"With the death of the Apostles… those who took over the reins of the Church began to espouse false doctrines (cf. Acts 20:29). Slowly but surely this organization continued to change and in 110 A.D., it adopted a new name – Catholic Church – rejecting the former name by which it was known at the time of the Apostles – Church of Christ. Hence, the members of this organization ceased to be God’s people. This is known in Church history as the apostasy of the Christian Church. (Source: Feljun B. Fuentes, “Why God Sends Messengers,” Pasugo 42 (May-June 1990)
"To re-establish the true Church of Christ, another messenger was sent from the Far East (Is. 43:5-6), to preach at the time of the “ends of the earth” (Is. 41: 9-10) which was heralded by “wars and rumors of wars” (Mt. 24:3, 33, 6-8) – World War I – that broke out on July 27, 1914, the exact date the Iglesia Ni Cristo was registered with the Philippine government. This messenger, Brother Felix Y. Manalo, sent not to found or establish a new Church but to effect the emergence of Christ’s “other sheep” (Jn. 10:16) – the Church of Christ in these last days.
"These texts illustrate the Iglesia’s method of interpretation known among students of Hermeneutics as prooftexting, or the act of stringing often unrelated Bible verses to prove a point — a tactic often used by all sectarian groups in their polemic engagements. I had used this tactic several times while preaching for another sect which also claims to be “the New Testament Church” restored in our time. Parenthetically, it is to their credit that some (Stone-Campbell) Church of Christ (CoC) preachers in the Philippines, although still insisting that the CoC is the true church, have seen the simplistic reasoning in the idea that the church died shortly after the first century and was revived in the 18th century by American preachers. Accordingly, they have modified their views on the matter. Readers who wish to pursue this may want to read an online article entitled, “Continuity or Restoration?” by Dr. Eusebio Tanicala, who I believe is the ablest apologist among all the local preachers of the CoC in the Philippines today..."
"To re-establish the true Church of Christ, another messenger was sent from the Far East (Is. 43:5-6), to preach at the time of the “ends of the earth” (Is. 41: 9-10) which was heralded by “wars and rumors of wars” (Mt. 24:3, 33, 6-8) – World War I – that broke out on July 27, 1914, the exact date the Iglesia Ni Cristo was registered with the Philippine government. This messenger, Brother Felix Y. Manalo, sent not to found or establish a new Church but to effect the emergence of Christ’s “other sheep” (Jn. 10:16) – the Church of Christ in these last days.
"These texts illustrate the Iglesia’s method of interpretation known among students of Hermeneutics as prooftexting, or the act of stringing often unrelated Bible verses to prove a point — a tactic often used by all sectarian groups in their polemic engagements. I had used this tactic several times while preaching for another sect which also claims to be “the New Testament Church” restored in our time. Parenthetically, it is to their credit that some (Stone-Campbell) Church of Christ (CoC) preachers in the Philippines, although still insisting that the CoC is the true church, have seen the simplistic reasoning in the idea that the church died shortly after the first century and was revived in the 18th century by American preachers. Accordingly, they have modified their views on the matter. Readers who wish to pursue this may want to read an online article entitled, “Continuity or Restoration?” by Dr. Eusebio Tanicala, who I believe is the ablest apologist among all the local preachers of the CoC in the Philippines today..."
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