A Brief
Historical Account of the Calling of Brother Feix Y. Manalo as God’s messenger
in these last days
BROTHER FELIX Y. Manalo was
born on May 10, 1886, in a small nipa house in Calzada, a sitio of Barrio Tipas,
in the Town of Taguig. During that time, Taguig was one of the towns comprising
the historical Province of Manila.
Taguig was never been under the
jurisdiction of the military District of Morong. When the Americans arrived in
the Philipplines at end of 19th century, they expanded the jurisdiction of the
City of Manila which during the time of the Spaniards, comprised only the area
of Intramuros. The Americans added the fifteen “pueblos” around Intramuros but
formerly under the jurisdiction of the Province of Manila. In 1901, the
Americans combined what is left of the Province of Manila (which includes the
Town of Taguig) with the District of Morong, and called the newly established
province, the Province of Rizal.
He was the first child of Mariano
Ysagun, a farm worker and fisherman and Bonifacia Manalo, an ordinary but
determined housewife. Both parents were devoutly Catholic. Aling Pacia,
especially was a known “manang,” a devotee of San Antonio, the patron
saint of Calzada. As the tradition during that time, the infant “Felix” was
baptized five days after his birth at the Roman Catholic church of Sta. Ana,
Taguig.
In 1893 when he was seven years
old, he was enrolled in a caton class in Tipas, administered by Macario de
Ocampo (“Maestrong Cario”), a school-teacher from Manila. A caton class was a
“catechism class” which children were taught “catechism” (the basic Roman Catholic
doctrines) with basic lessons in reading, writing and arithmetic.
After attending the caton class,
he was enrolled in the municipal school of Taguig (at Sta. Ana, the town center
of Taguig) for his primary education. He attended the public school from 1893
to 1896 when his studies were interrupted with the death of his father and the
outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.
During the Philippine Revolution
(1896-1898), the young “Felix” stayed in Tipas helping his widowed mother
making a living through fishing, farming and herding the carabaos of his “Tiyo
Uwing.”
In 1898, after the end of the
Philippine Revolution (the Spaniards surrendered to the Americans in August,
1898), the 12 year old “Felix” with his cousin Modesto (“Mode“) visited their
uncle, a Roman Catholic priest that during that time was assigned in Sampaloc,
Manila. Here he found a copy of the Bible and start reading but he did not
stayed long in his uncle’s house. It was only a short visit, because the main
reason he went to Manila was to find a good job to help his mother earn a
living. His counsin Serapio Ysagun taught him photography and he worked in the
photography studio in Manila of his other uncle, Manuel Manalo.
But he worked their just for a
while, because in January of 1899, he returned to Tipas. His mother will again
be married. After he returned to Tipas, in February 4, 1899, the
Philippine-American war broke out. After peace was established in Manila and
it’s environs, the young “Felix” was adopted by his Roman Catholic priest
uncle, Mariano de Borja, a half-brother of his father. During this time, his
uncle was assigned in Sta. Cruz, Manila. He lived in his uncle’s house in
Salcedo Street, Bagumbayan, Sta. Cruz, Manila. His uncle made him finished his primary
education in Manila.
Here, in his uncle’s house in
Sta. Cruz where he found a copy of the Bible. He made a thorough reading of the
Bible he found. When he found out that the doctrnes and practices of the Catholic
Church are not written in the Bible, but actually contradicted the teachings
written in the Bible, his Catholic faith shaken. Here are some of the teachings
of the Bible contradicted by Catholic teachings:
The Bible says:
|
The Roman Catholic
Church says:
|
Matthew
23:8-9 NKJV
“But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for
One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone
on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.”
|
The Roman Catholic priests are
called “fathers” – “spiritual fathers.”
|
Matthew
26:26-28 NKJV
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink
from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins.”
|
During the mass, only the bread
is received. The priest is the only one who drink the wine.
|
Acts
17:29 NIV
“Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think
that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by man's
design and skill.”
|
Catholics used graven images.
|
Acts 15:20 NKJV
“But that we write to them to abstain from things polluted
by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.”
