Iglesia Ni Cristo 101: Centennial Facts You Should Know

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), known as a powerful and influential church in the Philippines, celebrated what they claim as their centennial on July 27 this year. The highlight was the massive gathering of members and guests at the Philippine Arena and Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan.

Pictured above was the intense traffic
situation at the NLEX the night before the
INC celebrated their supposed 100 years.
(Courtesy of Google)

The event became a staple for media coverage. The pouring of attendants and the traffic jam in the North Expressway and minor roads in Bulacan were enough to get the attention of the press.

But in the midst of all these “centennial busy-ness” are lingering critical questions that the INC must answer and that the public deserve to know.

INC – From the Eyes of the Public

Since they started, the INC had been under fire. All criticism points to their doctrinal rigidity and political dynamics, two things the group is widely known for. As with their centennial fete, some argue that 2014 is not their 100^th but the 101th year. What they celebrated is the result of a mathematical error.

Of course strong-willed INC dismisses such ideas. They exert influence through every possible means just to minimize and possibly erase bad publicity. One such strategy is their being honey to buzzing politicians come elections. Their central worship temple in Diliman resembles the Vatican at the height of the campaign season. It becomes a shrine where politicians pay homage and promise to do anything for them – as long as the solid vote is guaranteed and eventually, the politician sits in office. Many political analysts think of this as a form of corruption – meddling with the right of every person to vote whomever they desire.

This particular INC medical mission in
Manila caused too much congestion and
traffic, stirring motorists' anger.
(Courtesy of Google)

Lately, the INC had engaged in social charity works, they say, as means to prepare for the 100 years of fruitful existence. So instead of just accepting getting labelled as “bad guys” for corrupting the inalienable right and freedom of their members to freely elect politicians, they cast an impression as underdogs in religion suffering public condemnation. Many would call this as diversion – or disguised morality, if you will.

These are just a few facts that generally tell about the INC. Read on.

INC Goes Hysterical, Not Historical

The INC was formally registered with the Philippine Government on July 27, 1914. The group considers 1914 as its founding year, because they see it as the fulfillment of a prophecy they so claim as biblical.

Here is a background.

The INC had preached that 1914 is a significant year according to the biblical timeline. Three editions of their official magazine, the Pasugo (God’s Message), claimed that 1914 was when the prophecy in Revelations 7:1-4 saw fulfillment. In brief, the verses tell us of four angels holding the four winds of the earth, and another angel coming up from the east, motioning the four not to hurt the earth and sea until the servants of God had been sealed in their foreheads, which were 144,000.

Iglesia ni Cristo explains the prophecy this way: the four angels of the Apocalypse are heads of four states trying to stop the first World War of 1914. They were Woodrow Wilson of the United States, David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, and Georges Clemenceau of France. The angel rising up from east is none other than Felix Manalo, their long-deceased founder, and the winds that the four angels are holding refer to war. These facts were summarized from the 1964, 1970, and 1976 editions of the Pasugo.

But there are a number of funny drawbacks here.

The Big Four of World War 1 were indeed the heads of four powerful states among more than twenty member countries of the Allied Forces. They met in Paris on January 1919 for the peace conference after World War I ended in 1918. The main purpose of the conference was on peace settlement among warring countries.

But no history book mentioned that these four leaders ever consulted anyone from the east or even outside of the Allied Forces on anything relating to war or peace. The smaller countries which were members of the Allied Forces are definitely at a better position to influence the trend of their decision, but for their respect to the Big Four, waived their right to do so.

Felix Manalo, INC founder, had been
esteemed by his followers as the
angel rising from the east, and the
last messenger of God. (Courtesy of
Google)

Now these questions rise: why is the INC pushing Felix Manalo to gatecrash the Allied Forces? Was he even known by these four leaders from the West? And speaking of the West, did the INC understand the verse in the book of Apocalypse that the four angels were standing on the four corners of the earth, and not just the West? Also, is the INC not aware that the five angels in the book of Apocalypse knew one another – that is why the four angels heeded the angel rising up on the east? Who is Felix Manalo to these four heads of state?

These four leaders the INC are so adamant speaking about as the four angels all converged in Paris. Paris is in Europe. Europe is in the Western Hemisphere of the earth. The four corners of the earth are the four directions – north, east, west, and south. Only someone crazy enough will say that Europe or even Paris is on all four directions. This is a case of mistaken identity and getting lost in the big world. INC should study geography.

What’s worse is the impression that the INC makes of the Big Four – that these leaders are stupid not to know the four directions of the globe.

