Biblical Answers to the World Mission Society Church of God

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.--1 John 4:1

Are you or a loved one struggling with this group? Do you need Biblical answers about the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCoG or CoGWMS), their founder Ahnsahnghong (Ahn Sahng/Sang-Hong) or their current leader "Mother Jerusalem" (a.k.a. "Heavenly Mother God," Zang/Zahng Gil-Jah, or Chung Gil Cha)? Thank you for coming here. I hope my blog helps you. Questions and comments are always welcome.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Examining Prophecies--David's Throne, Part 2

Well, the prophecy the World Mission Society Church of God uses about David's throne is a bit complicated. I have shown already that of all the instances when David's throne, or the Root of David, was mentioned in the Bible, none of them had anything to do with David becoming king at age 30 and reigning 40 years. The WMSCOG says that since Jesus, though baptized at 30, only preached for 3 years, He left part of that prophcy unfulfilled, so the second coming Christ had to preach the remaining 37 years. Ahnsahnghong was baptized at 30, and lived another 37 years before he died. So even though he died, he fulfilled this prophecy and must be the second coming Christ, they say.

They look at Luke 3:21-23, a passage that describes Jesus being baptized and then says, "Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age." Then they say that Jesus purposely waited until He was 30 years old to be baptized and begin ministering specifically so He could fulfill this part of the David's throne prophecy (to parallel David becoming king at age 30). Why would Jesus wait until He was 30, if not for this reason, they ask?

First, they completely ignore the word “about” in Luke 3:23, “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age.” The Greek word for “about” is there in the sentence. The WMSCOG takes seriously Rev. 22:18-19 which warns about adding or taking away from the Bible. Yet, that’s what they do with this verse, because leaving in the word “about” would force them to admit that Jesus might not have been exactly 30. He may have been 31, or 32, or even 29 ... but that wouldn’t fit their David’s throne prophecy interpretation.

Second, read these verses:
Num. 4:1-3, 21-23, 29-30
1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, 3 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.

21 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 22“Also take a census of the sons of Gershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families. 23 From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.

29 "As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house. 30 From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting."

1 Chron. 23:2-5
2 He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4 David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the LORD and six thousand are to be officials and judges. 5 Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose."

Couldn’t Jesus’ waiting until he was about 30 years old have something to do with the priests’ ages when they were eligible to minister in the Temple?

Here’s another thing to think about regarding this prophecy...
Let’s just assume for a minute that the prophecy DOES have something to do with the years of David’s reign. Would it make sense that Ahnsahnghong fulfilled the prophecy?
Just a reminder, the WMSCOG asserts that since David became king at age 30 and ruled for 40 years, and Jesus was baptized at age 30 and preached for 3 years, and Ahnsahnghong fulfills this “prophecy” because he was baptized at age 30 and preached 37 years (the remainder of the 40 years that Jesus didn’t complete).

But let’s look at David’s life and how he became king….
David was anointed king by Samuel under God’s direction when he was just a boy. (1 Samuel 16) So actually, David was given the kingship by God Himself when he was young. We don’t know exactly how old he was, but he was the youngest of 8 sons and only the 3 oldest were able to go into battle.

If the David’s throne prophecy is about ages and years, why is there no mention of Ahnsahnghong when he was young and what he was doing at about the same age as David was at his first anointing? The Bible (Luke 2) tells us that when Jesus was 12 he was in the temple amazing people with His knowledge and insight. Wonder what the boy Ahnsahnghong would have been doing, about 1930, in Korea, surrounded by Buddhist parents, family, and society?

David became king at age 30 and reigned 40 years, according to 2 Sam. 5:4, the verse that the WMSCOG references. But read the next verse, 2 Sam. 5:5, “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.” (You can read more about this in 2 Sam. 2) David did not actually become king of “Israel” when he was 30—he was only king of Judah. He reigned over Judah for 7 years and did not become king of all Israel until he was 37!

It was the people who anointed him king both at 30 (over Judah) and 37 (over Israel).
It was God, through the prophet Samuel, who anointed him king when he was a boy.

Out of all this, it seems that the most significant times were when David was anointed as a boy, and when he finally became king of all Israel at age 37. Why would the WMSCOG pick the anointing at age 30? Because they can make it fit their purposes, perhaps?

And, since all the Bible is so meaningful, and everything is written as a shadow of things to come (as the WMSCOG so often says). Why would God split the preaching years of the “Christs” into 3 for Jesus and 37 for Ahnsahnghong? If the “prophecy” were meant to be interpreted in the sense that the WMSCOG interprets it, wouldn't we be looking for the 1st Christ to preach 7 years (David’s time ruling over Judah) and the 2nd Christ to preach for 33 years (David’s time ruling all Israel)?

After all this study, the conclusion is that the WMSCOG’s interpretation and application of the David’s throne prophecy fails.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you! Your meekness amazes me. It is so helpful to come to this for advice and different approaches when encountering these WMSCOG members. They do a good job of overwhelming people with scripture and "knowledge." Your calm and controlled responses give wisdom and encouragement. God Bless You!

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    1. I appreciate your kind and encouraging words. And I pray that whatever form your encounter with the wmscog has taken, God will give you the good words to respond.

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  2. Jenny, if you know so much about these things as you claim then you will know the real meaning of Zion for David captured the fortress of Zion the City of David. This then prompts the 2nd question so what is the real meaning of Zion and why did it need to be captured? 2 Sam 5:7. To figure this out correctly you first have to know the true meaning of Zion as I can see you do not.

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  3. This was so helpful. My family recently left WMSCOG after 4 years. They have said many rude things, and misquoted scripture. They try to always, "have an answer" for the fact that there are always questions.

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