In the late 1993, Bro. Daniel Razon, an Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Members Church of God, International at that time, now the Vice-Presiding Minister, conceptualized the idea for a Bible Exposition. He suggested to the brethren that they invite friends and relatives, and to gather them to a place where they can eat together and have Bro. Eli Soriano as guest speaker. Part of the concept was to have an open forum whereby guests can ask questions to Bro. Eli regarding the Holy Scriptures.
The first Bible Exposition was held at Roosevelt in Metro Manila. The success of the event was encouraging that such activities were conducted regularly at some strategic locales, particularly in Muñoz, Sucat and Quiapo in the Philippines. In every exposition, hundreds of guests coming from various religions such as the Catholic, the Born Again movement, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Iglesia ni Cristo, among many others attended. There were also those who call themselves freelancers, those who profess not having any particular religion.
Aside from food being prepared personally by Bro. Eli, Bibles were also given to guests for free. Later on, the number of guests grew and the venues can no longer accommodate people en masse. Bible Expositions were later held in bigger venues such the Rizal Stadium, Cuneta Astrodome and Araneta Coliseum, which is the largest indoor facility in Southeast Asia.
On July 13, 2002, the first Bible Exposition in Singapore was held through the World Wide Web, where Bro. Eli gave a three-hour preaching in English for the first time. On the 30th of August of the same year, a Worldwide Bible Exposition successfully followed emanating from San Juan Gymnasium in Metro Manila, Philippines. Since then, Worldwide Bible Expositions are held regularly in coordination with other chapters abroad through the aid of modern technology.
On January 31, 2003, Bro. Eli carried on another Bible Exposition in Araneta Coliseum. The number of audience that attended exceeded the maximum capacity of the venue by thousands, making it a record high in the history of Southeast Asia’s Big Dome.
The first Grand Bible Exposition that was done outside the Philippines was held on November 14, 2004 in YWCA in Singapore. The event was aired in the Philippines as well as in other countries. In 2004, Bro. Eli was unconstitutionally suspended by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) from broadcasting his television program, The Old Path. Despite this, Bro. Eli did not cease propagating the Word of God through radio broadcast and through Bible Expositions in and out of the country through live streaming media.
On December 12, 2005, a Worldwide Bible Exposition was held once more at Araneta Coliseum coinciding with the 25th year celebration of Bro. Eli’s The Old Path program. It turned out later on that this was the last live Bible Exposition of Bro. Eli in the country. During the event, a certain group of armed men forced their way into the ADD International Convention Center compound where the central office of Bro. Eli was. Bro. Eli’s enemies knew that there were few people in the compound that night because of the exposition. Their main purpose was to sow fear among the members as they destroyed some properties and pointed their guns at the widows and children being sheltered in the compound.
Soriano perceived that his enemies would not stop until they have brought him six feet under the ground. Thus, in order to protect the brethren from further terrorism, and to file an appeal to the International Commission on Human Rights in Geneva Switzerland, Bro. Eli, against his will, went abroad.
Like a blessing in disguise, Bro. Eli was able to visit the brethren in other countries and continue his missionary works abroad. On January 7, 2006, the first live Bible Exposition in the United States was held in Los Angeles, California. Since then, Bible Expositions are being held in different parts of the world.
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