|
Eating of blood is common among
Filipinos
|
He continued studying the Bible. In
1902, his uncle enrolled him in a Roman Catholic school in Manila. However, God
made him known the truth written in the Bible that apostasy will take place in
the first century Church of Christ:
“Then
you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be
hated by all nations because of me. At that time MANY WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE
FAITH and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear
and deceive many people.” (Matthew 24:9-11 NIV, emphasis mine)
“The
Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
“They
forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the
truth.” (I Timothy 4:1, 3 NIV)
Thus, Brother Felix made a decision
to leave Roman Catholic Church. But it was not an easy decision to make. He was
only 16 years old then, living in the house of his Roman Catholic priest uncle,
and studying in a Roman Catholic school. But, he can no longer bear being in
religion that contradicting the commandments of God written in the Bible.
Thus, he made a decision to leave the Roman Catholic Church and the house of
his uncle, and stop his studies in a Roman Catholic school.
He went back to Tipas on December of
1902. When his relatives and townmates learned about this, they mock him and
persecuted him, thinking he will go back to the religion of his birth in doing
so. But Brother Felix stand firm with his decision of leaving the Roman
Catholic faith.
In Tipas, he engaged in different
works. During this time, he learned the art of hat-making. In the “holy week”of
1903 (April of 1903), he went with the “Colorums” on their “lenten pilgrimage”
(every year, during the holy week, the Colorums trek to the mountains of San
Cristobal and Banahaw for their lenten pilgrimage). Because of curiosity, Felix
went with them. He heard of the story about the “Santong Boses” (“holy
voice”(, which supposed to be the “voice
of the Almighty God.” However, Felix discovered it to be a hoax. After the
“lenten pilgrimage,” he went back to Tipas, leaving the Colorum camp, with a
decision never to return again.
In Tipas, he remained for a
while, working in a hat factory. Then in the middle of 1903, he went to
Parañaque and establsihed a small hat store. After a few months, his hat store
flourished, thus he decided to make an expansion. He employed Eusebio Sunga and
a man named “Tereso.”
In the beginning of 1904, he
witnessed a religious debate between a Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant
pastor. This event catch his attention with the Protestant sects. Thus, he
decided to study and examine different religions. In 1904, he entered the
Methodist Episcopal Church. In September, 1904, he attended the Methodist Bible
Insitute. After that he became a Methodist lay preacher. Because he wanted to give all
his time to his preaching work and the study of religion, he decided to leave
his hat store to his friend, Eusebio Sunga.
He was actively performing his
duties as a Methodist preacher when he learned that his mother was sick. He
rushed back to Tipas, but it was too late. He grieved his mother’s death. He
stayed for a while in Tipas to be with his siblings (Praxedes, Fausta and
Baldomero). During this time, the four siblings decided to changed their
surname to “Manalo.” Yes, it was not only Brother Felix, but also his three
siblings who changed their surname to “Manalo.” They wanted to have the same
surname. Brother Felix and Praxedes were “Ysaguns” (their father were Mariano
Ysagun). Fausta and Baldomero were “Mozos” (their father were Clemente Mozo).
The four siblings adopted the surname of their mother “Manalo” because all of
them were “Manalos.” In the middle of 1905, when he went back to Manila, he
started using the name “Felix Y. Manalo.”
In Tipas, Brother Felix made an
intensive study of the doctrines of the Methodists. He compared the doctrines
of the Methodists with the teachings written in the Bible. He also found out
that their doctrines contradicted the teachings written in the Bible.
The Bible says:
|
The Methodists say:
|
James
2:14, 24 NKJV
“What
does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can faith save him?
“You see then that a man is justified by
works, and not by faith only.
|
As a typical Protestant, the
Methodists uphold the doctrine that man is justified by faith alone.
|
Ephesians 5:25 NKJV
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church
and gave Himself for her.”
Acts 20:28 ASV
“Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which
the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which
he purchased with his own blood.
|
The Methodists uphold the Arminian
doctrine of “universal redemption” – that the Lord Jesus Christ died for all
men, He redeemed the whole world, all mankind.
|
Ephesians
5:23 TEV
“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ
has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the
church, his body.”
|
Jesus is the Savior and not
the church or religion. Just believe in Him and you will be saved.
|
When Bother Manlo went back to
Manila, he left the Methodist church and entered the Presbyterian church, and
enrolled in their seminary (the Ellinwood Bible Seminary) in Ermita, Manila.
