World Mission Society Church of God
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The World Mission Society Church of God (in Korean, 하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회) was founded by Ahn Sahng-hong in 1964, when he left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church believes that he is the second coming of Jesus. Ahn Sahng-Hong died in 1985 and the current leader of the church is Zang Gil-Jah, "the Heavenly Mother", and the General Pastor is Kim Joo-Cheol. Over 70 percent of followers are women and Korean Americans are increasingly found among the new adherents. Its headquarters are located in Bundang, Sungnam City, Kyunggi Province, roughly an hour away from Seoul.[1]
The church believes that Zang Gil-Jah is "God the Mother" (who they believe is referred to in the Bible as the New Jerusalem Mother) and that Ahn Sahng-Hong is God the Father. The church regards the earthly family system as a copy and shadow of the heavenly family system, consisting of a Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, and the spiritual brothers and sisters (humans). These unorthodox beliefs have led some to consider the church a cult.[1][2]
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[edit] Core Beliefs
The two fundamental beliefs held by the church are their claim that Ahn Sahng-Hong was the second coming of Jesus, and that only those who keep the Passover will be saved. The church believes that Ahn Sahng-Hong restored the new covenant in accordance with the prophecies in the Bible. Other core beliefs include:
[edit] Sabbath
The Sabbath is the Seventh-day of the week. It was established by God to be Saturday and that is a day set apart to commemorate God as Creator. They argue that Jesus kept the Sabbath and established "the Sabbath of Jesus" (Matt. 12:8; Luke 6:5) as the completion of "the Sabbath of Jehovah" (Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12) and that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday by the emperor Constantine I and the influence of Roman sun-god worshipers. Constantine made the worship of the Sun-God a holy-day now called Sun-day.[3]
[edit] Soul
Ahn Sahng Hong taught that "all men are angels who have come to the earth after sinning in heaven."[4] The Church believes that the Spirit was revealed through the creation of human beings. They draw these beliefs from God's word on Genesis 2:7, and Ecclesiastes 12:7. Through the Bible, the body is the temporal home of the Spirit, or the soul.[4]
[edit] Baptism
The World Mission Society Church of God holds that baptism is the first step toward salvation. They believe that baptism is a law of the new covenant and that it cleanses the soul and atones for the believer's sin. Followers are baptized in the name of the Father (Jehova) the Son (Jesus) and of the Holy Spirit (Ahn Sahng Hong), and salvation cannot be obtained without baptism. According to the church, wisdom to recognize God cannot be given without the forgiveness of sin preceding it..[5]
[edit] Trinity
The World Mission Society Church of God also teaches that the Trinity consists of the three male personas of God. They teach that there is only one male person of God who appears as either Father, Son or Holy Spirit as needed. Each is only a role of the male God much like any man can take on the role of father, son, husband, etc... One specific proof text used is Isaiah 9:6 where the prophesied child of God (Jesus) is also called "Everlasting Father" and "Wonderful Counselor".
[edit] Veil
The church requires all women to wear veils (or "Christian headcoverings") during services, in accord with their interpretation of the First Epistle to the Corinthians 11:1-16. Men are not to have their heads covered.[1]
[edit] Other beliefs
The church holds "the three 'R' movements": “Restore the Faith of the Early Church”, “Restore the Truth of the Early Church”, and “Redeem the Whole World”, as stated by the Chief Pastor Joo-Cheol Kim. The members pray in the name of Ahn Sahng Hong, whom they believe as the scriptures testify is the Second Coming of Christ. The church celebrates the seven appointed feasts of God (Leviticus 23); Passover, Unleavened Bread, First fruits, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles.
[edit] Activities
The Church claims to have established approximately 400 branch churches in Korea and 120 churches in other countries totaling over 1,000,000 members as of 2008.[6][verification needed] However, a UCLA professor of Korean Christianity noted that information provided by the Church of God concerning the number of followers and congregations is "unreliable".[1] The Church is also active in many volunteer services and welfare activities throughout the world.[citation needed]
[edit] Deviations from the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The World Mission Society Church of God retained some characteristics of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, such as meeting on Saturdays. Conversely, many of the church's claims deviate from the Seventh-day church, such as their proclamation of Ahn Sahng Hong as Jesus, their belief in a Holy Mother as equal to God the Father, and their view that in matter of fact the Christian cross and the Virgin Mary "are" symbols of idolatry.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Korea: The Church of God". Korea: The Church of God. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=42df611d20&skip=&coi=KOR. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ Lifshin, Inna (2008-02-01). "Korean church seeks recruits on campus". The Daily Pennsylvanian. http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2008/02/01/News/Korean.Church.Seeks.Recruits.On.Campus-3182691.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-02-03.
- ^ "Sabbath". Fundamental Truths. World Mission Society Church of God. http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_sabbath.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
- ^ a b "Soul". Fundamental Truths. World Mission Society Church of God. http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_sabbath.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
- ^ "Baptism". Fundamental Truths. World Mission Society Church of God. http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_baptism.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-12.
- ^ Poi-dong, Gangnam-gu (2007-February). "World Mission Society Church of God". Business Korea.
[edit] External links
- World Mission Society Church of God - Official website (English)
- World Mission Society Church of God - Church's USA Recruitment website
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