World Mission Society Church of God

Infobox Korean name|hangul=하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회 |hanja=| rr=Hananimeui Gyohoe: Segyebokeumseon Gyohyeobhoe|mr=Hananimŭi Kyohoe: Sekyebokŭmsŏn Kyohyŏbhoe The World Mission Society Church of God (in Korean, 하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회) was founded by Ahnsahnghong in 1964, when he left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church believes that he (referred to by his followers as Christ Ahn Sang-Hong) is the second coming of Jesus. Ahn Sang-Hong died in 1985, four years after he stated that the second coming Christ must preach the new covenant for 37 years in fulfillment of the throne of King David. Ahn Sang-Hong was baptized in 1948 and began preaching the new covenant Passover. Today, the leader of the church is Zang Gil-Jah, known to followers as the Heavenly Mother, and the General Pastor is Kim Joo-Cheol. Zang Gil-Jah usually appears in public wearing a traditional Korean hanbok. 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.cite web
title = Korea: The Church of God
work = Korea: The Church of God
publisher = Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
url = http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=42df611d20&skip=&coi=KOR
accessdate = 2007-08-17 ]

Within South Korea, and elsewhere proselytizers introduce themselves (to foreigners) by asking whether the individual has heard of the Mother's love, or of the Heavenly Mother. The church believes that Korean resident Zang Gil-Jah is "God the Mother" (who they believe is referred to in the Bible as the New Jerusalem Mother) as well as that Ahnsahnghong is God the Father. The church regards that the earthly family system is 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.cite news
last = Lifshin
first = Inna
title = Korean church seeks recruits on campus
publisher = The Daily Pennsylvanian
date = 2008-02-01
url = http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2008/02/01/News/Korean.Church.Seeks.Recruits.On.Campus-3182691.shtml
accessdate = 2008-02-03 ]

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.cite web
title = Sabbath
work = Fundamental Truths
publisher = World Mission Society Church of God
url = http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_sabbath.html
accessdate = 2007-08-12 ]

Soul

Ahnsahnghong taught that "all men are angels who have come to the earth after sinning in heaven."cite web
title = Soul
work = Fundamental Truths
publisher = World Mission Society Church of God
url = http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_sabbath.html
accessdate = 2007-08-12 ] 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.cite web
title = Soul
work = Fundamental Truths
publisher = World Mission Society Church of God
url = http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_soul.html
accessdate = 2007-08-12 ]

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 Ahnsanghong, and the church believes that 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.cite web
title = Baptism
work = Fundamental Truths
publisher = World Mission Society Church of God
url = http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_baptism.html
accessdate = 2007-08-12 ]

Veil

The church requires all women to wear veils during services (or Christian Headcoverings) according to their interpretation of one of the Apostle Paul's epistel. The church quotes 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 as a regulation mandating the use of headcoverings. Men are not to have their heads covered.cite web
title = Veil
work = Fundamental Truths
publisher = World Mission Society Church of God
url = http://usa.watv.org/truth/fundam_veil.html
accessdate = 2007-08-12 ]

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 Ahnsahnghong, 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. During worship services the brothers keep their hair uncovered and sisters cover their hair with a thin tailored garment believing this to be the practice handed down to Apostle Paul from Jesus of Nazareth as written in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

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.cite news | last = Poi-dong | first = Gangnam-gu | title = World Mission Society Church of God | work = Business Korea | date = 2007-February | accessdate = 2007] Verify source|date=January 2008 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". The Church is also active in many volunteer services and welfare activities throughout the world.Fact|date=August 2007

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 Sahng 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

* [http://english.watv.org/ World Mission Society Church of God] - Official website (English)
* [http://usa.watv.org/ World Mission Society Church of God] - Church's USA Recruitment website
* [http://whoisahnsahnghong.com/blog/ Who is Ahn Sahng Hong?] - Member Blog