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continuation...
The same thing must be true in religion. We must always have a basis. And what should be our basis? Read “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” If you are teaching Christ’s doctrines, do not derive your teachings from the dictionary. If you are teaching about the “angel ascending from the east,” you must not refer to books on World History. Why will you refer to a book on World History and the Dictionary when you read it from the Bible? Are the Dictionary and the book on World History your basis? There are preachers, who, after reading the word “angel” from the Bible, consult the Webster’s Dictionary to determine its meaning. Why seek for an explanation from the dictionary? If you read if from the Bible, search the Bible for its meaning! What is an angel? The Bible says, an angel is a spirit. How about Webster’s meaning? Is it also a human being? Why are you basing your explanation from the dictionary and World History books? That means that your faith is dependent on Webster and on World History books, when it should be based on the Bible! Am I right, brothers and sisters? When you read that Eve was tempted by a serpent, will you refer to Zoology to understand it? You‘ve read the serpent from the Bible. Therefore, you must search for its meaning from the Bible also.
Many of us have been misled. Now, let me ask you, who visited Jesus when he was born in a manger in Bethlehem? We were taught that, he was visited by the 3 kings! That is a big foolishness! It is not true that the 3 kings were the first to visit the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem! Do you know who were the first to receive the tidings that Jesus had been born that evening, and the first to visit him as well? Let us read Luke 2:8-11--
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel of multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from thee into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go over unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”
Who were the first to come? The shepherds! But, what were we made to believe? We were made to believe that the first to be where Jesus was, were the 3 wise kings, namely Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar. Actually, those three kings were not really wise. If they were indeed kings, why did they travel without companions? There are no kingdoms, which allow their ruler to travel without any aide or escort because they want to assure the security of their king. The normal practice is that, kings are joined by an entourage wherever they go in order to prevent the occurrence of any untoward incident. The Bible does not give any account that Jesus was visited by 3 (wise) kings in the manger, where he was born. The shepherds, who were told by the angel on the eve of Jesus’ birth, were the first to visit him in the manger. Also, the Bible never mentioned of three kings, but magi, or wise men. But when the wise men came, was Jesus still in the manger? Not anymore! He was already at home. What kind of a mother Mary could have been if, even after 2 years, she still let Jesus stay in the manger? Wasn’t it that King Herod told the wise men that should they find the newborn king, they must let him know so that, he, too, could go there to worship him? However, the wise men were warned in a dream that, they must not return to Herod because he would kill the child. So, they did not return to him anymore. But, later, Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, so, he ordered that all the young boys in Judea, from age 2 and below, must be slain. Why? He ordered that children, whose ages are 2 years and below, must be killed because, it was already almost 2 years since Jesus was born. Therefore, when the wise men found Jesus, He was no longer in a manger. The truth is that, it is in Joseph and Mary’s house that the wise men saw and worshipped Jesus. This is written in Matthew 2:11--
“And when they were come unto the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”
They came to the house, not in a manger. Mary and Joseph had gone home. That is why, the depiction of Bethlehem during Christmas, with the three kings and the shepherds visiting the newborn Jesus in a manger, is wrong! It is as if, the shepherds and the magi see one another in the manger. That is not true! Christ is already two years old when the wise men found him. On the day that Herod ordered the slaughter of young boys, which we reminisce today as Niños Inocentes, our Lord Jesus was almost two years old already. That is the truth. That is a simple truth, which is written in the Bible. But, we had been misled, my countrymen.
“. . . In the fields as they lay
They lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter night
That was so very deep.”
That is a gross stupidity! You know why? Imagine? “In a field where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter night that was so deep.” No shepherd in his right mind will bring his sheep in the fields, which is covered with snow! They will all tremble because of the chill. Anyway, they have a barn; they might as well feed their sheep in the barn on a cold December night. It snows in Bethlehem during December. Actually, as early as November, it is already snowing. How much more when December comes? If that is the case, why will the shepherds bring their sheep out, into the field? Have you heard of sheep eating snow? What do sheep eat? Grasses! Are there grasses growing during winter? None! Bethlehem was practically covered with snow, so it was impossible that shepherds would be bringing their sheep out into the fields on December 25! Isn’t it that we were made to believe that Jesus was born on December 25? “. . . On a cold winter night that was so deep.” For a long time, we were made to believe that, myself included. In fact, I had memorized that song when I was in grade 4. I used to sing that song, and I still know the song up to now.
Later on, I realized that it was wrong. I found out that, it was not true that Jesus was born in December 25, and that, he was visited by the three kings! The Bible never mentioned of any three kings. Therefore, where did that belief come from? Where did it come from when it did not have even the slightest basis? What is disappointing is that, even the INC believes that there were three kings who visited Jesus. I saw it in their “Pasugo”. That issue of the “Pasugo” put the INC in a very embarrassing situation. And why not? Imagine, they’ve been criticizing the Catholics, but they were enticed by the Catholics in their belief that, Jesus was visited by the three kings! We need to have a basis. Please, don’t get angry with me. I could see some of you are already frowning. I wonder why there are people who would still frown at you for telling the truth! Others do not just frown; they would even leave you if they didn’t like what you are saying.
