By Jane Abao
The occasion is a weekly thanksgiving given on July 14, 2007 by a bible scholar named Bro. Eli Soriano. He is the Presiding Minister of the Church of God, International. The speaking location is in New York and through live streaming his sermon is flashed to many parts of the world (about 82 church locales). For this analysis, the audience is in the Philippines, mostly Filipinos.
He is seated throughout the presentation. He begins by counting 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 to check if the microphone is okay. He asks the main representative of five people composed of two bible readers, two ministers-in-charge, and one member-guest who occupy a table up front, if everything is ready.
The speaker is in white sweater and a dark coat, quite presentable to the crowd. It is cold from where he is, he said. He maintains enough eye contact with his audience. The camera pans back and forth from speaker to audience. The topic is “Why it is not second coming if Christ comes back to earth.” It is organized through four general questions giving proofs that Christ was on earth even before he was born a human being.
Soriano’s voice is pleasant enough. He is a known broadcaster, debater, and now becoming a phenomenal blogger on biblical issues. In between takes, he makes a report about his mission in the United States, talking about social issues. He specifies the evil effects leading to genetically modified organisms (GMO) by showing on screen a very big rooster 10 times bigger than the man supposed to be in charge with it. The man carries on his hand a long string attached to the giant rooster. He laughs and laughs. The audience laughs with him.
There is clear interaction between him and the audience. He tells a little anecdote. To illustrate that people do not have time for God, he tells about them not sleeping, not even standing up to answer the call of nature, just so one could gamble effectively. For God, however, he says, people think time should be very, very short if possible.
The speech purpose is for the weekly spiritual feeding of God’s people. It is to make them understand that when Christ comes back, it will not be the second time as he had been here before; he was with God the Father even before the world began. Those who are thinking it will be the second time are those looking at Christ as a mere human being, he says.
The speaker flashes on screen the false belief of the Iglesia ni Manalo (Church of Christ) that it is the day of judgement when Christ comes back and that the earth will fade away. He uses their publication entitled Pasugo or “Messenger,” then he tries to demolish their argument.
Soriano’s assistants amply supply him with audio visual aids. He uses a wide screen for a very large audience (Estimate: 40,000) scattered about the very large convention center in the Philippines. He uses artefacts in the form of documents, audio clips, still pictures, and video footages. As he exposes a false preacher, the false doctrines of the preacher are flashed on the screen as he does his analysis.
The presentation style is that of a delivery of lecture with interactive part to check understanding, sandwiched throughout the two-and-a- half-hour session. It is not the usual one way sermon. The conversational type of delivery now and then is backed up with biblical verses flashed on the screen. The speaker asks questions which structures his lecture that is intentionally built for clear understanding. He speaks in a normal tone that is clearly heard with the aid of good acoustics.
It is not true that it will be the end of the world when Christ comes, Soriano says. There will still be 1,000 years. The just will rise from the grave, and those are alive who are also just will be caught up in the clouds when Christ comes (Thessalonians 4:16). This is a fulfilment of a prophecy, he says. They will be made priests and will reign for 1,000 years. As presented in Revelations 20:5, some will not resurrect until after 1,000 years. The earth will still be there. It will only be gone after the second death. (John 5:29).
Now and then, the main representative reads the scriptures for the congregation as necessary. The verses are at the same time flashed on the screen. The speaker continues that in John 3:13, Christ tells Nicodemus that only he who came from heaven has ascended to Heaven. This is the second instance then that he came down. Bro. Soriano explains that after two or three years since this, Christ died and then ascended into heaven.
To exemplify the word, “likewise,” he uses parallelism (1 Timothy 2:9: Dressing of women in modest apparel should also be likewise to men). Hebrew 9:28 says “Likewise Jesus was given once to die (first instance) and given to carry the sins of the world.” In the second instance (meaning, “afterward”), he is shown to be separate from sin for the salvation of men. So “second instance” does not mean “second coming,” he says, as wrongly supposed by some church groups.
The screen then shows the meaning of “second coming” in Greek. It does not mean coming but afterward. As adverb, it is not to come, but means afterward, he explains. The screen again shows another meaning which also means “afterward”
The minister explains that the first instance of Jesus Christ was that he died for the sins of many. Nobody wanted to see his totally bruised and broken face. Moreover, in this condition, he was also stripped naked, and made shameful to behold. He was carrying the sins of many. The second instance, Soriano says, was that Christ was showing he is separate from sin. But he rose glorious.
