INC's "FAR EAST" DOCTRINE

One of the distinctive beliefs of Iglesia ni Cristo is about the Philippines being the Far East. In this article we will examine whether this kind of belief will hold up by letting it under the microscope of reason. Let us apply sheer logic for if it is of God, we cannot, but find it reasonable.



Below are the quotation form Pasugo and God's Message asserting that Philippines is the "Far East":

The Church of Christ in the Philippines : The Church of Christ which emerged in the Philippines (a country in the Far East) in these last days was established by virtue of the fulfillment of the prophecies of God (Isa.43:5 Moffatt) and of Christ (Jn.10:16;Acts 20:28 Lamsa).

Fundamental Beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo by Eraño G Manalo

Far East in the prophecy where the other sheep of Christ are to be called has for its fulfillment the Philippines. The reestablishment ot this Church began with the inception of the ministry of Brother Felix Manalo whose preaching gave birth to the call of the members of the Church of Christ since 1914.

Pasugo, July August 1979 p. 9

What follows is the quotation from the God's Message Magazine as to why Philippines is the “Far East":

Where, for instance, would this messenger come from to preach the gospel? Apostle John wrote that the angel would ascend from the east or, in other translations of the Bible, from the rising of the sun (Revised Standard Version). This word may puzzle some people since the east is divided into three regions - near, middle and far east — not to mention the fact that there are many countries located there.

From the Smith's Bible Dictionary, we can glean that the Greek word for east used in Revelation 7:2 was translated into Hebrew as “mizrach” (p. 637). The use of “mizrach” as opposed to “kedem” (which also means east) is explained:

“East. The Hebrew term kedem properly means that which is before or in front of a person and was applied to the east... on the other hand mizrach is used of the far east.” (p.154) . The word east that is used in Revelation 7:2 refers to the Far East. One of the countries that lie in the Far East, almost at the geographical center to be exact, is the Philippines (Asia and the Philippines, p. 169). Thus, to say that the true messenger of God came from the Philippines would not go against any biblical doctrine. It is a statement that is, in fact, supported by both biblical and scholarly references.

God's Message Magazine, May 1999, pp. 6-8


The place: Far East. In Isaiah 43: 5-6, there is a mention about God's sons and daughters who would come "from the east" and "from afar":

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back'. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth." (New International Version)

In Hebrew, the equivalent of the word "east" in verse 5 of the afore¬mentioned passage is mizrach as distinguished from kedem. While both terms can be translated as "east," kedem "is used in a strictly geographical sense to describe a spot or country immediately before another in an easterly direction," whereas mizrach "is used of the far east" {Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 637, emphasis ours). Justifiably, some Bible translations render the term mizrach in Isaiah 43:5 as follows:

Moffatt Translation: "From the far east will I bring your offspring, and from the far west I will gather you." (emphasis ours)

Today's English Version: "Do not be afraid—I am with you! From the dis¬tant east and the farthest west I will bring your people home." (emphasis ours)

Therefore, the appointed place of origin of the next generation of God's sons and daughters is the Far East. It is there where Christ's other sheep who would make up the one flock in the future would emerge.

As to what kind of place in the far east the prophesied people of God would originate, another related prophecy states:

"Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea." (Isa. 24:15, N1V, emphasis ours)

God's Message (July 2005 I Vol.57 I No.7 | ISSN 0116- 1636)
From the preceding quotations, here are the claims of Iglesia Ni Cristo:

I. That the Hebrew word "Mizrach" Isa. 43:5 refers to "Far East" and consequently refers to Philippines.

II. That the "East" in Rev. 7:2, when translated into Hebrew, is translated as Mizrach and again consequently refers to Philippines .

III. That the "prophecy" in Isa 24:15 which refers to “islands of the sea" also refers to the Philippines.

IV. That these references are supported by scholarly references e.g. Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 637 and Biblical references e.g. Moffat's Translation of the Bible and Today's English Version.

Let us now analyze their claims:

I. That the Hebrew word "Mizrach" Isa. 43:5 refers to "Far East" and consequently refers to Philippines.

Iglesia Ni Cristo used Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible vol. 1, p. 637 to interpret the definition of the Hebrew word Mizrach. Perhaps it would do us good if we could look to the same reference ourselves:

East

The Hebrew term, kedem, properly means that which is before or in front of a person, and was applied to the east, from the custom of turning in that direction, when describing the points of the compass, before, behind, the right and the left representing respectively east, west, south and north. Job_23:8-9.

The term as generally used refers to the lands lying immediately eastward of Palestine, namely, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Babylonia; on the other hand, mizrach, is used of the far east with a less definite signification. Isa_42:2; Isa_42:25; Isa_43:5; Isa_46:11.
Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible vol. 1, p. 637

Perhaps our friends INC miss this important portion: That the Hebrew word Mizrach is used of the far east with a less definite signification.

Of the two Pasugo that we quoted above, none of them ever quoted Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible in full. The author inclines to believe, that up to this moment, no Pasugo nor God's Message was able to give the full and relevant quotation of the definition of the word East as given in Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible . Whether, the INC deliberately omitted the significant qualifying portion of Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible definition of the word East is up for the reader to decide.

Now, the discrepancy is plain in sight. INC wants us to believe that the Hebrew word Mizrach is used for "Far East" in the Bible. They were unable to tell us why Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible qualifies it that is is used with a less definite signification.

One thing is certain, Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible is unable to tell us how far is far. Is it, as Iglesia ni Cristo wants us to believe, far as the Philippines?

We will look at the various uses of the Hebrew word Mizrach in the Scripture and validate the definition of the word East as given by Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible. This time, however, we will evaluate it focusing particularly on the "Far East" issue and in its full and proper context namely that mizrach, is used of the far east with a less definite signification.

