Soriano's Faulty Creation Week

On an earlier post I revealed how Soriano believes in Evolution and how he seems to keep injecting it into scripture, even when scripture is crystal clear and Evolution strives to kick God out of the creation picture using the "millions of years" fairy tale. Eli Soriano does not believe the Genesis account of creation of  six literal 24-hour days. Instead, he subscribes to the version of Evolution that says it took millions of years for everything to be created. 

Hold on to your seats because the Bible will be under attack by Soriano again. I'll try to show you as plainly and as clearly as possible what is going on so you will see hypocrisy being displayed  by the self-proclaimed "most sensible preacher".

What is 'hypocrisy' anyway? Webster's dictionary says, "a pretense of virtue". Let's analyze that for a moment, shall we? 'Pretense' means "to deliberately create a false impression of something". In simpler terms, it means, 'to pretend'. The other word, 'virtue' is a word that embodies goodness, moral excellence, and chastity. With this short study of words, we now understand what Webster meant. A 'hypocrite' is "someone who pretends to be good". In our day-to-day lives, we encounter people like these everyday. They who say one thing to appear good and virtuous, but does the exact opposite without hesitation or difficulty whatsoever.

Now why would a word like 'hypocrite' be attached to a preacher... and to the "most sensible preacher" at that? I have two answers. One, is that God gave us the capacity to discern between good and evil and right from wrong (thanks a lot grandpa Adam), so identifying false preachers like Soriano would not be difficult.  And two, Soriano himself displays his character for all to see. And it's not a pretty picture, I'm telling you. To be fair, I am not basing this personal preference of what a preacher should be or how he should conduct himself. Besides, the Bible already did that. My words are cheap. I can say the foulest things about somebody like Soriano and it won't mean a thing. But when it is the Bible that talks, it is God Himself uttering those words. The Bible speaks to us as clearly and as straighforward as possible so as to avoid confusion and/or ambiguity. What it calls wrong, IS wrong. What it calls right, IS right. There is no gray line or "in betweens". God would not put anybody in a position of insecurity or confusion.

So why is Soriano a hypocrite?

Soriano SAYS he believes in the Bible alone, yet he dismisses the Biblical account of 6 days of creation. The Bible is very clear that creation took six literal 24 hour days to complete (and this is scientifically backed) and not billions of years as Evolutionists and Soriano would want us to believe. Soriano is trying to inject an evolutionary timeline into God's creation week. His basis hangs on the intentional clouding of the Hebrew word 'yom' (meaning 'day') as a "period of time" similar to saying "in my father's day", or "the day of the Lord". Essentially, Soriano is promoting a theistic evolution stance similar to what is called the Gap Theory.

Sure enough Soriano employs the scriptures saying that "a day is like a thousand years unto the Lord",  a Psalm... a song written with freedom in glorification. Whereas the creation account is a different matter. There is no other nuance of the word 'day' that is appropriate except for a literal 24 hour day. Moreover, any reference to the days of creation week is addressed in singular and definite form "THE first day". That's a definite article. There can be more than one "first day" but there can only be one "THE first day".

Oh by the way, there are Bible perversions that say "a first day" instead of "the first day". These are intentional changes put in by proponents of Evolution. They think that stretching the days would allow the acceptance of the possibility of Evolution being used by God to create everything in the universe. Evolution preaches that death came before sin, while the Bible says that sin came before death. They are polar opposites.. one is definitely wrong and one is absolutely right. Now to believe that the God of the Bible would use Evolution to create, is belief in a different god. This is what Soriano wants... for people to believe in another god. A god that uses Evolution to create. This is a cruel, sadistic, and retarded god. That is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible can create by just speaking things into existence. Soriano's version of God is clearly different.

• Day 3 of Creation.

The Bible tells us that God created all manner of foliage on this day. This would include all the flowering and non-flowering plants,  trees, shrubs, bushes, etc. This alone would show us that there is no period of millions of years before Day 4.  Why? Because on Day 4, the Bible tells us that God created the sun, moon, and stars. The sun is what's responsible for the plants to make food (photosynthesis). It would be very hard on those plants to have to wait millions of years for the sun to come up, right? Soriano should have thought of this if he was indeed as sensible as he is purported to be.   

• Day 5 of Creation.

