World Mission Society Church of God

The World Mission Society Church of God is a new religious movement that is influenced by the Church of God (Seventh-Day) and originated in South Korea in 1964.James, Jonathan D., Edith Cowan University, editor
"The Southern Factor: Prospects and Challenges,"
from book ''A Moving Faith: Mega Churches go South,'' 2015, Sage Publications, Los Angeles and New Delhi, retrieved 2018-05-23. After Ahn Sahng-hong died in 1985, Kim Joo-cheol and Zahng Gil-jah changed the church's name to ''Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God''. Thereafter, the Church expanded its activities to other parts of the world, and began using the name ''World Mission Society Church of God''. Its headquarters as well as its main church are located in the southeast of the Seoul metropolitan area (see end of infobox).

The church believes in Christ Ahn Sahng-hong, as well as ''God the Mother'', Zahng Gil-jah, as God. The church also believes it is restoring the truth of the early church.

Name

''World Mission Society Church of God'', or short ''Church of God'', is the name used identically in affiliated churches distributed in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America and South America.

History

Ahn Sahng-hong founded ''Church of God Jesus Witnesses'' in South Korea on 28 April 1964. After Ahn Sahng-hong died in February 1985, a group of people in the Church of God Jesus Witnesses including the man Kim Joo-cheol and the woman Zahng Gil-jah wanted to re-introduce the concept of a “spiritual mother”, and on 22 March 1985 moved from Busan to Seoul. On a meeting in Seoul on 2 June 1985, they discussed how to call Zahng Gil-jah, and established a church called ''Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God'' which is led by Kim Joo-cheol and Zahng Gil-jah. Two major new doctrines were codified

* Ahn Sahng-hong should be regarded as Jesus Christ who had already come, should be titled ''Christ Ahn Sahng-hong'', and pursuant to a traditional trinitarian view of Christian hypostasis Ahn was consequently also The Holy Spirit, God the Father, and thus God.
* Zahng Gil-jah should be regarded as God the Mother, a female image of God, be titled ''Heavenly Mother'', or simply ''Mother'', and together with Ahn Sahng-hong be regarded as God (for which the church commonly uses the Hebrew plural word: ''Elohim'').

A change in religious practice, as reflected in the change of name from “Jesus Witnesses” to “Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong”, was, that prayers were no longer conducted in the name of Jesus Christ but in the name of ''Christ Ahn Sahng-hong''.

Around 1997, Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God had established a non-profit organization titled the World Mission Society Church of God for the purpose of registering and managing the organization's assets.

Development

South Korea

In 1970, the church grew to four churches. In 1980, the church grew to 13 locations and increased to 30 in 1990. There was sharp increase of the growth in 2000 where it recorded 300 established churches and 400,000 registered members in South Korea. The church currently claims “more than 400 branches were established in Korea alone, within a half century after its establishment.”

Abroad

The Church of God started to spread abroad in 1997 starting in Los Angeles, Lahore, and Essen. In 2007 it recorded over 100 churches abroad and in 2008 it recorded over one million registered members. By 2013 the church claims to have expanded to 2,500 churches in “about 175 countries.”

Current status

A media outlet owned by the Church of God reports to have more than 7,500 churches, 3.3 million registered members in the world 175 countries.

An external account mentions that the number of church members is estimated to have only been around 100,000 in 2013, contrary to Kim Joo-cheol's claims.

Beliefs and practices

The church believes in God the Father and God the Mother, claiming to be restoring the truth and practices of the early Church. The church also believes that co-founder Zahng Gil-jah is God the Mother, as taught by the founder Ahn Sahng-hong.

The World Mission Society Church of God believes that all of its teachings are based on the Bible, as explained in the numerous books written by Ahn Sahng-hong.

Second coming of Christ

The Church believes that Ahn Sahng-hong is the Second Coming of Jesus, who came with a new name, the name of the Holy Spirit and it states that he fulfilled biblical prophecies that only Jesus could have fulfilled.

In addition, the church believes that the ''Elohim'' (meaning “Gods”) created all things in heaven and earth, created men and women in accordance with Gods' image, proving the existence of God in male images and God in female images, and claimed that the bride and Jerusalem represented Mother God Zahng Gil-jah.

Feast days

The church celebrates the seven feasts described in Leviticus 23: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. The church believes that they observe these feasts according to the New Covenant established by Jesus, by distinguishing from the feasts kept in the Old Testament.

Sabbath

It believes in the Saturday Sabbath according to Genesis 2:1-3 but celebrates it not from sunset to sunset but from sunrise to sunset. It considers the Sabbath to be a sign between God and God's people according to and , and it must be kept as a service according to .

Members are encouraged to keep the three services on the Sabbath day. Between services, members participate in various church-related activities such as Bible studies, watching church produced videos, or preaching in the local community.

Idolatry

According to the church's interpretation of , items such as crosses and statues are considered a form of idolatry and are not erected on or in their churches. The Church has likewise removed stained glass windows from existing churches, as images made of light are seen as being connected to sun worship.

Human origin and redemption

The Church believes that all human beings were originally created as angels in Heaven. They sinned against God and were sent to Earth as a second chance to return to God. The only way for humans to return to heaven is by keeping the Passover with bread and wine (Jesus' flesh and blood) and following the teachings of the Bible, as taught by Ahn Sahng-hong. They include believing in God the Mother, who is the Bride to give them life in the last days.

Baptism

The World Mission Society Church of God holds that baptism is the first step towards salvation and must be done in the name of the Father (Jehovah), of the Son (Jesus), and the name of the Holy Spirit, believed to be ''Ahn Sahng-hong''.