For three and a half years, he studied in that seminary. After finishing his
studies in Ellinwood, he was ordained as a Presbyterian pastor. However, as
what he did before, he again made an intensive examination, this time with the doctrines of the
Presbyterians. He compared them with the teachings written in the Bible. And he found out that their teachings also contradict the teachings written in
the Bible.
The Bible says:
|
The Presbyterians say:
|
Romans
16:25 NKJV
“Now to Him who is able to establish you
according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began.”
II
Peter 3:16 NKJV
“As also in all his epistles, speaking
in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which
untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also
the rest of the Scriptures.”
|
The Bible is an open book,
which everyone can understand it through devote study of the scriptures.
|
Mark
16:15-16 NKJV
“And
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who
does not believe will be condemned.”
|
Baptism is not necessary for
salvation.
|
I
Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV
“For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
II
Peter 3:9 LB
“He
isn't really being slow about his promised return, even though it sometimes
seems that way. But he is waiting, for the good reason that he is not willing
that any should perish, and he is giving more time for sinners to repent.”
|
Presbyterians uphold the Calvinistic
doctrine of “predistination” that God predetermined before the creation who
shall be saved and who shall be condemned.
|
Brother Manalo transferred to the
Disciples of Christ. Their missioanry society here in the Philippines was
klnown as “Misyon Cristiana.” The Disciples of Christ was also known as
“Christian Church.” Today, they are officially known as Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ). This denomination is different from the “Churches of Christ. ” The
latter broke-away from the Disciples of Christ in 1906 and only in 1928 when
they arrived here in the Philippines. Thus, it is wrong to say that the Brother
Manalo was a former member of the “Churches of Christ.” He became a member of
the Disciples of Christ, not the Churches of Christ.
Another division occured in the Disciples
of Christ. In 1920s, another group broke away from the Disciples and called
themselves “Christian Church and Churches of Christ.”
In 1909, Brother Manalo entered
the Disciples of Christ and he immediately became an evangelist. Let
us take into consideration that he was a graduate of a Protestant seminary.
This seminary (the Ellinwood Bible Seminary) merged with the seminary of the
Methodist and became Union Theological Seminary in 1908. After a few years, the
Disciples of Christ also joined the Union Theological Seminary.
Brother Manalo was an ordained
minister of the Disciples of Christ. He became an asset of this sect. He build
the house of worship of their congregation in Singalong, Manila and was given a
recognition for delivering 130 sermons only in six months. He was assigned in
Cavite, and after establishing a large congregation of the Disciples in Cavite,
he was again assigned in Singalong. This time, he was charged of propagating in
Sta. Ana, Manila which is adjacent to Singalong.
Brother Manalo also made an
intensive examination of the doctrines of the Disciples of Christ (together with
their two break-away groups, the Churches of Christ, and Christian Churches and
Churches of Christ) they are known today as “Restorationists.” However, through comparing their doctrinws with the teachings written in the Bible, Brother Manalo also discovered that many of their doctrines contradict the teachings of the Bible.
The Bible says:
|
The Restorationists say:
|
Matthew 24:9-11 NIV
9Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to
death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will
betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
|
The Restorationists uphold that
the first century Church of Christ continued and no apostasy take place. In
the first one hundred years of the Disciples they do not call themselves as “Restorationists”
but “Reformers.”
|
James
3:14-16 ASV
“But
if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not
against the truth. This wisdom is not `a wisdom' that cometh down from above,
but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction are, there
is confusion and every vile deed.
|
The only church who’s main
theme was Christian unity but end up in division (faction) and were divided into
three different denominations.
|
Acts 15:1-2, 12-13,1 3, 19 TEV
“Some men came from Judea to Antioch and started teaching
the believers, "You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised as the
Law of Moses requires." Paul and Barnabas got into a fierce argument
with them about this, so it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of
the others in Antioch should go to Jerusalem and see the apostles and elders
about this matter.
