Religions have many hidden faces. What you see and what you know is different from the real state of things. Their faces show us something, which is different from what they really are. This is what 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says - “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness . . .”
There are really masks worn by many religions. Even satan is capable of transforming himself into an angel of light. That is why, the many depictions of satan that he looks ferocious, with tail and fangs, and fierce eyes, are wrong! Those who picture satan that way are without biblical understanding. On the contrary, satan is good-looking, because he will not succeed in deceiving people if he looks horrible. Remember he is a deceiver. He is pretending to be an angel of light. It follows that his ministers and cohorts also pretend to be ministers of righteousness.
Today, you will notice that most preachers look very meek. But a person’s meekly appearance could just be put on. A person could always pretend to be meek and sincere but deep inside, he is a deceiver. Definitely, he will not show other people his true color. He will not use biting words whenever he speaks, otherwise he will not be able to fool other people. A lot of people accuse me of using harsh language. That may be true, but do you know why? It is because I do not want to deprive the people of the truth, no matter how painful the truth is! But isn’t it that the word of God also hurts? His commandments hurt. “Thou shalt not kill! Thou shalt not commit adultery! Thou shalt not steal!” All of those words are tough and cumbersome to the murderers, adulterers, and thieves. However, preachers, who are not being true to other people, conceal these truths. They speak of nothing but favorable and candy-coated words. They cater to the taste and preference of the people.
Actually, if we will speak of human preferences, men do not really like God’s commandments. Basically, men do not want to be given restrictions because he is under the power of sin. The Gospel, the doctrines of God, is against the pleasure of the flesh. This is what Galatians 1:10 says - “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Do your pastors read you this verse? According to St. Paul, preachers who serve the pleasure of men are not really servants of Christ. Why? Why did St. Paul say that? If you are preaching the way Christ wants you to preach, the people will not be pleased with you. They will detest you, especially the wicked. Let us proceed to Galatians 1:11 - “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man."
So, that is the reason. The Gospel that He preached is not after the will of man. The Gospel did not come from man, and neither was it based on the standards and preferences of man. This is the reason why many people will dislike you if you will preach the true Gospel. If a preacher is only after pleasing men, he should not be a servant of Christ. St. Paul said in Galatians 1:11-12 - “I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Therefore, the Gospel did not come from man; it was not received from man. Instead, it was received by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Just try to analyze the books published by the different religions, and you will see that they conform to the standards and will of man. They were not inspired by God.
But if you are going to read the Bible, you will see that it is against the principles, ideologies, and culture of men. That is why many people do not readily accept the Gospel. You will notice that, from its inception, the Bible has been an object of many persecutions from the unbelievers, as well as from people who pretend to believe the Bible but actually reject what it says. That is why it has been my ardent desire to possess the spirit that the first preachers of Christ had. I do not care if you are not pleased with me; I do not care if you get mad at me. My main concern is to proclaim the truth in the Bible for you not to be deceived and misled. You may refer to your respective copies of the Bible, and see for yourself if the verses that I am citing are there, or not. We are here to tell you the truth, whether you join our group or not. We will tell you the truths which other preachers do not teach.
First and foremost, we do not accept, nor solicit, money from anybody. That is against the teachings of Christ. When you preach the Gospel, you do not preach for profit. A preacher of the Gospel does not preach for money. 2 Corinthians 11:7 says - “Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?”
Preaching is an act of humbling oneself. It is an act of abasing, or humbling, oneself if you preach the Gospel without monetary gains. St. Paul said, he humbled himself “that ye might be exalted” because he preached the Gospel of Christ freely. There was no money involved when he preached the Gospel. A preacher of the Gospel should not make the word of God a commodity, or merchandise. That is bad! Other preachers do not teach this to their members, but let us read 2 Peter 2:3 - “And through covetousness shall they feigned words make merchandise of you …”
The crooked pastors make their members their sources of livelihood. They get from them the food that they eat, the costly apparels that they wear, the luxury cars that they ride, and the money that they spend in their vices like women, cigarettes, as well as in the other luxuries in life. Many pastors have made themselves very rich at the expense of their members. They just capitalize on the word of God in the Bible. But St. Paul preached the Gospel not to earn money. When the Apostles preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, or the unbelievers, they did not ask a single centavo from them. This is what 3 John 1:7 says - “Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.” They did not take anything. When the Apostles of Christ went to the Gentiles to preach, they did not take even a centavo from them. The Bible said, “they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.”
But do you know that there are religious organizations asking money from passers-by in public places? Do you know how the Bible calls these people? They were called “greedy dogs”. Why? And how greedy are they? This is what Isaiah 56:11 says - “Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain . . .”