The Bible tells us that God created all the creatures of the air and sea on this day. Creatures that swim and creatures that fly. Among these are the countless number and variety of insects. Insects that are responsible for the pollination of plants. How could millions of years be possible in between days 3, 4, and 5 of creation with plants waiting that long? If we were to believe as Soriano believes, plant life would never had been possible. But if we were to keep steadfast to what the Bible clearly says, twenty four hours is not a long time for plants to wait for the sun. Nor is another twenty four hours for the pollinators to do their jobs.

Let us be firm and discerning. Let us guard against false preachers like Soriano who preach a different scripture, a different god, and ultimately a different salvation. 2 Corinthians 11:4 warns us "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."
Topics like creation may not be a salvation issue, but any lie purported as truth by a preacher who is exposed as false and openly displays wanton disregard to what scripture says, is the very thing Jesus warned us about.

The Bible is correct folks. It is well to believe that within its pages is the eternal, infallible, and inerrant words of the Lord. It is perfect and worthy to be believed from cover to cover. When it says six days, it MEANS six days. Not millions of years. Don't listen to Soriano's lies. Evolution is the Devil's concoction, it means to take God away from the creation picture and put in millions of years instead. Listening to Soriano is like listening to the Devil himself.

Soriano The Evolutionist

"I am part of the animal kingdom." - E. Soriano personal motto

I believe Soriano is an evolutionist. And I also believe that he will deny this claim vehemently and yet unknowingly validate it at the same time. He will try to bob and weave himself from this claim and direct the discussion elsewhere using his method of picking and choosing words from the Bible and then picking and choosing the meaning of the words that best suits his opinions. He will claim to believe only in the Bible but he will also subscribe to evolution all in the same breath. Which by all means is a hypocrite's stance for a supposed man of God. The following is another proof of how Soriano undermines what is Biblical with his opinions.

Evolutionists have long kept and protected their belief of an old earth that has been around for billions of years. Of which they have not one shred of proof. The best they can come up with are two theories. The big bang and evolution of man. Both theories are just that, theories! For something to be called "a science" like this evolution lie they're shoving down our throats, it has to go through the scientific process of proving. They have to be observable, testable, demonstrable, and repeatable. Evolution and the big bang fail in all of these miserably. Evolution is NOT science. It's a religion that willfully takes God away from the creation picture.

Now why do I say Soriano is an evolutionist? Because he will not accept that the earth is just about 6000 years old like the Bible shows us, and instead he would have people believe as he believes through the handiwork of evolutionists, that the earth is billions of years old. Soriano would deny the Bible's account of Jesus's genealogy which is clearly recorded from generation to generation, from father to son, and from Adam to Joseph (Jesus's adoptive father). Why? Because according to Soriano, not all 12 sons of Israel had their genealogies expressed in the Bible. He says Dan's lineage is missing so the Bible is incomplete, and without Dan's lineage, the Bible could not be a book of genealogy and could not be a good record of the age of the earth. So basing the age of the earth according to the genealogies in the Bible would be a "gross miscalculation".

This is a very poor defense for Soriano. One that any layman can take apart. In fact, I'm going to try and crack it wide open. Dan's genealogy is not in the Bible because it is not essential to trace the lineage of Jesus from Adam. Only the essential characters are mentioned even if only so briefly, to keep account of who begat who. Apart from a few notable women characters, the Bible often negates mentioning the mothers. Just the fathers who begat sons. The Bible is also keen in noting at what age fathers begat their sons. The Biblical record of genealogies is amazing. In fact if you chart out the lineage from Adam, you will find that Noah may have met grandpa Adam!

Soriano would then bring up diamonds as elements that need billions of years to be formed. This appears to be a major basis for him to deny a God that can create everything in six 24 hour days. It's not surprising given the fact that Soriano teaches that God is not omnipotent. Apparently, Soriano is not aware that man has been manufacturing diamonds for decades already. Real science has discovered that the right combination of heat and pressure will produce diamonds similar to how diamonds are formed naturally. This proves that it does not take millions or billions of years to form a diamond. Evolution along with Soriano is debunked by real science.

Soriano is subtly attacking the creation account of the Bible. Futile though, because the Bible is perfect, complete, and absolute. By perfect it means it is inerrant, by complete it means it is not missing anything, and by absolute, it means it is the final word on anything. Belief in evolution means you put death before sin, which is directly opposite to what scripture says. Evolution preaches that through death, everything has evolved into today's fittest creatures. The Bible tells us that through Adam, sin entered into the world and then death followed (Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;).

