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All Roads Lead to Apalit
Mystery of “Woman in Labor” Revealed
Believer Magazine | April-May | 2005
by Jane Abao |
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THE FIRST DAY
Like the first Israelites carrying their mats around
to listen to Jesus Christ, hundreds of thousands of
the faithful beat the roads to Apalit, Pampanga to
listen to Bro. Eli Soriano. It is like in the
biblical times once again. People from all walks of
life came, carrying their mats, chairs, tents,
clothes, stoves, beds of all sorts from card board,
to air beds. It is International Thanksgiving time
on the 23rd and 24th of April with the Church of
God, International, more popularly known by their TV
program, Ang Dating Daan (ADD). Thanksgiving with
the ADD is quite apart from the fiestas of this
world where some person in an image of wood, cement,
or stone is honored and thanked, but never the
living God.
The True Church
“This is clearly a gathering with no cigarettes, and
no one can do this except the true church,” Bro. Eli
said. The Presiding Minister enthused on the members
as having internalized the teachings of Christ. The
weather was clearly cooperating - not hotter than
usual- and people only seemed to care to listen to
truth, no matter the discomfort.
They came in families together and squeezed into
every possible space, on the halls, the chapel, the
walkways, the alleys, and stairs threatened at times
by the heat of the sun, even the roof tops, and atop
unfinished buildings. The tents proved more
comfortable than under the dome used as stage, but
even those spaces were peopled too. Sheets were
joined onto other pieces of cloth to make for a
makeshift umbrella or tent to cover the head, each
to one’s own idea of having some shade.
At the Convention Center proper, one could hardly
walk on isles that are wide in the early morning but
tended to narrow by the afternoon until they almost
disappear. Chairs keep adding as people came. The
disabled came as well as old folks, and even babies
but they had a special place at the lobby. In this
church, the less privileged are given more attention
by Bro. Eli. Most are uneducated, poor, with lowly
stations in life, with a few professionals, yet the
congregation proves to be a classless society, where
everyone freely intermixes. They are all being
taught of righteous living by Bro. Eli. Where could
you find gatherings of this sort? None, but in the
Church of God, Bro. Eli said. Toward the end of the
second day, he was to expound on a new understanding
about the mystery of the “Woman in Labor” described
in Revelations.
Gathered to Give Thanks
Why are we gathered here?, Bro. Daniel Razon, Vice
Presiding Minister, boomed. The main speaker in the
morning of the first day greeted the brethren from
all places of the country and abroad. They have
gathered to give thanks to God for his blessings and
salvation the whole year round. The stage was abloom
with balloons in gay colors of blue, pink,
tangerine, and avocado green, stringed into double
sausage-long garlands that hung on both sides of the
stage. Some thousands of souls were newly baptized
for the month, Bro. Daniel announced, despite the
destructive activities of our enemies. But the
members must not pay back, revenge evil for evil, he
warned.
Initiating the program, he reviewed some teachings
of the Church and emphasized that teaching, not the
person, is the issue in matters of what to reject.
The members are not to reject preachers simply on
other basis, but on the basis of their wrong
teachings, he said. He also criticized the timing of
the Santa Cena (Holy Supper) of the Iglesia ni
Cristo.
State of Destinations
Bro. Daniel then called on the Ministers-in-Christ (MICs)
of the Church one by one who reported on the status
of their locales, districts, or divisions. These
included Bro. Efren Baquing, MIC for Metro Manila
and Foreign Division who reported on the improved
development of the work on account of the use of
satellite tent disk; Bro. Resty Reyes, MIC for
Bulacan and Foreign Division who talked of Hongkong,
Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China; and Bro.
Sonny Catan, MIC for Foreign division still reeling
from change of body clock who talked of Europe,
Italy, Milan, Belgium, Germany, Vancover and Toronto
of Canada.
All the MICs in the country reported of destructive
activities of the Manalistas (members of the Iglesia
ni Cristo or INC) although in differing scales and
modes. These included Bro. Rodel Mangiliman, MIC for
Laguna, Batangas, Mindoro, and Romblon (LBMR) and
the Cavite-Rizal Divisions; Bro. Ato Tobias, MIC for
the Prison Ministry and of Northeastern and
Southwestern Mindanao; Bro. Ner Manabat, MIC for
Palawan, which is near Malaysia; Bro Rolan Ocampo,
MIC for Eastern Visayas who mentioned about a
newly-built coordinating center that they could be
proud of, courtesy of Bro Eli; and Bro. Eric Erese
and Bro. Danny Tobias, both MICs for BATZAM, North 1
and North 2 Divisions.