Some of you might say, “Why did you call the three kings “stupid”? Because they were really stupid! Isn’t it stupidity on their part, as kings, to journey without companions? Others would perhaps remark, “Why are you using profane language?” I am not! Are the words “stupid” and “foolish” profane? Where can you see kings traveling all by themselves – without any escorts? In reality, wherever kings go, they are escorted by soldiers.
Besides, the Bible never mentioned of three kings. What the Bible mentioned is “wise men.” As to how many they were, the Bible did not tell. They could be 4, or 5, or 10, or 12. But there is no specific number given. It just said, wise men, not three wise men. If you want to confirm, you may read Matthew 2:1-3. You may see for yourselves that I am not cheating you.
I hope that, even if we only had a short time together, I was able to teach you something to ponder on. That is my utmost goal. Now, if you want to sneer at me, it is also fine with me. Anyway, we are not really related to each other; you are not my relatives. But, nevertheless, I want to enlighten your minds. That is the kind of love that I know . . . a love that wants to rectify the mistakes of one’s fellows. If you truly love your fellows, you must lead him to what is right when you know that he is in the wrong. I care for my fellow Filipinos. As former President Joseph Estrada once said, nobody will care for the Filipinos but the Filipinos themselves. Many foreigners have come to our country but they only deceived us. We can have no other ally except our fellow Filipino . . . a Filipino, who speaks clearly . . . a Filipino who knows every righteous thing that the Bible says. I am extending you whatever I can offer, my countrymen. That is what I am here for.
I believe that I have an obligation to impart to my fellowmen the truths that I know which are all based on the Bible. If I do not have any basis, I will never dare to talk about this with you. What am I going to tell you, if I do not have any basis? You are all educated people. We are not illiterate. Most Filipinos are literate. If I am only going to talk of falsehood, I would rather go home. I am not like the others who claim that they know of a secret, but refuse to divulge it. But if you force them, then, they will speak. That is foolishness. In speaking of the truth, you do not have to be forced. You do not have to force me just to make me speak of the truth. I will speak of the truth even if you get mad at me.
Even if you get mad at me, I will still say that there were no three kings who visited Christ when he was born. It is also not true that when they came, they saw Jesus lying in a manger. If that were true, that would make Mary a non-sense mother. Imagine, letting her child stay in the manger for two years! Actually, they had to settle then for a manger because all the lodging places in Bethlehem that time were all occupied. There was not a single vacant room. They had nowhere to stay. Do you know why there were many people in Bethlehem that time? It was because the governor gave an order that all the citizens must register. It was like a census. They were all going to the capitol to register. Those who lived in far places had to seek refuge in lodging places. That was the reason why Joseph and Mary failed to get a room because they were all occupied. So, they had no choice except to settle for a manger. And there, Jesus was born. But it did not mean that Jesus stayed there for two years. That would make Joseph and Mary irresponsible parents.
I know you understand what I am saying. It is wrong to believe in something that does not have a basis. Let us believe only when there is a basis.
For example, a father was bragging about his son. He was saying that, he was very proud of his son because he never lies. His son is very honest. One time, his son came home from school very happy. He told his father, “Father, all of us were questioned by our teacher, and only I was able to answer her question.” Upon hearing that, the father was delighted, and he expressed pride in his son. But when his excitement had subsided, he asked his son, “I am really intrigued by your story that nobody among your classmates, except you, was able to answer your teacher’s question. Now, tell me, what question did your teacher ask?” The child replied, “Our teacher asked who among us broke the glass on the table. Everybody was quiet, so I answered, I did, ma’am!”
That is what most religions today are like. They teach nothing but foolishness. They teach things without any basis. There should be a basis. I hope you won’t mind, but I just want you to see for yourself if we have a basis in doing some things. An example is the sign of the cross.
Catechism taught us that, making a sign of the cross means to be delivered from one’s enemies. That was stated in a book on Catechism written by Fr. Hernando Antiporda and Monsignor Abrion. On page 1, it says, “Ang tanda ng Santa Krus – Ipagadya mo kami, Panginoon naming Diyos, sa aming mga Kaaway.” (Lord, deliver us from our enemies.)
Therefore, the sign of the cross is being made to be delivered from one’s enemies. That is why whenever you descend the stairs, whenever you travel, especially at night, you make a sign of the cross, because you want to be delivered from your enemies. If it is dark outside, or if the dogs howled, you also make a sign of the cross, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. When lightning strikes, and when thunder roars, you also make a sign of the cross, because you want to be delivered from your enemies. However, why is it that whenever you pass by a church, you also make sign of the cross? What does that imply? Are you going to give a different meaning to the sign of the cross, this time? Is there another meaning to the sign of the cross? If there is, it would mean that there is a double standard. It has no basis! It will no longer be correct. Catechism says, it means to be delivered from enemies. When there was a procession, and the statue of Mary was going to pass, you again make a sign of the cross. What does that mean? You, be the judge. I don’t want you to be angry with me; I just want you to think and reflect my countrymen. Whatever belief we want to keep in our heart and in our mind must have a basis, so that we won’t look disgraceful in the eyes of God and of other people. We must always have a basis.
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