There is no evolution involved in creation. God would not need millions of years to create. God only needs to speak things into existence!

.

Soriano Says, Gay Is Okay

There's no denying that homosexuality thrives with acceptance and there was a time when people would hide their unnatural sexual preference. But as more and more people disobeyed God, more and more people accepted homosexuality as a fact of life. The Bible speaks of homosexuality very clearly. It defines it as a man sleeping with another man, and a woman sleeping with another woman. The Bible also clearly states that homosexuality is detestable to God. It is an abomination in His sight. And that such acts of homosexuality merits a fate reserved for God's fiery finale of this world. Imagine how God feels about homosexuals, that He fast-forwarded judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah. Those homosexuals got the best sneak preview of Hellfire ever!

The businessman in Eli Soriano sees yet another income generating potential with the so called "third sex". What God says is "an abomination", Soriano calls "natural". What God says is "detestable", Soriano says "is okay". What could possibly come out of contradicting God so blatantly as this? Money of course. Much needed money that will be generated by Soriano's cult (MCGI) as its membership will swell with the acceptance of homosexuals in their ranks. This of course is "backed up by the Bible" according to Soriano. But as we have learned, when it comes to Soriano doctrines, it would be good to take them with a grain of salt. Make that a sackful for this one.

You would wonder how Soriano weaves his lies into Scripture. Well, wonder no more, for he uses the devil's very own formula. Mixing lies with truths, and delivering it with lots of charisma in order to be convincing. Any person listening to Soriano that is not rooted in the Bible will be easily fooled. He'll sound no less than prophetic with the way he baits listeners. In no time at all he has them hook, line, and sinker.

So how does Soriano convince homosexuals (and the rest of his followers) that heaven awaits men who sleep with men and women who sleep with women? He begins by stating that God can do anything. [ Wait a minute... wasn't Soriano the same heretic who said God cannot do everything?] Soriano cites Romans 9:20 "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus?". With this Soriano says that gays are made by God. God made gays, and gays can't do anything about it. Truth that God can do anything is mixed with the lie that God made gays (because He can do anything)... so argues Soriano.

He follows this up quickly with the challenge that gays are not possibly from Satan. God is the one who creates, not Satan. Satan he says, only destroys what God has made. God is the one who made even the handicaps of the deaf and dumb. Exodus 4:11, "And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?" There's another mixture of truth and lie right there. Where does it say that gays are included in the enumeration on that verse? There is none. Yet Soriano uses this verse to reinforce his earlier statement that God made all people, gays included.

Have you noticed that Soriano keeps injecting 'gays' in verses where there is none? He is trying to tell homosexuals that homosexuality is a handicap, not a sin.

Such a liar this guy, huh?

His message of hope for gay people is half-cooked with this teaching. God does not respect persons (Romans 2:11) and that He is not slack in his promise of redemption for ALL (2 Peter 3:9). So whether you are straight, gay, lesbian, or bi, God does not want you to perish. He caps this off with 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

It all sounds good and it should. It all came from the Bible. But I say it is half-cooked because Soriano uses these passages without driving the important point home. That sinners need to repent first! He leaves this vital information hanging in the wind to draw the homosexuals into joining his cult. He knows that acceptance is what gays crave most. And with the millions of gays around, he'd have his coffers full again. Soriano's deceit is masked by his use of Scripture. Hiding in the promise that through his true church (MCGI) salvation is possible. Heaven awaits all, even homosexuals.

Wait another minute, homosexuals are allowed entry, but not women?

---

The truth is, it is the Bible that gives hope of salvation to homosexuals, not Soriano. The Bible tells homosexuals to change their ways for their ways are evil. Soriano only tells them the first part to get them lining up for membership. He tells them it is not a sin to be a homosexual because it flows naturally with the person, and they are not sinning at all. Is he exhibiting his infamous ignorance again? How can a homosexual not be sinning? If a man sleeps with another man, he's a homosexual... if he doesn't, he's not homosexual and not sinning. It's that simple isn't it? But this simplicity is also what Soriano uses to be ambiguous with his teaching. And he reels in his catch of homosexuals who think God will let them into heaven just because they are His creation too.

Soriano leaves out the true meaning of redemption in Christ. That Jesus has the power to cleanse sin and change lives. No matter how crookedly homosexual one is, God will turn him back from his sinful life. He does not need to become a member of Soriano's cult for acceptance. God will accept him regardless of anything if he repents his sins and follow God's will. He needs to accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, and invite Jesus to reside in his heart. Change will come from within his being because of Christ. Not because he joined Soriano's cult.