Bro. Dino Hilario, OIC for Bicol, Quezon and
Marinduque noted that Net 25 was often shown in
these areas but still the locales grew from 28 to
48. He challenged Rizalito Ocampo, a minister of the
INC who has a record of disrupting grand bible
expositions of the ADD in Leyte, Cebu, and Davao.
Bro. Bong Bodeña, MIC for Bulacan division; Bro.
Noli Molero, MIC for Central Visayas; and Bro. Don
Capulong, OIC for Metro Manila Division also chalked
the progress of work in their areas, and the
attendant problems sown by enemies.
Bro. Danny Navales, MIC for Bicol, Quezon and
Marinduque Division said, the more the INC destroys,
the deeper it gets into embarrassment. The fate is
with the Church of God, he said, and that the
members will die in this organization. Bro. Eli was
given a mouth that cannot be assailed, he asserted.
What right then was given by God to one, cannot be
claimed by others especially Manalo, although there
may be a .00001% pick up of teachings. Bro. Danny
underscored that the INCs were simply recruiting
outcasts from the ADD group.
Bro. Jose Mallari, MIC for Pampanga Division came
last and shouted that the teachings of Manalo are
garbage, rotten. The Kapampangan territory is not
penetrated because of their steadfastness, he said.
Victory Song
After the MICs spoke on the state of their
destinations and the destruction wrought by enemies,
everybody stood up to sing and dance a victory song.
Bro. Eli Soriano then came forward and gave a
response. He said, “If you want to be happy, forget
about the Manalistas.”
Life Better without False Preachers
Don’t think about them. Let’s not spoil the day,
Bro. Eli said. But then he emphasized, the world is
better without these false preachers. Their race
entered, he said, because God gave free will, and
Adam allowed evil to enter.
This may explain why the government is manipulated
by influence, why a supposed law-enforcement agency
is oppressive, why a censor body is peopled by
fools, why at times the courts are not going
straight, why there is corruption in government. If
true Christians ruled the government, justice would
reign in this world, Bro. Eli said.
Harassment of the Enemy
Bro. Eli related of an incident just before this
thanksgiving where he had to shell out Php 100,000
to have a brother’s cranium repaired. He was
knuckled off by the enemy. He noted that Mindanao is
much represented now and tells of a projected Sky
hub teleconferencing where those monitoring in the
provinces could also be seen. The Manalistas claim
in their Net 25 TV program that the ADD members are
diminishing, he said, but just for this affair,
there are more than 150,000 people on the Convention
grounds.
Bro. Eli reiterated the warning not to take
vengeance, but to let God take charge. The Manalo
camp recruited the ones good in talking but those
with bad record among the ADD, he said. Some Php1M
was even being offered to an ADD member to leave the
church for them, he continued, but asserted that no
one can destroy what is God’s doing.
In that Jollibee incident where the X-Manalistas
encountered their former brothers, the Apalit Police
were said to simply view the event because they
could not handle about 300 Manalistas around. Some
14 of the brothers who arrived to reinforce the team
with a human cordon were the ones hit, in varying
degrees, some of them knuckled hard in the head,
face and lower limbs. A video catch on this incident
was presented for viewing to the congregation and
elicited various reactions. It was explained that
this was being shown to the brethren for them to
know what’s happening but a stern warning was given
not to retaliate. This was an order from Bro. Eli,
as well as a teaching in the Bible.
At the same time that ADD brothers in Apalit were
being attacked, the Bible exposition in Trias,
Cavite handled by Bro. Eli was also being troubled
by the Manalistas. A minister of the INC was said to
present himself for a debate, but no Manalo was
present.
Despite the troubles the INC give the ADD, the
teachings of latter are being accessed by the INCs
or Manalistas who come in, in the guise of
seminarians, and who graduate to become church
workers. History has proved them to be spies, but
are given by Bro. Eli the privilege to learn, in the
hope that they will be enlightened.
