In Defense of Brother Felix Y. Manalo:
On The True Meaning of the Word “Angel”
On The True Meaning of the Word “Angel”
Iglesia Ni Cristo detractors asked, "If Felix Y. Manalo is an Angel and the Lord Jesus Chist is a Man, how come that a Man is higher than an Angel?" They aso asked that "If Felix Y. Manalo us an Angel, why did he died when Angels are spiritual being and they don't die?"
The truth is, they asked these questions because they misinterpreted and misundestand the doctrines or teachings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. We never say that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is an "angel" in his state of being, but that he is the fulfillment of the "other angel" prophesied in the Revelation 7:2-3. And also, in saying that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is the fulfillment of the prophesied "other angel," we never meant that he is an angel, a "heavenly being." They misinterpret and misunderstood our doctrine because if their erroneous understanding of the word "angel" (that the word “angel” refers only to heavenly beings).
The truth is, they asked these questions because they misinterpreted and misundestand the doctrines or teachings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. We never say that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is an "angel" in his state of being, but that he is the fulfillment of the "other angel" prophesied in the Revelation 7:2-3. And also, in saying that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is the fulfillment of the prophesied "other angel," we never meant that he is an angel, a "heavenly being." They misinterpret and misunderstood our doctrine because if their erroneous understanding of the word "angel" (that the word “angel” refers only to heavenly beings).
The True
Meaning of the Word “Angel”
INC detractors will not misinterpret, nor misunderstand the doctrine of the Iglesia ni Cristo if they only understand the true meaning of the word “angel.” Many people taught that the word “angel” refers only to heavenly beings who are spirit in nature. However, careful examination of the used of the word “angel” by the Bible proves them wrong. Let us find out the meaning of the word “angel” according to the Bible and as supported by athorities of other religions. Who are those the Bible called “angels”? This is what the Bible says in Luke 1:19:
“The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the
presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good
news.” (Luke 1:19 NIV)
An angel of the Lord God was sent
to Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist). This angel said to Zechariah, “I am Gabriel…I have been sent to speak to
you…” the Bible called Gabriel an “angel” not because he is a heavenly
being, but because he was sent by the Lord. The Greek word translated by many
English versions of the Bible as “angel” is the word “aggelos” (the double
gamma, the “gg”, is pronounced as “ng”). This Greek word does not mean “a
heavenly being” or “a spritual being” but literally means “a messenger.” Hence,
Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible (take note that this Bible is a “literal
translation”) renders Luke 1:19 as follows:
“And the messenger answering said to him, `I am Gabriel, who
have been standing near before God, and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to proclaim
these good news to thee.” (Luke 1:19, YLT)
Even “Bible scholrs” confirmed
that the Greek word “aggelos” literally means “a messenger”:
“Agg’-el-os: … a
messenger; … by impl. a pastor: -angel, messenger.” (Strong’s Dictionary of the Greek Testament, p. 7:32)
Thus, the literal meaning of the word “aggelus” which was commonly
translated in English as “angel” is “messenger.”
There are
humans that were
called “angelS”
by the Bible
Is the word “angel” exclusive for
heavenly beings only as the belief of many people today? The truth is, there
are humans that were called “angel” by the Bible:
“And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the
multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? a reed
shaken with the wind?
“But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments?
Behold they that are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings.
“But what went you out to see? a prophet? yea I tell you, and
more than a prophet.
“For this is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel
before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.” (Matthew 11:7-10, Douay-Rheims)
Referring to John the Baptist,
the Bible said, “Behold I send my angel
before thy face.” It is clear here that John the Baptist was called an
“angel” of the Lord. Take note that Douay-Rheims Bible is a Catholic version.
In other English versions of the Bible, the word they used is “messenger.”
However, in the Greek text of Matthew 11:10, the word used is “aggelon”:
“idou ego apostello ton angelon mou pro prosopou sou, hos
kataskeuasei ten hodon sou emprosthen sou.” (Matthew 11:10, Nestle-Aland, Novum
Testamentum Graece, 27th Revised Edition, Transliteration
mine.)
The Greek word “aggelon” used to
refer to John the Baptist is the same word used to refer to the Angel Gabriel:
“kai apokritheis ho angelos eipen auto: ego eimi Gabriel ho
parestekos enopion tou theou kai apestalen lalesai pros se kai euangelisasthai
soi tauta.” (Like 1:19, Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th Revised
Edition, Transliteration mine.)
Because the word “anggelos”
indeed meant “messenger” that’s why many English version of the Bible
translated the “aggelon” of Matthew 11:10 as “messenger.” However, Douay-Rheims
is not wrong in translating it as “angel” because the Greek word used by
Matthew 11:10 (referring to John the Baptist) was also the Greek word used by
Luke 1:19 (referring to the Angel Gabriel).
Is
John the Baptist a human being or a heavenly being? He is a human being. Did
John the Baptist died? Yes he did. Did the Bible called John the Baptist an
angel? Yes it did.