Soriano's Asinine Denial of God's Global Flood

Here we go again. It appears denying God's words is what Soriano does to pass time. He denies God can do everything, knows everything, and is everywhere. Now he even denies God's worldwide flood. And the leading reason of his two-fold argument is the term "worldwide flood" is not in the Bible. Absolutely childish really, but his followers treat it as scripture itself. We'll tackle both folds of his argument and we'll start with the verses he cites.

(Genesis 7:17-20) “And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.”

He states that "nowhere in these verses is there a hint of a worldwide flood".

No hint?

Let's go through the verses again, "all the high hills under the whole heaven", "the mountains were covered". Doesn't 'all' mean ALL? I'd agree with 'local' had the flood been described like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Which was clearly a local destruction and the only saved were Lot and his family. But the Bible saying 'world', and 'all', and the only saved were Noah and his family, is a whole different matter.

From this alone, one thing's for sure... Soriano would make a lousy detective.

Let's help him out... How about 2 Peter 3:6 “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: ” How's THAT for a hint Mr. Soriano?

---

Now I said his argument was two-fold. The second of which is Soriano's focus on the word 'earth' or as he has extensively tried to establish as "dry land". He even pulled out the Hebrew term 'erets' to try and fix his listeners' mind to JUST DRY EARTH. Now why does he have to go to the extent of doing this? Because he believes that THE SEAS CANNOT BE FLOODED. And he wants his listeners to believe what he believes.

Mr. Soriano, you need to employ some of your claimed wisdom to work here. The whole world was flooded at the beginning, was it not? Flooding it again wouldn't be too hard for God to do. Even the limited god you preach about can do that. If the flood was local, why does God tell Noah to build a boat? What for? He could have just told Noah to pack up and go. Noah had 120 years of warning right? He could have found another place that the floods would not reach.

God could have just told the animals to take a hike. Or He may not have bothered at all because surely there were other animals in the parts that were not flooded, think about that Mr. Soriano. Moreover, why build such a huge ark for just the local fauna? Birds could have just flown elsewhere yet pairs of them were gathered into the ark.

And please, Mr. Soriano, do not bring science into your claim because you will only be nailing your argument's own coffin. Science will tell you that WATER SEEKS ITS OWN LEVEL. It could not rise to cover ALL THE MOUNTAINS while leaving the rest of the world undisturbed. That is absolutely dumb, Soriano.

Not convinced Eliseo? Get any container. Put anything that will not float in the middle, and then fill the container with water. Scripture says the flood rose 15 cubits higher than all the high hills, so fill the container until the object you placed in the middle is under. Try any shape of object that won't float, but always remember to put water that is 15 cubits (in ratio) higher than the highest peak. Then watch your asinine argument melt. Water will always seek its own level.

---

What is not obvious here is Soriano's subtle attack of God's word yet again. He is denying what is crystal clear in scripture. Denying the global scope of the flood, will mean there were people living in distant lands that were not affected by it. They would have escaped God’s judgment on sin. Jesus Christ must then be mistaken when He likened the coming judgment of all men to the judgment of ‘ALL’ men in the days of Noah (Mathew 24:37-39). Jesus must be talking about a partial judgment in Noah’s day, is that right Eli? Jesus must also mean a partial judgement to come in the future, eh?

Believe Soriano and you render Jesus as mistaken.

Believe Soriano and you believe the lies of the devil himself.

*Part of graphic used with apologies to Answers In Genesis

Soriano Says No Women In Heaven

Yes, you read the title right. Here are more preposterous claims of Eliseo Soriano... "women cannot enter Heaven unless they become men first", and "there are no more women in Heaven". How in the world did he come up with such bizarre teachings? He'll point you to the Bible of course, and he'll tell you to read 1 Corinthians 16:13 "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" and Job 38:3 "Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me" as his primary basis for his claim. Soriano says women need to become men according to these verses.

At first I thought, "this guy could not possibly be serious". I mean anybody with enough sense will readily interpret what the Bible meant by "like men" and "like a man". It means, to render one's self as MANLY or BRAVE. NOT to be a coward, or timid, or afraid of enemies. But to be BOLD and BRAVE. Soriano could not be seriously implying "like men" to mean "become men" right? So I gave him the benefit of the doubt and delved into it a little deeper. Because his example of Job being told by God to gird his loins like a man may mean what I just described as being manly. That at least would have been acceptable teaching for women to stand strong and be brave. But sadly, it turned out that Soriano meant what he said.