“The whole group was silent as they heard Barnabas and Paul
report all the miracles and wonders that God had performed through them among
the Gentiles.
“When they had finished speaking, James spoke up:
"Listen to me, my brothers!
“It is my opinion," James went on, "that we should
not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God.”
Hebrews 13:17 TEV
“Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over
your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their
service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will
do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you.”
|
These so-called “Restorationists” uphold “congregationalism”
(that the church had no central administration and every congregation is
totally independent from each other)
|
Here in Sta. Ana, Manila where he
encountered the American missionary of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. He was
one of the first converts to the Seventh-Day Adventist in the Philippines. In
the middle of 1911, he enrolled in the Seventh-Day Bible Institute. In 1912, he
was assigned in Malabon as a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist. In the beginning
of 1913, his first wife died. He was transferred to Sta. Cruz, Manila where he
met the 19 year old Honorata. In May 9, 1913, Felix and Honorata married. Right
after they got married, they went to Manalo’s new assignment, in San Juan,
Malolos, Bulacan. Through comparing the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventists
with the teachings written in the Bible, Brother Manalo also learned that
Seventh-Day Adventist doctrines also contradict the teachings of the Bible:
The Bible says:
|
The Seventh-Day Adventists say:
|
Colossians 2:16 NIV
“Therefore
do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a
religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”
|
Seventh-day Adventist uphold
that Chjristians should continue observing the sabbath.
|
II Corinthians 9:7 NIV
“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
|
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
enforced tithing (the giving of ten percent of your earnings)
|
On May of 1913, Brother Manalo
arrived in the conclusion that the true Church is the Church Of Christ. This is
the Church written in the Bible and the Church that should be preached. He told
his wife his plan to convince his fellow Seventh-Day pastors and the pastors
of other sects that it is the Church Of Christ that they should preach. However, his
fellow pastors instead mocked him and called him names, called him “insane” and
“Colorum” (illegal).
After an intense discussion with
his fellow Seventh-Day Adventist pastors in a conference in Malolos, Bulacan,
he decided to leave the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. He and his wife went back
to Manila.
They temporarily stayed with a
cousin in Singalong. Eusebio Sunga urged him to manage again the hat store he
established in Parañaque in 1903. Brother Manalo transferred the hat store to
Pasay. He continued managing the hat store instead of starting to preach the
Iglesia Ni Cristo as he already planned before he left the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church. But the words of God written in James 4:17 continued to hunt
him:
“Anyone,
then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” (James 4:17
NIV)
He already knew the truth written
in the Bible that the Church Of Christ is the true Church that men must enter in
order to be saved. He knew that this is the Church that he must preach. He knew
that all men must know this truth. But, he is alone, without any support from
anyone. He knew that he is just an ordinary person without wealth and power. Who
is he to face the large and powerful religions of his time?
However this words of God “Anyone,
then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins” continued to hunt him. Thus, one day in November of 1913,
Felix Manalo decided to go inside his room and once again to engage in an
intense study of the Scriptures. He instructed everyone in the household that
he should not be disturbed, then kept himself in seclusion. So intense was his
concentration that he became oblivious of time, food and the world outside. At this point, God made known to
him the task God given to His messenger in these last days
“Calling
a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country; yea, I
have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it. Hearken
unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my
righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I
will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory. Isaiah 46:11-13 ASV
God also made known to him His promise
to His last messenger. God also said:
“Thou
whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the
corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee
and not cast thee away; Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for
I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:9-10 ASV)
He emerged from that seclusion
after three days and three nights of intensive study and reflection, now certain
that God had commissioned him to perform a mission. The mission given to him by
God was specific: to preach the Iglesia Ni Cristo.
That day, he told his wife
Honorata that he will leave every thing and he will devote himself in fulfilling the mission God given Him, to preach the Iglesia Ni Cristo. On that
same day, they went to Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila, where Brother Felix Y. Manalo first
preached the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) to a handful of people.
Entrusting everything in God’s
hands, he is know ready to face all odds to fulfill his God given task of
preaching the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ), fully confident that God
will fulfill His promise to His messenger in these last days.
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