This is one verse that many preachers today do not read. That is why we are trying to expose to you things that are not exposed by other religious leaders because most of them, indeed, preach for money. They are not prophets, but profiteers, racketeers, and extortionists. They are not ashamed to collect money from people in the streets, and they even accuse their members of robbing God if they do not give tithes. And this is accompanied by threats that you will experience misfortunes and illnesses and condemnation in hell should you refuse to give tithes. That is their way of deceiving their unsuspecting members. These pastors are not being true to their members. Brothers and sisters, please, do not forget the verse that I am going to cite. This is a law of God to safeguard your properties and your soul. This is written in Matthew 6:19 - “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth …”
Does your pastor read this verse? Just what is your understanding of “(do) not”? Does it not convey “prohibition”? If you had been prohibited from doing something, you are, in effect, being commanded not to do it. And our Lord Jesus Christ himself said, do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon the earth. He was talking to His apostles – the preachers. Let me complete the verse: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.”
But here comes your pastors telling you that if you will give tithes, you will surely amass riches. The members are being given false hopes. That is why they blindly give them their money. But have they really grown any richer? No! There are members who have been giving their pastor tithes for the last fifteen years, yet, until now, they are still as financially hard up as ever that they would not be able to eat anything if they fail to avail a sack of rice on credit. And how come it still takes him sometime before he is able to pay that sack of rice? What does that mean? It is only their pastors that have become very rich. The money that they give them is deposited in their bank accounts. They have built mansions and rest houses, and they have bought expensive luxury cars for themselves, at the expense of their members. They have, indeed, become very rich out of fooling their members. They do not tell their members what the Bible really teaches. They are not reading to them this particular verse: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth …”
I have instilled this verse in my mind. I do not save money for myself. In fact, if I happen to make money out of my labors, I share it with others. Actually, most of the time, even before I receive the money, it has already been allocated for the needs of others. I do not keep money in a bank, nor in a vault. Perhaps, I am the only preacher who does not have any savings in a bank. What I have are loans from different banks, but not saving deposits because laying up treasures for oneself is prohibited by Christ to a preacher. What God wants is for these treasures to be shared with others. Psalms 112:9 says - “He hath dispersed, he hath to the poor, his righteousness endureth for ever …”
That is the work of a preacher who is true to God. He does not pile up riches for himself, instead, he shares what he has to the needs of the poor. I, for instance, buy some copies of the Bible, if I happen to earn something. And I distribute these bibles to other people for them to learn the way to salvation. I always see to it that my earnings are not just kept in a bank; they are spent for the salvation of man. Actually, the greater part of my earnings goes to the television network where we air our program, Ang Dating Daan (The Old Path). We are spending millions and millions of pesos for the propagation of our faith – the faith of Jesus Christ in the Bible. I do not capitalize on religion to enrich myself. Until now, I am still financially hard up. I have so many loans in different lending and financing institutions.
Actually, I can also make lots of money, like what many preachers do, if I want to. Those pastors know only two verses of the Bible – John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 – but they have amassed great riches. Modesty aside, I know more than that. In fact, other people say that I have mastery of the contents of the Bible. But why have I not grown any richer? It is because I abide by what the Bible teaches, and one of them is, “Lay not up for yourselves riches on earth.” That is a law of God to the preachers. Unfortunately, many preachers take that law for granted that is why they have made themselves very rich. They do not obey Christ’s commandment, otherwise, they would not have piled up riches for themselves. And because they refuse to obey Christ, they are against Christ. And being against Christ makes them an anti-Christ. This is what the Pasion of the Catholics says about the anti-Christ:
“Ito’y pagkakalooban (He will be given)
Ng Dios at kapasyahan (judgment by God)
Gumawa ng kababalaghan (He performed wonders)
At kanyang makakamtan (and he will obtain)
Ang yaman sa karagatan (riches in the seas)
Ang kanyang mga aral (His doctrines)
Masama’t di katwiran (were wicked and unrighteous)
Madlang ugali’y mahalay (all his ways are vile)
Ipagbabantog sa tanan (He will make known to all)
Siya ang Kristiyanong tunay (that he is the real Christian).”
He will proclaim to all that he is a real Christian, but the truth is, he is not, because he is simply making himself rich. But how did he obtain riches?
“Ang mga pagmimilagro (the miracles he will perform)
Tutulungan ng demonyo (will be helped by the devil)
They claim to perform miracles. But how come, the ones seated in the front rows who were on wheelchairs would still go home on those wheelchairs? If they truly perform miracles, they should have made those people stand up and walk! You see, when our Lord Jesus Christ preached, he healed all of those who were afflicted with all kinds of infirmities. He made the lame walk; He cured all the sick. This is what Acts 10:38 says - “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about going good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with them.”
