Interesting Questions-89
Of true messengers and their names
Letter to the Editor:
PASUGO, December 1998, p.2
I HAVE BEEN reading the Bible since I was 15 years
old. But since then, I have never encountered even a
single verse in the Old Testament or in the New Testament that
mentions the name of Felix Y Manalo whom you regard to be God's
messenger. The names of messengers like Moses, Elijah, David, and
the rest of the prophets are a found in the Bible; and so are the
names of John the Baptist, Angel Gabriel, and the 12 apostles of
Jesus Christ—but not the name of Felix Y. Manalo. So, is he a true
messenger of God?
Rafael Gonzaga
Pasay City, Philippines
Editor's reply:
Inasmuch as the Old Testament is the written Record of God’s early
People, it therefore is expected that the names of God’s messengers
such as Moses, David, and Elijah are mentioned therein. However,
there are other messengers whose authority and right to preach rest
on the fulfillment of the prophecies about them. Among them are John
the Baptist, The Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the messenger
of God in these last days.
It
must be noticed that the Old Testament prophecies about the
messengers whose works were fulfilled in New Testament times do not
mention the names of the messengers concerned. For instance, the
prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Lord Jesus Christ says:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
“to proclaim the acceptable year of
the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who
mourn.” (Is. 61:1-2, NKJV)
This prophecy, fulfilled in the Lord
Jesus Christ (Lk. 4:16-21)
does not mention His name.
John the Baptist has a prophecy from
Isaiah to prove his commission, too:
“The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’.” (Is. 40:3, NKJV)
The fulfillment of this is John the
Baptist (Jn. 1:19-23).
Yet, the prophecy does not mention his name. The same is true for
Apostle Paul who testified that he was the fulfillment of the “light
to the Gentiles” in the book of Isaiah (Is. 49:6; Acts
13:46-47).
Should you further ask why the names
of these messengers are found in the New Testament, it is because
the New Testament was written at a later time when the Old
Testaments prophecies on these messengers had already been
fulfilled.
The commission and the work of
Brother Felix Y. Manalo are likewise prophesied in the Old Testament
and even in the New Testament. His name can never appear in the Old
Testament and the New Testament because the fulfillment of his work
was to take place at the ends of the earth, a period of time when
both the Old and the New Testaments had already been completed.
Through Prophet Isaiah God said that
He would call His servant who is likened to a ravenous bird, who
would come from a far country in the East at the time ends of the
earth, and who would execute His counsel (Is. 41:9-10; 46:11). The
far country where this servant of God would emerge is in the Far
East (Is. 43:5, Moffatt Translation), the fulfillment of which is
the Philippines
(Asia and the
Philippines, p.169).
“Ends of the earth” refers to the
time when the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is near, its beginning
signified by a world war (Mt. 24:3, 33, 6-7; Is. 34:1-2). In July 27, 1914, the First
World War broke out (The Nations at War, p. 8). This was also the
date the Iglesia Ni Cristo was registered by Brother Felix Y. Manalo
with the Philippine government.
The works that Brother Felix Y.
Manalo had performed are the very proofs of his commissioning as a
messenger of God.
___________________
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind.