doctrine in an effort to accumulate as much power as possible and re-assert his leadership in the church. 2. They believe that the Bible cannot be correctly understood "without the guidance of God's messenger" (i.e., Felix Manalo) (Pasugo, November 1973, p. 19, 20). Response: This is a monopoly of Biblical interpretation. The Spirit is the true and the perfect guide in matters of biblical truth (Jn. 16:13), not Felix Manalo. 3. The Iglesia ni Cristo believes that Isa. 43:5-6 prophesies that the Philippines is the place where the true Church would emerge (Pasugo, March 1975, p.6) Response: Iglesia argues that in this verse Isaiah is referring to the "far east" and that this is the place where the Church of Christ" w ill emerge in the last days. But the phrase "far east" is not in the text. In fact, in the Tagalog (Filipino) translation, as well as in the original Hebrew, the words "far" and "east" are not even found in the same verse, yet the Iglesia recklessly combine the two verses to translate "far east. " Using this fallacious interpretation Iglesia goes on to claim that the far east refers specifically to the Philippines. They claim that the Philippines is the geographic center of the Far East. The problem is that Philippines is not the geographic center of the Far East. The Far East includes China, Korea, Japan, East Siberia, the Indo-Chinese, countries, and the Philippines. On a map of the Far East the Philippines is on the lower right hand corner. The geographic center is in Southern China, not in the Philippines. 4. They assert that the true Church's name must be Church of Christ (Igiesia ni Cristo) based on passages like Romans 16:16 and Colossians 1: 18. Response: These passages have been misused by Iglesia to support its 'name' doctrine. By reading these passages and those surrounding them, these verses are merely referring to a flock that belong to Christ. They are not specifying a name--contrary to what Iglesia misleads its followers into thinking. The fact remains, there is no biblical nor any other historical record on a specific name for Christ's church. lgiesia's doctrine that the bible specifies the name of Christ's church is false. It is not bible-based. It is Manalo-based. 5. Like Mormonism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and other fringe groups, Iglesia asserts that the early Christian Church suffered a total apostasy. It believes in the complete disappearance of the first-century Church of Christ and the emergence of the Catholic Church (Pasugo, July -Aug. 1979, p, 8). Response: This doctrine is essential for the Iglesia because one can't take seriously Manalos claim to have rei ntroduced the true Church if, in fact, the original true Church never died. You can't have a "restoration" without an apostasy. The problem is that Jesus promised that his Church would never totally apostatize. He told Peter, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). 6. They teach that Christ is just a human being, not God (God's Message, July - September 1994; Pasugo, May-June 1984, p. 14 & 15). Response: This is also the belief of Jehovah's Witnesses. Although the dual nature of Christ is one of the great mysteries of the Bible, it is affirmed by the Scripture. John 20:28; Heb. 1:8-9; Col. 2.9; Phil. 1:6; John 1:1,14. There is no reason to reject the truth, just because you don't understand it. 7. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Iglesia ni Cristo believes that Jesus is the first created being (Pasugo, January-February 1980, p. 37). Response: The Iglesia ni Cristo base their belief on Col. 1: 15, which says , He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Firstborn can certainly mean the first one born in a family. However, it can also mean preeminence or supremacy (Ps. 89:27; Jer. 31:9): " Christ is ... superior to all created things" (TEV). 8. They believe that Christ is not the Creator of all things (Pasugo, March-April 1982, p. 26) Response: John 1:3 clearly states that "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. See also C ol. 1: 16. 9. They believe that a person has no consciousness after death ("soul-sleep"). Response: Again, this is a doctrine borrowed from the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is clear in Luke 16:24-26 that the soul of people who died go immediately to their eternal destiny and have consciousness.