Choosing This Life
Such are the antics of the enemy that the Presiding
Minister keeps spending for Manalista vexations –
from training their trumpets toward coordinating
centers, to disrupting church services, to
physically hitting ADD brethren, to filing false
charges in court to paralyze Bro. Eli financially.
Until now, Bro. Eli spends for their vexations, to
include hiring sniffing dogs for more than Php
60,000 a month to help in security arrangements in
the area.
A ridiculous activity but telling of the character
of the Manalistas and their influence is the one
with banks. They threaten supposed loans for housing
of the brethren and for similar purposes to ease
God’s work. If banks gave in to Bro. Eli’s request
for loans, they would withdraw all their deposits.
But Bro. Eli is not complaining, he said; he has
chosen this life and is ready to spend and be spent
– all for the work of God.
Debate Challenge: No Manalo Taker
The Presiding Minister summed up the score on
Manalistas. On March 27, 2005, Bro. Eli came out
with a published ad in a national newspaper
challenging Eraño Manalo “to settle once and for all
who of us promotes the doctrine of truth, and who
promotes the doctrine of lies.” Bro. Eli noted that
while what he was attacking were the false teachings
of Manalo, his person is being subjected to vicious
smear campaign since the INC TV program, Ang Tamang
Daan, opened two years ago. It was a ploy to destroy
the reputation of Bro. Eli to enable their
organization to continue to thrive, together with
their false teachings.
From the challenge, there was no response from Eraño
Manalo, leader of the Iglesia ni Cristo, but a
counter-challenge from Ramil Parba in their Ang
Tamang Daan. It was for Bro. Eli to debate with the
Pope of Rome in Latin first, and then their leader,
Eraño Manalo could face him. That, Mr. Parba said,
was according to Eraño Manalo. At that time, the
pope of Rome was at the throes of death. To this,
Bro. Eli said it is now next to impossible for
Manalo to accept the debate challenge – because he
is not capable of defending his false beliefs.
Moreover, it was his lieutenants speaking for him in
their programs, and he never appears to say a thing
about his teachings.
Forgiveness Necessary
As the first day closed, the brethren prepared for
Holy Supper. Bro. Eli emphasized that forgiveness is
necessary to undergo this rite. Each one should be
clean in conscience. The ceremony of the Holy Supper
is actually not what Jesus Christ had intended, he
said. The bread stands for teachings which are
spiritual and can give life. The Church of God,
International, according to Bro. Eli, is being given
the true bread from heaven, which accounts for true
changes in the lives of people in this organization.
Holy Supper was taken literally by other churches
that use several small wine cups for reasons of
hygiene. Doing this, according to Bro. Eli, brings
judgment unto oneself. The cup, from which Jesus
Christ drank, was explained by Bro. Eli, as a cup of
suffering. A Christian is expected to be patient and
suffer too for the sake of Christ. In so joining in
sacrifice, one is being part of Christ.
A newly built restaurant painted all white catered
to brethren from far away places such as Visayas and
Mindanao. It also accommodated those who did not
have money for food. It was Bro. Eli’s way of
showing love to the poor and destitute. Holy Supper,
it was explained, did not refer to physical food,
but spiritual food.
THE SECOND DAY
Bro. Josel Mallari, read the letter of the
Philippine Bible Society congratulating Bro. Eli for
Php 1.57 M paid-for bibles, making the organization
the top partner for 2004. So many bibles have been
given to the public in English, Tagalog, and even
the diglot version during bible expositions.
To be Tested in the Fire
In the afternoon, Bro. Daniel Razon, Vice Presiding
Minister, took again to the stage. He reviewed the
Church of God History in these times and reminded
the brethren about the 3 splintered groups, with the
two getting nowhere and spiritually dying for lack
of teaching, while the last third was to undergo
testing in the fire. This third, led by Bro. Eli, is
that one to undergo testing in the fire, he said.
The brethren responded with applause and shouts of
inspiration. The third one, Bro. Daniel said, is
being carpentered with God’s teachings. He asked the
brethren to be patient with the INC spies around,
and to continue to do good. They will not continue
to be with us anyway, he added.