Catholic authorities testify that
the word “angel” denotes not the state of being but the office of the one being
sent by God:
“They are called ‘Angels,’ from a Greek word which means
messenger. The word ‘Angel,’ therefore, does not express the nature of these spirits, but
rather the offices…” (Crock, Clement H., Discourses on the Apostles’ Creed, p.
72.)
Thus, the word “angel” was used by the Bible referring both to heavenly
beings and human beings that were sent by God. The word literally means
“messenger” and does not denotes the nature but the office of the one sent by
God.
The Used of the
Word “Angel”
by the Book of
revelation
The Book of Revelation used the word
“angel” about 83 times, and used it referring both to heavenly and human
beings. In Revelation 5:11 this is how the word angel was used in this verse:
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around
the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was
ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” (Revelation 5:11
NKJV)
Here, the Book of Revelation used
the word “angel “ referring to “heavenly beings.” However, the Book of
Revelation also used the word “angel” referring to human beings:
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus
write, 'These things says He who holds
the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden
lampstands.” (Revelation 2:1, NKJV)
The “seven angels of the church”
mentioned by Revelation are also those mentioned as the “seven stars”:
“He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a
sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its
strength.
“Write the things which you have seen, and the things which
are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven
stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands
which you saw are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:16,19-20, NKJV)
The “angels of the church” are
the pastors or bishops of the seven churches that were likened to “stars.” The
“wise” or those who turn many to righteousness are likened to stars:
“Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the
firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and
ever.” (Daniel 12:3, NKJV)
Even Catholic authorities testify
that the “angel of the church” mentioned in Revelation 2:1 indeed referring to
the “bishop of the church”:
“Angel: the guardian
angel of the Church, or the church itself, or, and this is the common view, the
bishop of the church. If St. John
addresses the vishops, he regrads them as the incarnation of their respective
churches.” (Footnote of Revelation 2:1, Douay-Rheims)
Are
the bishops of the seven churches mentioned by Revelation heavenly beings or
human beings? They are human beings. Did they died? Yes, as human beings they
died. Did the Book of Revelation called them “angels”? Yes it did.
Thus, the Book of Revelation
used the word “angel” referring both to heavenly beings and human beings.
The “Other
Angel” Mentioned
in Revelation
7:2-3
Remember that the word “angel” is
the translation of the Greek word “aggelos” which literally means “messenger,”
thus Young’s Literal Translation renders Revelation 7:2-3 as follows:
“And I saw another messenger going up from the rising of the
sun, having a seal of the living God, and he did cry with a great voice to the
four messengers, to whom it was given to injure the land and the sea, saying,
`Do not injure the land, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we may seal the
servants of our God upon their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:2-3, YLT)
The “other angel” mentioned by
Revelation 7:2-3 is literally equivalent to “other messenger.” Thus, what the Iglesia Ni Cristo teaches is that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is the fulfillment of the “other angel”
prophesied in Revelation 7:2-3, and noth that he is an "angle" which meant a heavenly being.
conclusion
Now, although we believe that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is the fulfillment of the prophesied “other angel” in Revelation 7:2-3, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God but human in state of being, but this does not degrade the Lord Jesus Christ and exalt Brother Felix Y. Manalo. In saying so is indeed a misinterpretation of our beliefs.
We did not say that Brother Felix
Y. Manalo is an “angel” meaning “a heavenly being.” What we say is that He is
the fulfillment of the prophesied “other angel” (meaning “other messenger”)
ascending from the East as mentioned in Revelation 7:2-3. Thus, what we meant
is that Brother Felix Y. Manalo is a messenger of God, a man sent by God.
It is the Bible that clearly says that the Lord Jesus Christ is human in nature. He Himself testified that He is a man:
However, when we speak of His state of being, Christ is human, but when we speak of His attributes, He is not a mere human, but “a very special man”:
It is the Bible that clearly says that the Lord Jesus Christ is human in nature. He Himself testified that He is a man:
“As it is, you
are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from
God. Abraham did not do such things.” (John 8:40 NIV)
However, when we speak of His state of being, Christ is human, but when we speak of His attributes, He is not a mere human, but “a very special man”:
“People of Israel,
listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth
was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles,
wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened
right here among you.” (Acts 2:22, NCV)
He is indeed greater than Brother
Felix Y. Manalo, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest messenger of
God, the man made as mediator between God and man (cf. I Tim. 2:5).
"isn't that angels don't die, but Felix Y. Manalo died?"
The Bible used the word angel
referring both to heavenly beings and human beings sent by God. The Bible
called John the Baptist an “angel” (cf. Matthew
11:10 Douay-Rheims), but he is human and he died. The Bible called him an “angel”
not because he is a heavenly or spiritual being, but because he is a messenger
of God.
Brother Felix Y. Manalo is the
fulfillment of the prophesied “other angel” ascending fron the Rising of the Sun (cf. Rev. 7:2-3), or “other messenger”
ascending from the East (Rev. 7:2-3, YLT). When we say that he is the
fulfillment of the prophesied “other angel” imn Rev. 7:2-3, what we meant is
that he is a messenger of God, a man sent by God.
Thus, if INC detractors only based their understanding in the teachings of the Bible, they will never misinterpret or misunderstood the doctrines of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.
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