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The Unfolding of a Divine Dream
Believer Magazine | January | 2005 |
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 eing a member of the fold that is shepherded by
Brother Eli Soriano has always given me a strong
sense of pride for a number of reasons. First of
all, I can safely claim that of the so many
organizations of faith today, it is only our group,
the Church of God Inter national that faithfully
observes in our day-to-day life all the teachings of
our Lord Jesus Christ. But aside from that, of the
many religious organizations that have proliferated
in our time organizations which are bigger in number
and richer in resources none of them had shown the
same seriousness, intensity and zealousness in
propagating the undefiled word of God throughout the
world, as shown by Brother Eli. Apparently, none of
them had displayed a sincere, honest to goodness
effort in leading their respective flocks to
salvation. Sad to say that the souls of their
members have taken a backseat in their list of
priorities because making a business out of religion
has become their primary concern.
Actually, these are but few of the factors that
distinguish Brother Eli and the Church of God
International from the other religious leaders and
organizations of faith. From the very start, Brother
Eli has but one profound wish as a preacher, and
that is to make the word of God known to the whole
of humanity for them to be saved. This is the reason
why he has exhausted all the possible ways and means
in carrying out this divine mission – despite some
financial constraints.
But considering how far this organization has gone,
it always gives us a nice feeling to look back. Over
twenty years ago, preaching the Gospel via the
airwaves was already a dream come true to this
humble organization. And why not, considering the
fact that Brother Eli used to be heard only in
public debates by people who were earnestly
searching for biblical truths. But the “believe it
or not” part of the story is that, the money, which
he spent in paying an airtime, was raised out of the
earnings of his passengers’ jeepneys, and by cooking
and selling “lumpia”. Actually, the brethren in the
Church know very well the classic “lumpia” story and
how it augmented the financial needs of Brother Eli
in propagating of the word of God in his early years
of preaching it. But gone are the days when Brother
Eli had to settle to a once a week thirty-minute
broadcast. Although, to this day, he still continues
to use the air lanes as a medium in bringing the
word of God to the far flung areas of the country,
he later felt that television could compound what a
radio broadcast can do inasmuch as it appeals both
to the visual and auditory senses. For sometime, he
became a blocktimer in one of the free channels in
the country, but due to some reasons tarnished with
religious color, he was compelled to leave this
station and moved to a UHF channel, which was
likewise patronized by his followers.
Unfortunately, the fate that befell him in the
former network happened again in the succeeding
stations where he used to air “Ang Dating Daan”. But
that was not all surprising because the devil and
his cohorts are everywhere, and they are also
working day and night. But despite this, one thing
remains sure: nobody could ever prevent Brother Eli
from proclaiming the word of God, even if it would
mean risking his own life.
Today, not only did the number of programs that he
is hosting has increased, but also the number of
hours of his broadcast has likewise been lengthened.
From a meager thirty minutes, he now goes on air for
no less than ten hours daily.
Now, he could be heard all over the country,
including the Asia Pacific region over UNTV 37, and
via satellite. However, despite these great
developments, Brother Eli never ceased to respond to
the growing clamor for spiritual enlightenment. He
couldn’t stand seeing how moral decadence persists
in human society. For one, he is well aware that
there are still lots of people on the other side of
the globe that have a very vague understanding of
God. Not to mention the fact there are still a lot
of people who do not know God ye, while a greater
number of the world’s inhabitants worship false gods
and graven images.
Many people are being deceived and misled by their
pastors. Some are given false hope to salvation.
That is why Brother Eli always feels a great pang
inside him each time he hears how preachers wrestle
and twist the word of God. And Brother Eli just
wouldn’t take these sitting down. He felt that he
has a moral obligation to these people who are being
victimized by greedy religious leaders. This is why
he made use of the technological advancements,
specifically in the field of communication, to reach
out to those people. Hence, without any reluctance
he took advantage of the opportunity of being heard
worldwide, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week, thru a webcast via the internet. And despite
his robot-like movement on computer monitors, a
number of souls have been converted because of the
crystal clear message about salvation that he is
sending them across.
But in November 15, 2004, the Church of God
International, thru the leadership of Brother Daniel
Razon, made a very great break through in the
airwaves of the USA and Canada via “The Old Path”
(TOP) Channel thru the facilities of GlobeCast. This
means that Brother Eli could already be seen and
heard by practically every household in the US and
in Canada on a direct-to-home broadcast.
Hopefully, thru God’s help, after listening to
Brother Eli, more of our fellowmen in those
countries would come to realize the flaws and
follies of their respective faiths. With Brother
Eli’s broadcast, we are also hoping that they’ll
soon find out that “Jehovah” is not really the name
of God; that it is not true that salvation can be
attained by simply accepting Jesus as a personal
Lord and Savior; that tithing is not a commandment
to Christians; that the present dispensation us not
under the law of Moses, or the Ten Commandment; and
that kneeling before a graven image is an
abomination to God. But ultimately, we are hoping
that thru Brother Eli’s broadcasts, more and more
people will come to understand God’s righteousness,
so that like us, they, too, would also tread The Old
Path.
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Doctrines of
Christ
