And to prefigure His coming unto earth as the Christ, He had to make use of Cyrus, the Persian king, an unusual conqueror as the reference of prophecy who would subjugate kings and nations upon the face of earth. One strange claimant in fact to this victorious conqueror is the self-proclaimed prophetic rapacious bird from the east or the angel from the east, is Felix Y. Manalo who established the Iglesia ni Kristo (Church of Christ), a sola scriptura Christian church established in 1914; and who claims as Mohammed did, to be the “last messenger” of God. Decades later, in 1954, Sun Myun Moon established the Unification Church in Pusan, South Korea with similar claims except that the latter considered himself the second coming of Christ to complete what Jesus Christ had not fulfilled. Manalo who is a bit humbler than Sun Myun Moon and Apollo Quiboloy, at least consider himself only as an angel sent by God to re-establish Christ’s Church which has fallen away until 1914. But no, Manalo and Moon do not qualify in the Christus vincit requirement of Christ, the King because none of them were able to subdue nations and kingdoms. Therefore, as a “messenger sent” or as “Christ coming for the second time”, Manalo and Moon do not make the grade. The only way for them to qualify as courtesans would be as jesters and never as kings, for one has taken on the personage of an angel having derived the Webster definition of an angel as a “messenger of God” while Myung juggled the Sun and Moon principle of the sexes in his religion of unification even as he sought the unification of two Koreas and whole world through mass marriages. Even if Sun Myung Moon could unify the sun and moon into one strange body, it wouldn’t amount to anything what the anti-Christ would do to bring about a new world order.
But why do we say as jesters. Sorry but we couldn’t help but laugh on the allegation that the four angels in the book of revelations who withheld the elements were actually politicians comprising the Big Four. This according to the fifth angel, Manalo. These politicians, who are not as angelic as expected from the Manalo account were shrewd businessmen who would like their own countries to benefit from the treaty. They were Vittorio Emmanuele Orlando of Italy, George Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of Great Britain and Woodrow Wilson of the United States. And concerning Sun Moon, he was serious enough to propose that arranged marriages between different races will equalize humanity into becoming a world church of the new order. Sounds familiar? As a messianic figure, he even failed to see the reunification of the two Koreas before his death. And yet like a pernicious curse the Unification Church would unwittingly bring about another monstrous entity more vicious than the parent. Jung Myung Seok, a former Unification Church member would establish the Providence Church or the Christian gospel mission which had other names in different countries. Jeong Seok who is another Myung or Myeong wrote his so-called Precepts based on Sun Myung Moon’s Divine Principles. Through this cult, women were seduced to become “sexual gifts” to this cult leader and for this he was convicted at least twice for exploiting gullible women followers.
Not to be outdone, an excommunicated United Pentecostal Church pastor, Apollo Quiboloy presented himself as the “appointed Son of God” and established a new religion in 1985 where he promises salvation like Manalo to those who are members of his church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name, only. Wanted for trafficking and sexual abuse of minors in his cult by the FBI, he is also accused of land grabbing by indigenous people because he wanted to expand his version of the New Jerusalem on Mt. Tamayong, his “prayer mountain”, in Agdao, Davao allegedly even resorting to violence and even massacre. Quiboloy, although claiming to be a full-time bachelor unlike Christ have “spiritual wives” who he assigned to do the criminal aspects of his cult. His arrogance and luxury alone are antitheses to Jesus’ humility and love for the poor. While Jesus Christ admonished his apostles not to make the children suffer, Quiboloy allegedly made the children sell doughnuts for his foundation under unhealthy conditions. Surely, under his perfidious conditions of his “New Jerusalem” one can not see any semblance of Christus regnat here.
This praxis wouldn’t be complete if we don’t touch on the Christus imperat standard. But since we would like to be clear in our proofs, we will get exact quotes and arguments concerning the leaders of the religions mentioned. We begin with samples from Sun Myung Moon popular quotes which could be very well used in wokeism.
“Your life is just one spark of a dream, and the dream will end someday. A monotonous, colorless, unexciting dream nis nothing to talk about. So live! Live an exciting dream!” Wow, and so a person ought to find variety, color and excitement in a life that is dreamt or as what some people thought of Moonie founder did, he lived a dream and caused others to dream with him. It was just so traumatic when the South Korean court ruled that the matched marriages were invalid and even illegal! For how could matrimony work in a union where people do not know each other. Senior Aguila of Socorro had a precedence even before he was born.
“God came to me in order to feel joy through my life.” Wow, can’t imagine god being so dependent on man to feel something. This is steep modernism where the human being is placed as the reason for everything.
“God being invisible, can not do anything as he would want. He needs you. Through you he could give things to mankind. Through you he will make the world good. Without you he can do nothing.” Sorry for him because he may have failed to see the film version of Herbert George Wells’ 1897 novel The Invisible Man and what he could do even if we don’t see him. So, Sun Myung Moon is subject to the whims of the theatrical magician and the amateur scientist who believes in the precept to see is to believe. Wow, what a waste for the anti-Christ could have easily made use of his incredible “wisdom”.