Because Soriano would then use Philippians 3:20-21, "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." With this verse Soriano claims that our bodies will be transformed to become LIKE that of Christ's body. And since Christ was a man, we will all be like Christ (a man) in Heaven. With this he reiterates his claim that there will no longer be a female gender. So there are no women in heaven. Yes folks, you'd better start calling Maria as Mario, if you think Soriano is right.

Listen to him yourself here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN6m70X6C9I

---

I wasn't a bit surprised after watching this video. Nor was I surprised when his followers started claiming that the video was either cut, manipulated, or edited when I pointed them to it. Surely they can't deny how definitive Soriano's answer was. That there will only be one (1) gender in heaven. And that the women end up with the short straw. Nor could they deny that the channel is the "official channel" for the videos from Ang Dating Daan.

It's quite predictable that Soriano's followers will come to defend their leader no matter what slip up he may commit. For them, Soriano, being a god, would not make such obvious misinterpretations. They will recite (as if reading from a prompter) that I am the one misinterpreting Soriano, and that I am of the devil, and that I being of the devil cannot understand Scripture. Only Soriano, being "the SENT" of God can interpret Scripture correctly. So unless I was Soriano himself, they would not listen. Yet another display of idolatry really.

So what does scripture really mean? What it means is when we get to heaven, we will all be given glorified bodies *like* that of our Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture does not say that we will all become men like Christ nor did Scripture say that the women will become men. Only Soriano insinuated that *dumb notion* (pardon my French). He did not even give a passage that supports his bizarre claim. He merely used ambiguous verses then inserted the idea that all will become what he says women will become. Soriano exhibited his woeful ignorance yet again with this teaching. So much so that the Pastors he arrogantly challenges for debates should give way to English teachers (preferably women). I doubt he'll come out acting like the boor he is once the teachers are through with him.

The sad part is, at the end of the day, there are still those who value Soriano's words. Not knowing they are words of heresy. And they in turn share false teachings like these to their friends and loved ones. Unaware of the fact that they are leading souls into destruction themselves because they are blinded by their adoration for this worker of evil. They raise him up on their shoulders and proclaim salvation through their sent leader. Soriano's double whammy of ignorance and deceit guarantees a disastrous fall. Making it so easy for him to trick those who don't know any better themselves.

But his victims are still our brothers and sisters. They do not see Soriano for what he truly is . A wolf in sheep's clothing let loose inside a henhouse. Spewing lie after lie with cunning deception and charisma. Leading them to their own destruction.

They need our help.

Why The MCGI Is A Cult

In this entry I will give the numerous truths that show why Eli Soriano's MCGI (Members, Church of God International) is a cult (like it was not obvious already). I guess it's only fair to explain the basis of this claim using the template that existing cults follow. This is to show that I am not doing this merely to defame or persecute Soriano, but to help open the eyes of the multitudes he has deceived into his fold. I could care less about Soriano and his defenders but the urging of the Holy Spirit is stronger than anything else. And it alone takes the fear, hate, apprehension, and bias away from pursuing this endeavor.

The first characteristic of a cult is the inclination to hold the leader's word as superior to the Bible. Cults will deny what God says in His Word as completely true especially if it goes against their doctrines. They use God's very own words to inject doubt into the minds of followers by weaving half-truths and ambiguity one after the other taken from the same Bible. The explanation and interpretation if Scripture is exclusive to the leader of the cult. Members are not permitted to do so on their own. There is no permission for self study. This is why all questions are directed to the leader. Moreover, they look at their leader as infallible.

The idea that their leader is the "sent" and therefore the "only" person qualified to interpret scripture is as unbiblical as it is cultic. Questioning the leader's word is like going against God himself. Eventually, the followers change their theological point of authority away from God's full and final written Word, the Bible, to the cult leader's own unique, self-promoting opinions about the Bible. They will still use the Bible for convenience. But everything is lip service now. They can try all they want, but Soriano's cult members will have to keep fooling their own minds to deny what this identifier says about their cult. Because it is spot on.