As the minister talks, the screen flashes audience reaction. The camera zooms in to a woman showing a look of anguish. The camera pans now and then at the audience in the Convention Center so that those monitoring in the different 82 locales all over the world can see what is going on.
He asks a question: When Christ was sacrificed, it is more applicable that the sins he carried before were the ones already made. Those who were existing were only they; and people now were not yet included. Do you agree?
He asks the five people on the ministerial table if they agreed. He then asks, “What do you understand by covenant or testament?”
One minister-in-charge (MIC) mentions about the requirements to be fulfilled and the penalties if not carried out. There is an agreement with God. One after another, the five at the table answer in this way.
Soriano comes on again and says, “The five forgot about the benefits of following God.” There is a promise, he says, for those who follow God. But, isn’t a testament not effective if the one who made it is not dead? (Hebrews 9:16). Isn’t a covenant between man and God? They agree.
1 Timothy 6:16 says God will reign forever (The God the father). Since he cannot die, the covenant can not be effective. Therefore, the one who makes a covenant must be one who can die. And that is Christ, he says. The audience are in awe.
Do you now have an idea who made a covenant with Israel?, he continues.
Hebrews 10:12 says that Christ’s death has that retrogressive and progressive effect. He died for the sins of many before. When he was sacrificed, the old covenant was fulfilled; and then the new covenant took over. Because of this, the effect of his death applies now to the sins of many afterwards, the minister explains. The audience is pleased and some clap.
He then checks the understanding of the five (representative of the understanding of the audience) by asking them to explain what they understood. He evaluates them as “very good.”
At the time of Moises, people were offering the blood of animals but these were only shadows of the real thing that was to come (Hebrews 10:1). It was the sacrifice of death that Christ made, that then and only then was the old covenant fulfilled, he sums up things.
If that was understood, well then let us go to our topic, Soriano says.
So that was only an introduction? The main representative asks – after more than a two-hour lecture and interaction.
Christ was only a scapegoat, Bro. Soriano explains. Christ entered the holy of holies not made with hands before the Father (Hebrews 9:21).
Will you ask the congregation if they understood Christ’s presenting his blood to the Father? The blood of the Son is precious, especially that he has labored much for it. Won’t the Father appreciate it? Even for the Israelites before, his flesh and his blood, he offered.
The picture of the lamb being slain every year is Christ, the speaker continues. But when Christ made his offering with his flesh and blood, it was made only once (Hebrews 9:25).
While Hebrews 9:15 was being read, Soriano interrupts in a singsong voice. Read it again he says of Verse 16: “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.”
Who made the first covenant with Israel?
Christ.
Yes. He was also the one who made the second covenant. There is no more required offerings for sin (where the blood of animals were used) but thanksgiving and offerings of praise in worship service and prayer meetings. For the keeping the covenant, there is a promise, and this is everlasting life. This will be our next topic for the next thanksgiving, God willing, he says.
Who needs everlasting life? This will be our next topic.
As the minister says this, audience interest is once again stirred.
He recaps: We are just beginning to learn the bible.
The congregation is surprised.
Movement with this speaker is not just physical. He asks penetrating questions to the audience, but first to a panel of five from whom he checks audience understanding before he proceeds. The chair he uses easily rotates as he gestures, which are quite natural, in that he uses his hands now and then as he speaks. He clearly is a seasoned lecturer and his presentation is analytical.
Now and then, he draws out long breaths that are audible – an expression of being pleased with the turn out of this topic. He is truly inspired. These long breaths are heard by the audience but they do not seem to mind; he is family to them. At age 60, he does not stand before specific audiences anymore. He lectures from one place sitting down and it is flashed through live streaming to many parts of the globe.
The speaker shows expertise in his knowledge. He knows the scriptures well and he appears to have memorized every nook and cranny of the Bible. Biblical understanding is not given to the evil, he says, and he seems to have proven his claim. He accomplishes his purpose effectively, knowing when to give examples and how. Truly, stories help to emphasize one’s point. He is well-prepared, relaxed, and uses natural humor.
Although it took him more than two hours, the topic was clearly limited to the time frame given to allow clear understanding. The success of his presentation was chiefly aided by his expertise of the topic, his ready use of audio-visuals, and his use of questions that keep his audience thinking. However, there must be more. In fact, he is fast being called phenomenal preacher.