Unfortunately too, it has escaped the notice of the Iglesia ni Cristo that even before the Big Four made a final decision that was reflected in the Treaty of Versailles, Orlando of Italy pulled out of the conference after his demands were not met. Only three leaders were left to finish the peace settlement. This fact directly contradicts what was written in the Apocalypse that four strong angels held the four winds. The Bible did not say that at least one angel withdrew from holding any of the four winds. But Vittorio Orlando did. The Big Four became the Big Three. What an epic fail! It really pays to read history so we can all learn from the lessons of the past.

If Manalo is what he and his followers claimed to be, he should have advised Orlando not to pull out from the Big Four – or he does not contribute to the fulfillment of the prophecy.

That’s not all.

How did Felix Manalo cry out loud to the four leaders to hold the war before it erupted in 1914, as he was supposedly to put a seal on God’s servants? Back in 1913, Felix was already baptizing members, but those who were baptized did not reach the 144,000 mark. War broke out on July 28, 1914 but Manalo still did not get the 144,000 (how could he in such a short span of time?). The Big Four only met in 1919 to talk about peace. So what is the INC talking about of these four leaders assembling before World War 1 in order to stop the looming war, when they only met five years after the first in the series of World War 1 pronouncements took place? What were the angels (heads of state) holding or stopping?

A historical note: the declaration of war in 1914 was not a single event in world history. Until the 10^th of November 1918, many countries rose up in arms against one another. World War 1 lasted for four years.

What about the 144,000? Who are they?

The 144,000 servants who were sealed are from the 12 tribes of Israel. It was detailed in Revelations 7:4-8. Felix was baptizing Filipinos in 1913, NOT Israelites. What about those who were not baptized into the INC before the war? Are they are all going to be doomed forever in hell?

Concerning the four winds, INC explains that the wind refers to war. They based it on Jeremiah 4:11-12, referring to the wind as “dry wind of the high places.” In Revelations 7:1, it was written “four winds of the earth.” There is a clear difference between the two expressions. The difference in word use and the context where the word "wind" is found contributes to the contrast between the two verses. What's the sense of putting them side-by-side if they do not contribute to the full understanding of both verses?

INC or Improbable Numerical Computation

Adding to the questionable historical citations supposed to support the centennial claim are more glaring evidences of mathematical inconsistencies from the INC’s own archives. Once again, two Pasugo magazines separately published on July 1989 and May 1996 are one in saying that Felix Manalo was already baptizing members during the latter months of 1913, just before World War I. The following year, Felix had the group registered in the government on July 13, 2014 – a 14-day lapse from the 27th.

Another equally curious document dating from 1918 contradicts INC's “100 year legacy.”

The document is an invitation dated December 1918, written by three officials of the INC, named Justino Casanova, Teodoro Santiago, and Federico Inocencio. The content rendered in Tagalog had these words: “Mapitagan naming inaanyayahan ang inyong kamahalan sa gaganaping pagdiriwang ukol sa PAGPAPASALAMAT sanhi sa IKALIMANG TAONG BUHAY ng “IGLESIA NI KRISTO” sa Pilipinas at PAGPAPATONG NG KAMAY sa kapatid na Felix Manalo sa tungkuling pagka Pastor at Tagapamahala ng Iglesia.” In English it says: We respectfully invite your honor to the celebration of THANKSGIVING for the FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of the “CHURCH OF CHRIST” in the Philippines and the ORDINATION of brother Felix Manalo as Pastor and Minister of the Church.

Notice the line FIFTH ANNIVERSARY? Apply simple arithmetic. 1918 less five years is 1913. It’s very simple.

If the INC insists that 1914 is the group's foundation year, are they now going to accept that they made a serious error in computing? They should go back to the classroom to revisit addition and subtraction.

Felix Manalo should have outright corrected this serious error even before he was ordained by religious leaders of other churches. These leaders were Alejandro Reyes, Victoriano Mariano, Gil Domingo, Guillermo Zarco, Nicolas Fajardo, Emiliano Quijano, and Roque Bautista.

But the funny thing about this ordination is that after Felix was ordained by these religious leaders, he blatantly called them “ministers of Satan.” (Pasugo Magazine, August 1961 p. 39) Shouldn’t we be asking now the INC this: where did Felix Manalo’s right as minister of the INC come from? If he was ordained by these men he so degradingly called "servants of the devil," what about he? Will he not be called a servant of the devil as well?

It is imperative that the INC answers these questions, issues, and challenges set forth by those who dare to think and reason in logic.

At the end of this piece, two interesting Bible verses capture the essence of counting and being knowledgeable in numbers. In Psalms 90: 12, David said, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” It was also clearly applied in Revelation 13:18 that said “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

Learning how to count and deal with numbers in the biblical standard is wisdom.

So what is this centennial the INC celebrated – a registration-based centennial, existence-based centennial, or memorial of World War 1?

You be the judge.