Cults teach that salvation depends upon something other than the Atonement for sins through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. For cults, Jesus' sacrifice is not enough to save them from sin and to complete this, human works is injected into their doctrine. The cult's message of salvation is clouded with obedience to requirements declared by its leader, instead of relying on the grace of God alone for salvation. Because of this, there is no guarantee of salvation for the member. The member is continually bound to obligations instead of being spiritually free. Obligations also lead to financial exploitation where the member is brainwashed that money contributed to the cause will be reciprocated substantially.

In order to gain favor with the market they target, they will use ambiguous doctrines meant to deceive rather than enlighten. They will cater to itching ears and say what is popular or what the public wants to hear. Hidden behind these propaganda lies the doctrinal beliefs they will impart once the listener has decided to become part of the cult.

It is a fact that cults will claim at one point or another, that they are the only true church and all other churches are false. They will denounce other groups, even badmouthing specific groups (particularly those that expose their falsehoods). Regardless of the cult, they all claim this exclusivity with God as the only ones who will enter into heaven. A condition is thereafter set, that to become saved, you MUST join their cult. Moreover the leader will surely say that it will be impossible to serve God without becoming a member. That's another bull's-eye for Soriano's MCGI.

Further still, the group leader will claim to be no mere man. He will label himself as the messiah (like Apollo Quiboloy), the sent, the angel of the Lord (like Felix Manalo), a god (like Eliseo Soriano), etc. This is followed with declarations that all others are dishonest, deceitful, from the devil, all the while it is they who exhibit all manner of Satanic characters.

They will welcome blogs like this and call it persecution. Soriano in particular will claim he is being attacked for righteousness sake. He will consider this as evidence that what he teaches is the only and true body of Christ. A member then, will find the weight of the world on his shoulders should he decide to leave the cult. The poor soul will be conditioned to think that to leave the group is to leave God Himself.

There will always be a special discovery like holy literature, communion with the dead, angels, or even God. Sometimes it's a continuing revelation that only the leader is privileged to hear. Such revelations come from hallucinations, visions, dreams, private discoveries, etc.

The last and most important characteristic of a cult in which Soriano's MCGI is again spot on, is wrong understanding of Christ's nature. A cult will usually deny the true deity of Christ, His true humanity, His true origin, or the true union of the two natures in one Person. They will either demote Christ, make Him subordinate, or worse, make Him a creation and not the creator.

My interactions with members of Soriano's cult has always led me conclude that these poor people are like prisoners to the lies of Soriano. He always uses out-of-context scripture as proofs for their doctrines. They focus on one verse or passage of the Bible to the exclusion of others, then limit their understanding to the shallowness and wanton disregard for the true context of Scripture that Soriano spews out. Because of this, the ignorant remain ignorant. The prisoners in MCGI, remain prisoners in MCGI. And they are willingly allowing Soriano to fill their heads with falsehoods. Keeping them from finding the true person of Jesus Christ in the Bible. Keeping themselves from being set free.

Salvation In Two Flavors

Heresy in Soriano's doctrines reach it's peak with the false teaching that Jesus brings two kinds of salvation.

The first of the two is derived from Matthew 1:21, which says, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Here Soriano claims that Jesus came and died for Israel alone.

The second of the two salvations is for the faithful Gentiles. This lot will only have their chance at redemption at the time of Jesus' return. In a twisted perversion of scripture, this means that Christ's death should mean little to the Gentiles since it was not meant for them. Would Jesus have to die all over again for the Gentiles? Because it is written in scripture that the punishment for sin is death (Romans 3:23) and the atonement for it is the blood of the innocent. The answer is no of course. Soriano's teaching is heretical to the last letter. He would have Christ doing a sequel to His last stint on earth.

Soriano teaches that on Christ's return, the Gentiles, will be saved if they remain faithful, and belong to God's "legitimate church"... which just so happens to be his church, Members Church of God International (MCGI).

With this false doctrine, Soriano injects yet another betrayal of scripture. Scripture declares in plain and simple words... there is nothing man can do to merit salvation. Joining a cult like Soriano's could not bring man any further from being saved.

Soriano continually pushes for "works-based salvation". A clear departure form Ephesians 2:8-9 which clearly teaches that there is only one plan for salvation, and that nothing man can do will be acceptable unto the Lord (Isaiah 64:6). He uses a perverse misinterpretation of 1 Timothy 3:15, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." Claiming that God has NAMED His church as "Church Of The Living God, The Pillar And Ground Of The Truth". People only need to JOIN to be saved, because God has established it, and it's there already, nothing else is needed but JOIN. This is a lie Soriano says through his teeth.

