Diemazz

The World Mission Society Church of God (in Korean, 하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회) was founded by Ahn Sang-hong in 1964, when he left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church believes that he is the second coming of Jesus. Ahn Sang-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 Sang-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]

Core Beliefs

The two fundamental beliefs held by the church are their claim that Ahn Sang-Hong was the second coming of Jesus, and that only those who keep the Passover will be saved. The church believes that Ahn Sang-Hong restored the new covenant in accordance with the prophecies in the Bible. Other core beliefs include:

Sabbath

The church believes that the Sabbath day was established by God to be Saturday and that it 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.^[3]

Soul

Ahn Sang 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 their interpretation of Genesis 2:7, and Ecclesiastes 12:7. They believe that the body is the temporal home of the Spirit, or the soul.^[4]

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 Ahn Sang 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. Therefore, they believe that a person should be baptized before beginning religious study.^[5]

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]

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 Sang 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. The church keeps the seventh-day Sabbath each Saturday by holding worship services at the appointed times of 9 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.

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]}

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 and not celebrating Christmas. Conversely, many of the church's claims deviate from the Seventh-day church, such as their proclamation of Ahn Sang Song as Jesus, their belief in a Holy Mother as equal to God the Father, and their view that the Christian cross and the Virgin Mary are symbols of idolatry.

References

External links

• World Mission Society Church of God - Official website (English)
• World Mission Society Church of God - Church's USA Recruitment website
• Who is Ahn Sahng Hong? - Member Blog

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