Prayer

The Church believes that prayer must be done in the name of the Holy Spirit Ahn Sahng-hong in the last days and that women must wear veils, according to while they pray.

Evangelism

Members travel from house to house and in shopping malls, hospitals and college campuses to share their beliefs in the bible.

Critics note that the group's recruiting efforts can be very aggressive, and target vulnerable people, especially those going through a major life transition or with a void in their lives. Some have alleged that the group targets those with greater access to money. College students and returning veterans have been particularly targeted.Harris, Chris
"Former Members Allege New Jersey Church, South Korea-Based World Mission Society Church of God, is Actually a 'Cult',"
December 10, 2015, ''People'' Magazine, retrieved 2018-05-22.Ma, Myles, NJ Advance Media
"Ex-members accuse Ridgewood church of being cult, reports say,"
January 17, 2016, ''Bergen County Record'' / NJ.com, retrieved 2018-05-22.

Some aggressive WMSCOG recruiters have created concern on college campuses, where young women seem to be their primary target, proselytized emphatically with the church's “Mother God” doctrine. Some of these recruiters have been banned from some college campuses in the U.S. for “trespassing” or proselytizing without permission."Church members barred from U of M campus for ‘aggressively’ discussing religion,"
January 31, 2018, WREG-TV, Memphis, Tennessee, retrieved 2018-05-22."God the Mother” Followers Aim to Proselytize Students,"
February 23, 2018, ''Oberlin Review,'' Oberlin College, retrieved 2018-05-22."Wichita police: No abductions linked to missionaries in silver van,"
September 14, 2015, ''The Wichita Eagle'',"Religious recruiters spark concern,"
February 20, 2014, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, retrieved 2018-05-23.

Comparisons to traditional Christianity

The World Mission Society Church of God holds many views differing from mainstream Christianity. The church says it observes holy days according to the dates of the sacred calendar in the Old Testament as the early church did in the time of Jesus. They also believe that God the Father and God the Mother have come in the flesh in South Korea, according to Bible prophesies. These beliefs have attracted some criticism of the church. The church teaches that this is the same persecution that the early Christians received for believing in Jesus in the flesh at his first coming.

Responding to an inquiry, the WMSCOG issued a statement that “the biggest difference between our Church and other churches” is that “we believe in God the Mother as well as God the Father. (…) According to the prophecies of the Bible, God the Mother is to appear in the last age of redemption.”

The deification of Ahn Sahng-hong and Zahng Gil-jah has been “harshly criticized,” and has led to the church being officially condemned by the National Council of Churches in Korea as an interdenominationally combatted, blasphemous, heretical cult. The Christian Council of Korea, which represents Protestant churches in South Korea, has denounced the WMSCOG as “heretical.”

Awards

UK ZION, a World Mission Society Church of God chapter, was awarded The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2016.Cunningham, Cara,

Criticism and controversy

The World Mission Society Church of God is one of many controversial grassroots religious movements that have rapidly emerged in South Korea the latter half of the 20th century. Other groups include the Good News Mission (also known as Guwonpa) and the Shincheonji Church. These groups have been criticized for their recruitment strategies where women, university students, and ethnic minorities are targeted.

The group has been publicly criticized, by some former members and cult researchers, as acting like a cult, exercising unusual control over its members, separating them from family and friends, and exploiting them excessively, while violating laws and avoiding transparency and accountability."NBC Investigates – World Mission Church of God member John Power,"
Dec 4, 2016, ''The Today Show,'' host Ronan Farrow, NBC News on YouTube.

1988 failed doomsday prophecy

Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God announced that “1988 is the end of the world” citing , as Ahn had done in his 1980 book ''The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life''. A few thousand members of Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God gathered on a mountain in Sojeong-myeon, Yeongi County, South Chungcheong Province awaiting the coming of Christ Ahn Sahng-hong, preparing for the rapture and the salvation of 144,000 souls. When Ahn failed to appear and nothing happened the church updated their apocalyptic forecast and scheduled it to the opening of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul later that year where the members gathered and preached the end of the world would come by the end of 1988 and that Ahn Sahng Hong would come again. The WMSCOG later claimed it was a fulfillment of the preaching of Jonah.

At least two former members in South Korea accused Zahng Gil-jah and Kim Joo-cheol who declared 1988, 1999 and 2012 as the end of the world in order to defraud members for more wealth.

Change in Ahn Sahng-hong's book

''The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life'' (1980) is 38 chapters in total. The WMSCOG removed three chapters from “The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life”, namely Chapter 1: Restoration of Jerusalem and the Prophecy of 40 Years, Chapter 11: Let Us Reveal the Truth from the History Books About the Church, and Chapter 36: Elijah Will Be Sent

The ''“New Covenant Passover Church of God” (NCPCOG)'' which is the group that has split with the WMSCOG, claimed that the WMSCOG had changed the first edition dates of “The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life”, “The Last Plagues and the Seal of God” and “Visitors from the Angelic World” to 1967 once upon a time. The NCPCOG also refuted the claim by the WMSCOG that Ahn Sahng-hong had the book “The Law of Moses and the Law of Christ”, and said that Ahn Sahng-hong has never published this book, but it seems to have been compiled with reference to Ahn Sahng-hong's book “The New Testament and the Old Testament”.

''People'' magazine inquiry

In December 2015, ''People'' magazine published an interview with former member Michele Colon, who had attended the WMSCOG church in Ridgewood, New Jersey

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