The funny thing is, Soriano even pursued having his church renamed with the lengthy chopped portion of scripture to make his church sound legit. But the Securities and Exchange Commission would not allow it, on account of an entity already existing with the very same name. He settles for the present MCGI yet claims this is the TRUE CHURCH that Jesus established before ascending into heaven.

Soriano teaches the heresy that a sinner must FIRST join the church (his church) before he or she can receive Christ as Savior. The Bible teaches the exact opposite. Because the very moment you trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you become a member of the Body of Christ (The Church).

---

The truth is, there is nothing we can do by works to earn salvation. There is no step that requires joining a church, and then this, and then that. It is true that Christians should be baptized, publicly confess Christ as Savior, turn from sin, and commit their lives to obeying God. But, these are not steps to salvation. They are RESULTS of salvation. Because of our sin, we cannot earn salvation by any means. There is no manual with 10 steps or 1000 steps to follow. That is why Jesus had to die in our place. We are totally incapable of paying our sin debt to God or cleanse ourselves from sin. Only God could accomplish our salvation. God Himself completed the necessary “steps” and thereby freely offers salvation to anyone who will receive it from Him.

We don't have to join any visible church organization to be saved. Jesus' love and sacrifice was sufficient for all, Jews and Gentiles alike. The word 'all' includes those who came before and after His death on the cross. There is no second type of salvation as Soriano teaches. Faith ALONE (Ephesians 2:8-9), in Jesus ALONE (Romans 10:13) is all that's needed to be saved. For Jesus is the ONLY WAY, He is the TRUTH, and He is the LIFE. No man cometh unto the Father, but through Jesus (John 14:6).

God Cannot Lie, Therefore God Is Not Omnipotent?

There is a predictable danger in believing Eli Soriano's lies regarding God's omnipresence. According to Soriano, not only is God NOT omnipresent, God is also NOT omnipotent. God not being omnipresent and omnipotent, surely will include the third of the trio, God's omniscience. Such a depiction of God negates all other declarations of God's infinite power. And belief in such a lie, leads one to worship not the God of the Bible, but a god made by Soriano.

Soriano assumes God has a behind because he paints a picture of God by using a man's physical being as a basis, employing a "reverse engineering" approach to Genesis 1:24 ("Let us make man after our own image"). Whereas man, having a behind, would logically mean God has one also. He completely forgets the Biblical fact that "God is a spirit" (John 4:24), and "a spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39). He also forgets the fact that he is comparing man's physical body with a spiritual one. His primary fault is his failure to compare God (who is an invisible spirit) (Colossians 1:15) to man's own spirit, which is the "image" that Genesis 1:24 is referring to. And he's too proud to admit his mistake. What's worse is he further builds on this one lie to preach even more lies, thereby denying God of His powers. He denies God is omnipresent, now he denies God is omnipotent.

The all powerful God who created everything from nothing is being reduced to a punk who can do this and that, but NOT everything. And what has Soriano to present as proof of his blasphemous claim? God's own words! Can you imagine the gall of this false prophet? Preaching of God's "limitations" using God's own words? This is how he easily captures his audience, by mixing truth with lies. He uses Titus 1:2 "...which God, that cannot lie..." as his evidence for his false teaching.

No God-fearing, Bible-believing person will refute scripture. Indeed, God cannot lie. That is Biblical fact. But how Soriano uses this fact IS the lie I am addressing here. Soriano argues that since God cannot lie, God cannot do everything. And because God cannot do everything, God cannot be called omnipotent!

How false can this prophet get?

In the mindset of Soriano, God has to be able to lie, to be called omnipotent. If God does lie, will Soriano call Him omnipotent then? I wouldn't hold my breath if I were Soriano, because God will never lie. It would go against His very nature which is holy and pure. Still, Soriano uses this child-like argument like a buffoon bullying kids in the backstreets to uphold his deceitful argument and wrong assumptions. Those who don't know better offer little to no resistance to the lies that Soriano spews out.

God's omnipotence is most prevalent and openly declared in the Bible.

- Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”

- Numbers 11:23, “Is the LORD'S hand too short?”

- 1 Samuel 14:6, "...for [there is] no restraint to the LORD ..."

- Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee:”

---

Sorry Soriano, lying will not make God omnipotent. Lying will only make God a sinner. To lie is to sin. And to propose such a sin to limit God's power can only come from a lying heretic like you. Lying is a most detestable evil to God, who is a God of truth. You, Soriano resemble the devil, who is the father of lies. Your tongue speaks falsehood, knowingly and willingly, intent on deceiving others, impugning the character of the Most High.