Now, we turn to the self-proclaimed “appointed Son of God”. He said: “I am bold to speak. Why? Because I’m real.” Sorry, but we don’t find this a realistic standard. So many liars are too bold to speak. Also, “When you’re rich in faith, nothing is impossible.” Is being wealthy materially the richness alluded here? We ask because he has done a lot of things through money and for money, and so, things have to be made clear.
“I’m here for the resolution of Love.” God is Love, is He a problem that needs a man’s resolution even if someone purporting to resolve it is an appointed “Son of God”? The nerve!
“You don’t have to die in order to see Heaven. Heaven is here on earth today.” And so, the appointed “Son of God” is much better than the real Son of God who speaks about judgment before seeing Heaven or hell. What gall?! Or was he talking only about the sky or is this the reason why he wanted very much to expand his “New Jerusalem”?
“You know why you are confused. Because you believe Athanasius more than you believe Jesus Christ. And then you try to interpret Jesus Christ according to you.” Wow, the pastor is trying to confuse someone who believes in the one who championed the Divinity of Christ. Isn’t it obvious why? The “appointed Son of God” could not claim to Divinity for such title was only human declaration made by himself while St. Athanasius was effective in using the biblical passages in proving Christ’s Divine nature against the very influential Arians who like Quiboloy had friends in high places.
And this terrible claim, ”One day you will be knocking at the door of heaven and when you open the door, you will see me.” This claim is horrible in that it presumes his being the doorman of heaven or one who would admit those hoping entry. Why, even in his “New Jerusalem”, he resorts to security guards and moreover, we have to ask the operational question why is it that the soul or personality wanting to enter heaven would be the one to open Heaven’s door?
But I believe his greatest quote is this one; “The greatest deception is religious deception.” He must have speaking from experience.
Now, we will be treating Felix Manalo, who originally did not teach his being the “the last messenger of God” a la Mohammed in 1914 but only claimed it in 1922 to clinch a more dedicated following. We will also resort to quoting the Pasugo, the official INC publication in its portrayal of Manalo.
Manalo said: “Why do we believe the phrase, ‘the ends of the earth’ does not refer to a place? Because according to science the earth is not flat but round.” This would introduce us to the INC pragmatic theology which would be solely biblical and yet there are times resorting to non-biblical sources such as the findings of science. This would not rule out the possibility however, in accordance with the flat earth theorists that the earth may be spherical but not a globe. Granting however, that the ‘ends of the earth’ is temporal and not spatial, Manalo has no explanation towards this ‘end’. I914 did not actually manifested the end times as Catholic prophecy even predicted a second world war which he missed miserably as the last prophet and is even contemplating a third world war being planned by the Masons. Manalo utterly failed in showing the relationship of the big four to the four apocalyptic angels as already mentioned.
Then this strange transposition of words in Isaiah 43:6: “I will say to the Protestants, give up; and the Catholics keep not the body. Bring my sons from the Philippines, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” Then why is Manalo translating the “ends of the earth” spatially here as he mentioned a place first in an analogy. Worst, why mention protestants, Catholics and the Philippines when they don’t belong to the original. The INC therefore should have its own bible as the Jehovah’s Witnesses have.
The temporal-spatial solution to this problem is hereby provided by the Pasugo, 1956, p.13 where it states: “ Ang tinutukoy na wakas ng lupa ay noong 1914. Sa panahong ito nagsimulang mangaral and sugo ng Diyos., at ang katuparan nito’y sa kapatid na Felix Manalo na siyang nangaral ng INC dito sa Pilipinas.” It was therefore obvious that ends of earth refer to time as the year was mentioned and also the word, “panahon” refer to temporality. However, the Philippines is specifically mentioned and therefore the place is also given. Therefore, in Manalo’s teaching they both qualify except that 1914 is not “the end of times”. This is where Manalo fails miserably as a prophet as he also fails to prove himself as the “bird of prey from the east” for he wasn’t able to conquer a single kingdom. In fact, if he were to refer to Vatican as a singular kingdom, he also failed to conquer it.
Worst, if the alleged well-kept secret is true that and he Felix Manalo confessed to a priest before dying of peptic ulcer and shouted “Si Kristo ay Diyos!” then the family members and ministers have a greater accountability on Judgement day.
In conclusion, the Christus imperat is not seen in the religions reviewed because of the following reasons:
- They make the founders/religious leaders more important than Christ.
a. Sun Myung Moon came to complete what Christ failed to do. Even Quiboloy claims the same as he was appointed to complete what Christ failed to do. Manalo had to re-establish Christ’s Church which had fallen away.
2. There is no real mandate especially a clear one from the bible for them to preach and start a church belonging to God. Quiboloy’s appointment is a bad precedence as others can also claim appointments
3. They are themselves failures. Sun Moon did not see the Koreas unified. Quiboloy’s legacy, even his “New Jerusalem” are worldy enterprises. Manalo’s claim of the Church’s falling away isn’t proven as his presentation of a church which only started in 1914 fails to account for those who died before 1914. They could not be proven as prophets for they have studied biblical interpretation from different sources long before they became religious founders.
4. “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
Therefore, none of them can command respect or meritorious following.
Icarus Leido
Hang Yu Sil (Giuseppe Han)
The Carmona Hanglider
