Unraveling the scriptural testimonies regarding God's messenger in these last days

  From time to time, God sends messengers to preach His message to people for their salvation. On one way to which God heralds the coming of His messengers is through prophecy. For instance, the sending of John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus was prophesied by Isaiah:

   “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord’.” (Is. 40:3, New Revised Standard Version)

   It should be noted that the prophesy does not mention the name of the messenger who will “prepare the way of the Lord.” This prophesy was fulfilled in John the Baptist who himself unraveled what Isaiah prophesied concerning his authority to preach, paving the way of the Lord:

   “This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’

   “He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah’.
  “And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not’. ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No’.

   “Then they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do say about yourself?’

   “He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord”, ‘as the prophet Isaiah said.” (Jn. 1:19-23, NRSV)

   The priests and Levites then knew that a true preacher must have the authority from God. Hence, they demanded that John prove his authority. John replied by citing Isaiah’s prophesy: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.”

   Apostle Paul, also a messenger of God, preached the gospel of salvation to the Gentiles. By what authority did he preach? Isaiah prophesied in 49:6 thus:

   “He says, ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth’.” (NRSV)

   Paul’s mission of salvation to the Gentiles was anchored upon the prophecy of Isaiah, the Hebrew prophet: I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Notice also that in this prophecy, Paul’s name is not even mentioned. The only time his name is mentioned in connection with this prophecy is when he himself revealed that he was indeed the fulfillment (Acts 13:46-47).

The greatest messenger prophesied

   The greatest messenger of God, Jesus Christ, was also prophesied by Isaiah. The gospel of Luke narrates how Christ unraveled Isaiah’s prophecy regarding His commission:

   “When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,

   “and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let  the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

   “And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
   “Then he begun to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’.” (Lk. 4:16-21, NRSV)

   Take note that God’s messengers, among them John the Baptist, Apostle Paul, and the Lord Jesus Christ, were commissioned by God through the prophecies of Isaiah, the Hebrew prophet. This does not imply, however, that unless there is a prophecy of Isaiah one is not a messenger of God.

   As for the Lord Jesus Christ, there are so many prophecies concerning His commission. Even Moses prophesied concerning Christ:

   “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” (Dt. 18:15, NRSV, Acts 3:22-23, 20)

   David, in his psalms, also declared so many things concerning Christ, one of which says:

   “The Lord says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool’.” (Ps. 110:1, NRSV, Lk. 20:41-44)

   It is, therefore, evident that the messengers themselves are the ones who unravel the prophecies regarding their devine authority, although these prophecies do not expressly mention their personal names.

God’s messenger in these last days

   In these last days, we believe that God had sent His messenger through the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah. Says the Hebrew prophet:

   “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and will be with the last.

   “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

   “you, whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’;

   “do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Is. 41:4, 8-10, NRSV)

   The “Jacob” and “Israel” mentioned in the prophecy are from the “ends of the earth” and are recognized as the seed of Abraham. We believe that Brother Felix Y. Manalo and the Church of Christ in these last days are the fulfillment of the prophecy.

   Our critics, however, argue that this prophecy refers to Jacob and Israel of ancient times, that is, the descendants of Abraham. Their argument, however, is not valid. We should take note of the fact that the above-cited verses are a prophecy. Prophecies, needles to say, are supposed to tell the future and not the past. The book of Isaiah was written sometime around 740 or 710 B.C. Whereas, some Bible scholars estimate that the death of Jacob was sometime between 1,700 and 1,600 B.C. More or less, a thousand-year-gap lies between the time this particular prophecy was told, Jacob had long been dead. His death was recorded in the book of Genesis, thus:

   “When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.” (Gen. 49:33, NRSV)

   Thus, old Jacob and ancient Israel could not have been the ones referred to in the prophecy. According to this prophecy of Isaiah, God will be with the last. “The last” refers to God’s servant from the “ends of the earth.” God pronounced that He had chosen this servant, His messenger from “ends of the earth.”

   “Ends of the earth” is that period which covers the time from from the First World War, which broke out on July 27, 1914, to the second advent of the Lord Jesus. The beginning of the “ends of the earth” is likewise the time when the Roman Catholic Church and Various Protestant churches were very much entrenched in various parts of the world. Hence, God said concerning His messenger in these last days: “do not fear… do not be afraid, for I am your God.” The Almighty likewise promised that He will strengthen, help, and uphold His messenger with His victorious right hand.

   The task entrusted by God to him is to “…bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth” (Is. 43:6, King James Version). These sons and daughters are from the Far East (Is. 43:6, Moffat Translation). This was fulfilled when Brother Felix Y. Manalo preached the Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines, a country in the Far East.

   When God’s messenger in these last days fulfilled his ministerial function of gathering God’s children from the Far East, the Church of Christ or Iglesia ni Cristo reemerged. We must remember that when the Church of Christ had apostatized, the members possessing the true faith disappeared. However, the Church’s founder, Christ, and His gospel remained. Hence, when God’s sons and daughters were gathered as an organization of true believers, the Church of Christ was once again established. These people, who are the other sheep of Christ (Jn. 10:16), do not constitute another church but were brought into the fold or flock which is the Church of Christ (Jn. 10:16, Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation).

   The fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Brother Felix Y. Manalo proves beyond any reasonable doubt that He is indeed God’s last messenger!