Do us all a favor Soriano and look up at the stars in the sky. God made all of them! Can you even imagine the power in just one star? God created everything simply by speaking. That is ultimate, limitless, and infinite power. Power that is beyond our comprehension. Power that is well beyond your lies.

The Graven Image Of Soriano

Often when you engage in discussion with members of Soriano's CGI (Church of God International), they reveal (consciously and unconsciously) unbiblical doctrines like the ones presented in this blog. When you delve deeper, they are not shy in presenting Biblical reference which more often than not, do not have relevance to the doctrine they preach. It just so happens that a word or two can be found in such verses, that they use it to try and substantiate their claims. It's not hard to recognize the shallow nature in which they interpret scripture. This is mainly because their fundamentals are shaky, so everything built upon it is easily toppled.

When you refute their falsehood, be prepared to receive all manner of degrading words, cussing, and ridicule. They will no longer see you as a potential new member, but a threat. Of the numerous encounters I've had with Soriano's followers (I say Soriano's followers because they don't follow what the Bible says, just what Soriano says) I've been called everything from 'stupid' to 'demon', but that's okay. Words don't hurt anyway. It only emboldens me to try and pierce through the armor of lies Soriano has clad on them. The members' eyes are obviously blinded from the fact that they don't even bother investigating obvious flaws in Soriano's argument simply because they consider him above everyone else.

"Soriano is sent", is what you'd often hear as retort. "Soriano is the only sensible teacher", and "Only the sent should interpret scripture". If that is not a spiritual death wish, I don't know what is. The followers are brainwashed of the Biblical fact that reading and studying scripture is not exclusive to the leader of the group. Nowhere in the Bible is it said that reading scripture is for those sent alone. On the contrary, the Bible is very clear that we should all read and study God's words to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

- God's word is our spiritual food, because we cannot live by bread alone (Matthew 4:4);

- We can use it to answer ANY QUESTION we have about life, and we are guaranteed that the answers within are without error (2 Timothy 3:16);

- We can depend on it simply because God does not change. What holds true then is true now, and will still be true in the future no matter how advanced we get (Ecclesiastes 1:9, Malachi 3:6);

- God's word helps us identify false teachings. There so many of these damnable heresies that the word of God helps us identify them. We learn to discern between the good and evil, the true and false;

- Further, the word of God equips us to do battle for the faith. To uphold what is true, God-breathed, and holy (2 Timothy 3:17; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).

With the Bible openly talking like this, why is it that Soriano's followers not recognize the truth that study of scripture is for all?

There is no other answer other than "Because Soriano says so". Here lies the danger of idolatry. We know that idolatry is not limited to the worship of graven images. It comes in different forms that without the discernment scripture provides, we cannot readily identify them. In a nutshell though, idolatry happens when we replace God as the center of our lives. Anything that has a greater pull at our hearts than God has is idolatry. And there is none other than Soriano who has the greatest pull in these people's hearts. He has them catering to his every whim. So why not make them attend his concert? Or why not make them boycott a TV station? They'll follow him, so WHY NOT?  

Submission to Soriano's opinion is a form of idolatry. How they raise his words with authority is scary. The "what he says is so" attitude replaces the authority of God's word. The cultic control Soriano has over his subjects is not something to be taken lightly. They see it as defiance to go against what Soriano has said. They blindly follow Soriano to their destruction. They are convinced that they have NO RIGHT to interpret scripture because they are not "sent". That is a blatant lie of Soriano! They content themselves with what Soriano feeds them. Picking up the Bible and reading from it merely becomes lip service. They don't chew and digest God's words, they let Soriano do all the chewing! This is why they remain spiritually hungry.

They are also convinced that Soriano is sent of God, where in fact, no church ever sent him, not even his old church. He had to break away and create his own church. THEN install himself as "sent". How could he be sent then? Can you see the similarities with Satan's ambitions? And lastly, which could be the most bizarre of all, is that they are convinced Soriano himself is a god. They acknowledge Soriano introducing himself as a god. And as followers, who are they to defy a god?

---

Please include them in your prayers. May God open their eyes to the truth that is before them. That they may see and understand that they are committing idolatry, and that the folly of following someone who is no more saved than they are will lead them to fall.