Let us now turn our attention to the Scripture itself in the Old Testament from which we could make the following observations:

1. The word Mizrach is used 71 verses times in the Old Testament. Of these 71 verses, not even one warrants us to translate it as Far East. That is, even if we translate it as East (as opposed to Far East) it will be still a faithful translation. Hence, in various formal equivalence translation of the Bible, Mizrach is translated simply as East (e.g. KJV, NKJV, RSV, NIV, YLT NASB, NET). The Bible translation which translate mizrach as Far East are dynamic equivalence translations.

True, the word phrase "far east" (Moffat Translation) and "distant east" (Today's English Version) indeed occurs in some translation of the Bible. But these are translated using the dynamic equivalence principle which adds or subtract words or phrases depending on the understanding of translator .

Hence for example Moffat's translation included the word far where such word is not existing in the Hebrew original. There are also cases where Moffat felt the need to rearrange the order of verses and even entire chapters of the Scripture in his translation of the Bible. (The author is reminded of Rev 22:18, Deu_4:2)

Today's English version of the Bible translated Mizrach as "distant east" in Isa. 43:5. However, the other remaining 70 verses are not translated as "distant east". Nor does it have any sense of being a "far east" as Philippines in the Far East.

The difference between translation principles of the Bible namely, Formal equivalence and Dynamic equivalence is beyond the scope of this article. It is highly recommended that the reader should look into these translation principle to further clarify the point of these second observation.

2. It can also be observed that the Hebrew word Mizrach is to designate:

a. A dimension in the Temple courtyard

The east (Mizrach) end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. (Exo 38:13 NIV)

b. A gate in the Lord's Tent or Tabernacle

The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east (Mizrach), west, north and south. (1Ch 9:24 NIV)

c. Realm inside Israel

On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the sea and bordered Asher on the north and Issachar on the east (Mizrach). (Jos 17:10 NIV)

Then Moses set aside three cities east (Mizrach) of the Jordan, (Deu 4:41 NIV)

Having stated these observations we can now understand why Smith's Diction¬ary of the Bible as a Far East with a less definite signification.

May I also offer the opportunity to our reader to look for themselves in the Scripture the usage of the Hebrew word Mizrach. If someone would bother to go thru all OT references wherein the Hebrew word Mizrach is used and (perhaps obtain the percentage with which the word was used) in the sense of being 'far east' he is free to do so. What follow are ALL verses in the Old Testament where the word Mizrach occurs:

Exo_27:13; Exo_38:13; Num_2:3; Num_3:38; Num_21:11; Num_32:19; Num_34:15; Deu_3:17; Deu_3:27; Deu_4:41; Deu_4:47; Deu_4:49; Jos_1:15; Jos_4:19; Jos_11:3; Jos_11:8; Jos_12:1; Jos_12:3; Jos_13:5; Jos_13:8; Jos_13:27; Jos_13:32; Jos_16:1; Jos_16:5; Jos_16:6; Jos_17:10; Jos_18:7; Jos_19:12; Jos_19:13; Jos_19:27; Jos_19:34; Jos_20:8; Jdg_11:18; Jdg_20:43; Jdg_21:19; 1Ki_7:25; 2Ki_10:33; 1Ch_4:39; 1Ch_5:9; 1Ch_5:10; 1Ch_6:78; 1Ch_7:28; 1Ch_9:18; 1Ch_9:24; 1Ch_12:15; 1Ch_26:14; 1Ch_26:17; 2Ch_4:4; 2Ch_5:12; 2Ch_29:4; 2Ch_31:14; Neh_3:26; Neh_3:29; Neh_12:37; Psa_50:1; Psa_103:12; Psa_107:3; Psa_113:3; Isa_41:2; Isa_41:25; Isa_43:5; Isa_45:6; Isa_46:11; Isa_59:19; Jer_31:40; Dan_8:9; Dan_11:44; Amo_8:12; Zec_8:7; Zec_14:4; Mal_1:11;

But what about the claim of INC about the other Hebrew word "kedem" to wit:

While both terms can be translated as "east," kedem "is used in a strictly geographical sense to describe a spot or country immediately before another in an easterly direction," (Ibid)

Is this true? May I refer our readers to the following verses:

Deu 33:27 The eternal (kedem) God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

2Ki 19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient (kedem) times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

INC researchers got it flat wrong. The Hebrew word kedem is NOT used in a strictly geographical sense to describe a spot or country immediately before another in an easterly direction.

And for those who have time to bother to go though each verses:

Deu_33:15; Deu_33:27; 2Ki_19:25; Neh_12:46; Job_23:8; Job_29:2; Psa_44:1; Psa_55:19; Psa_68:33; Psa_74:2; Psa_74:12; Psa_77:5; Psa_77:11; Psa_78:2; Psa_119:152; Psa_139:5; Psa_143:5; Pro_8:22; Pro_8:23; Isa_9:12; Isa_19:11; Isa_23:7; Isa_37:26; Isa_45:21; Isa_46:10; Isa_51:9; Jer_30:20; Jer_46:26; Lam_1:7; Lam_2:17; Lam_5:21; Mic_5:2; Mic_7:20; Hab_1:12;

II. That the "East" in Rev. 7:2, when translated into Hebrew, is translated as Mizrach and again consequently refers to Philippines .

The greek phrase ἀνατολῆς ἡλίου (anatolos eliou) literally means "the sunrising" and consequently translated East (from whence the sun is rising). But why did the INC need to translate it to Hebrew if we can directly translate it to English? The answer is simple- there is no English translation of the Bible, (not even Lamsa and Moffatt) which translate ἀνατολῆς ἡλίου as "far east" or "distant east"........