So, He healed ALL. But these pastors today simply fool people. They make other people believe that they could heal them of their afflictions, but that is not true. Actually, the Apostles of Christ even resurrected the dead. But granting that the “miracles” of these pastors were real, I still am inclined not to believe it. Why? There are miracles that happen thru the help of the devil. Matthew 24:24 says - “For there shall arise false Christ, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
Those so-called miracle-workers will mislead a lot of people. Many false Christs and false prophets shall arise; they shall show great signs and wonders, and if possible they will deceive even the very elect of God. And it is because of their “miracles” that they are able to amass great riches.
There was once a Judge of a Regional Trial Court who remarked sarcastically that I am in deep financial indebtedness. That is true! I do not deny that. And that is a proof that I have not made myself rich. If a pastor keeps on getting richer and richer, that is a manifestation that he is a deceiver, and his religion is a false religion. Nobody among the preachers of God – from Christ to the Apostles – made them rich in religion. Nobody! Peter was a fisherman, and he died poor. The same with John the Baptist, he was not even able to study because of extreme poverty. Some Catholic priests mock me by saying that people shouldn’t believe me because I did not even finish schooling. Why? Did all the Apostles of Christ finish schooling? Acts 4:13 says - “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men …”
Peter and John were unlearned and ignorant, but they were never intimidated by anyone because they were with Jesus. I also did not finish any degree, and I am proud to tell you that I have no grand ambitions. From the time I began studying the Bible, I’ve lost my dream for a grandiose life. My only dream in life is that, before I die, I hope that all people from the different parts of the world would be able to hear me as I preach the Gospel of Christ. I believe that, nowadays, there are but a few preachers who are like me who speak with frankness. I have no intention of persuading people; I neither use enticing words. My only desire is to speak of the truth, regardless of whether you join our group or not. Take it or leave it. The decision is yours. I will not force you. I just want you to listen to what I am saying. Hopefully, after listening, you’ll learn something from me and you’ll be enlightened, and eventually, you’ll be able to share with others what you’ve learned from me. For instance, whenever you come across preachers who capitalize on religion in enriching themselves, read to them Matthew 6:16. Christ prohibits pastors from enriching themselves. And why did Christ give them this commandment? For Him to be sure that the ministers of God will not make business out of religion, because Christ knew that there is danger behind a person’s great desire to become rich. This is what 1Timothy 6:9 say - “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and snare …”
Those who are only after becoming rich fall into temptation and to wickedness. If a preacher wants to be rich, he teaches doctrines that are not of Christ. He’ll just teach his members anything. “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drawn men in destruction and perdition.”
Why? In 1 Timothy 6:10 - “For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
They that want to be rich fall into temptation, because the love of money is the root of all evil. There is no evil imaginable under the sun which is not caused by the love of money. A woman bares her body in front of a camera because of money. What her mother tried to keep for 19 years is being exposed to millions of people worldwide. What do you think is the reason why there are children who anticipate their parents’ death? Why are there parents who sell their children? Why are there people who sell illegal drugs despite the dangers they pose on the lives of many? And why are there preachers who have the guts teaching the Bible when they know nothing of the Bible? Why? It is all because of money! That is why our Lord Jesus was right. The love of money is the root of all evil. For this reason, Christ prohibited the ministers of God to love money because He didn’t want His ministers and preachers to love the root of all evil. And Christ would never allow the preachers to use religion for personal gains. Again, Matthew 6:16 says - “Lay not for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.”
I do not deny that our group has little properties, which would amount to quite a huge amount also. But our ministers have no personal riches. Our properties were acquired for the benefit of our members. Our first and foremost consideration is the welfare of our members. Although ours is a poor organization, we do not have any beggar member. Nobody among our members beg for alms in the streets just to have something to eat. If our members have nothing to eat, we feed them; if they do not have any home, we offer them shelter in our orphanages; if they could not afford to pay their hospital bills, our organization pays for it. If ever we have little acquisitions, they are not for myself but for the whole organization. We are not laying up for ourselves treasures on earth. We are laying up treasures for the benefit of our brethren in faith. Basically, our money is spent in saving souls … in searching for lost souls – souls that had been deceived and misled by wicked preachers.
But for you not to be deceived, always bear in mind what the Bible said. Preachers who capitalize on religion in enriching themselves are not of God. Christ did not establish religion to become an instrument for wealth acquisition. Religion was established so that the ministers and pastors would painstakingly exert every effort possible in leading all souls to salvation. And that is what our organization is doing. We abide by what the Bible says. We search for those who have gone astray, and we try to encourage them to change their ways and follow Christ’s doctrines instead.
A preacher is also discouraged from saving money in banks. Christ said, “Lay not for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal” (Mat. 6:19). Christ prohibited it to the real ministers of God because no man could serve two masters at the same time. He cannot serve God and riches at the same time. This is why God prohibited His ministers from enriching themselves.