If God is My Helper
Bro. Daniel vented his reaction to the video
presentation, night of the first day, on the
Jollibee incident where brethren were knuckled off
by Manalistas. It was his first time to see it, he
said, and warned the perpetrators to do it good if
he was the one they came for. There is no law
against self-defense, he said. He, however, made
distinctions between self defense (done during the
incident) and pre-meditated acts of revenge (done
after the incident). He repeated that brethren
should be more circumspect, because if God is one’s
helper, there is nothing to fear. He said to wait
for God’s judgment. No matter what they say, no
matter what they do, remember God’s teachings that
you heard from Bro. Eli, he said. What is important
is that the brethren continue to be united in doing
God’s work, he concluded.
Re-enactment of Events
The brethren were treated next to a series of stage
plays from a parody of false preachers, to Jesus
Christ preaching, his betrayal, his crucifixion, and
death. The time shifted to a woman in pain,
symbolizing the Church of God now. Then fast forward
to the Jollibee, Apalit incident few days before
this event where brethren were knuckled to several
bloody bruises. The victims got up, with clothes
torn and stained with blood, and sang a song of
dedication to God. Bro. Eli, viewing the plays in
one corner, was seen clearly swallowing hard in pain
and silently crying.
Warning to Keep Away
Bro. Eli sang, too, a dedication to God together
with Bro. Daniel and the MICs after which he sternly
warned brethren to keep away from the Manalistas. No
one is to be arranging for debates anymore, nor meet
with them, and if they believed in the Manalistas,
they are free to go with them, he said. Bro. Eli did
not want innocent brethren to get hurt again.
He explained that he, himself, experienced
brutalities from INC members. He was once hit on the
head by 5 deacons of the Iglesia ni Cristo. In
Tarlac, his group was attacked by soldiers that were
INC members. They also paid radio, TV, and comics to
bring him down. The congregation cannot get away
from all these, Bro.Eli said.
The video version of the published ad in Sunday
Times of March 27, 2005 challenging Eraño Manalo to
a debate was shown. Bro. Eli said he’s tired of
answering those lies from Net 25 concocted by the
Manalistas. Manalo’s church claims to be the real
church, and yet by demeanor, with all those
falsities, they don’t stand up for what is right, he
said.
Four things summarized Bro. Eli’s complaints against
them to include: 1) Endorsing malicious comics
supposed to characterize his life, 2) Use of ADD
expelled members to malign him, 3) Projecting to
Muslims a personality so against their religion; and
4) Many other demeaning accusations against him.
Mystery of the Laboring Woman
Bro. Eli explained about the meaning of the
suffering woman mentioned in Revelation. This woman
is prophesied to undergo sufferings as it is to
deliver its child, but a great red dragon is ready
to snatch it up, once it comes out. The dragon is
wrathful of the woman and “makes war with her seed.”
But God promises salvation, through child-bearing.
The woman, said Bro. Eli, refers to the Church of
God now. It is heavy with child and is about to give
birth. It has been destined to suffer persecutions
of all kinds. It is however going to be saved
through child-bearing if it continues in faith, and
charity, and holiness with sobriety.
The holy woman has to keep bearing children, Bro.
Eli said, if it is going to be saved. The weekly
baptisms are children born of the Church. It has to
continue bearing children, again and again and again
so it can be saved. The church, in fact, is
commanded to multiply. Last year alone, more than
500,000 souls were born from the collective labor of
the congregation, Bro. Eli announced.
Revelation to Bro. Eli
It was a time Bro. Eli could not sleep. He was
awakened by voices saying something about a woman –
a woman getting exhausted in pain. He got his pen,
he said, and was able to compose six topics.
This mystery about the woman in pain was revealed to
Bro. Eli at a time that he was undergoing so much
persecution as Presiding Minister, and so with the
Church. There is no other church like us in this
world today, he said. You can tell which is gold,
and which is counterfeit. None among the wicked
shall understand, the bible says so, he said.
To think of retaliating to the Manalistas then would
not do the members any good, Bro. Eli said. They
must continue doing good – continue in faith, love,
and holiness with sobriety – in order to be saved.
They must be patient as a nation of God.
Not by Bread Alone
According to the Presiding Minister of the Church of
God, International, a child that is to be born needs
nutrients for growth and development. The nutrients
stand for the Word of God that nurtures the child to
birth, he said. In the final analysis, it is really
the Word of God that forms a person toward spiritual
birth, not the empty rituals and false doctrines of
false churches that have plagued the world for so
long a time.
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Doctrines of
Christ
