I've been sharing my experience with my sister and the World Mission Society Church of God. Would you like to share a little about your experience and how the WMSCOG has impacted your life?
You are welcome to leave a comment here... I'd prefer if you don't share any personally identifying information, but if you are willing to share your experience it may be an encouragement to others to know that they are not alone.
If you'd like to leave a message for me and NOT have it posted for everyone, please just write "DO NOT POST" in the message and I will keep it private.
And also, I am open to comments and corrections on any of my posts. If you notice a mistake or you disagree with me (any WMSCOG members reading?), you are welcome to let me know.
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
Hi! I am a college student. While I was at my school's library I was approached by these people. They seemed really nice. They spoke to me about the "end ages". They told me about how passages from Revelations had come to pass and how some are about to happen. I became scared and they asked me if I knew about the "seal of god". I said "you have to be a born again Christian, right?" They said yeah but that's not enough, you need the "seal of God". They said that if I didn't have the seal of god I will not go to heaven. So of course I became worried. Even though I was saved as a child, I strayed. Over the years I have decided to come back to Christ but, there are a lot of things in the Bible I'm not familiar with so when she showed me the passages I thought she was right. So I asked her "How do I get the seal" and she said that I need to participate in passover. She said that if I don't participate in the Passover, which is the way to heaven, I will not go there. So of course that didn't sound right at first but, I didn't know how to refute that. I don't know a lot of passages in the bible and since she had passages I thought she was right. As I'm freaking out in my mind she tells me that I could get Baptized immediately and she said that getting baptized will only cover me temporarily until passover. so I agreed to go. When I got home I told my mother about this and she immediately became suspicious. She asked me why I wanted to get Baptized at a strange church and not our church. I said "Because I want the seal of god immediately" (At our church you have to make an appointment). So, my mom told me to do some research. I go on the internet and find out (on their own site) that they worship a "Mother God" and that their christ is some dude from korea.I feel like a bad Christian for believing them (she came with a guy, he didn't speak much). I want to get closer to God. I believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior and that I have to go through him to receive everlasting life. After reading your blog and countless other sites that expose this organization, I want nothing to do with the people I met. As of right now I am trying to figure out a way to let the lady know that I will not go to their church. She has my number. I really want to thank you for this site. It has opened my eyes and helped me to realize that there are false preachers. I really pray that your sister and the people tied to this organization find the Real Christ. The one that died for our sins and raised from the dead. The living Christ.
ReplyDeletePraise God that you stopped to do some research! You were wise to do that. That's good advice for anyone being approached by any unfamiliar church, even if the church's name sounds Christian.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you wrote. May the Lord bless you in your walk with Him.
As you might know, women in the WMSCOG are instructed to wear veils during worship times. Here is some research about that I did not my own after discovering that the verses they use to convince members that is is correct, were misinterpreted because of the mistranslation in the NIV, but I will address that at the end.
ReplyDeleteThese are the verses that talk about women wearing veils in the Bible.
NIV
2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
Veiled = covered/hidden
Isaiah 3:18-19 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils,
Veil = finery, ornament
Isaiah 47:2-3 Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams. 3 Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
Veil = covering for shame
Genesis 38:14-15 she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
Veil = disguise, prostitute
Song of Solomon 6:7, 1:&, 4:1 &3 these are love songs and talk about what solomon sees when the woman removes her veil. For example, 7 Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
Lamentations 3:65 Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them!
Veil = covering, curse
2 Corinthians 3:15-17 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Veil = covering, slavery (freedom when taken away by the Spirit of the Lord)
Job 22:14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’
Veil = causes blindness
Genesis 24:65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
Veil = Rebekah covered herself when Isaac was approaching her. It does not appear that she knew Isaac at the time. They later marry in verse 67.
Ezekiel 13:18 & 20-21 18 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. 20“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Veil = associated with women that make magic charms (idols) and ensnare (capture, or entrap) people. Removing the veil results in saving of the people.
If you can find a verse in the Bible that supports the veil as a sign of something positive let me know. 1 Corinthians 5-6 does not specify what women should cover their heads with: But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.
ReplyDeleteIt actually goes on to say in verses 7-10 7 A man ought not to cover his head,[b] since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own[c] head, because of the angels.
As you have seen above the veil does not signify authority in any way!!!
To be continued...
This is where the errors in translation get VERY intersting and down right shocking!!!...
ReplyDeleteKJV--But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
NKJV--But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
now
NIV--If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
NLT--But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.
Totally different meaning!!! You can see the translation is very important because you want to read and study the TRUE WORD OF GOD and avoid translations that pervert the word of God (Galations 1:7).
"no such custom" and "no other custom" are two totally different meanings!!!
So apostle Paul was stating what the Corithians believed 1Corinthians 5-6 and then said that the churches of God had no such custom.
The WMSCOG is fullfiling the prophesy of Isaiah 3:17 Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald. 18-19 says how the Lord will snatch away their veils. 24 says instead of well-dressed hair, baldness.
This establishment only wants to make people into slaves, prostitues, and false prophets for Satan to do his work. Woe to them!!! 2Peter 2:3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Hi, Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThat was a long, but interesting perspective on the veil. I have some things to say about the veil too, another time.
What you've noticed about the different translations is interesting also, and just goes to show the importance of referencing a variety of translations (including interlinear Bibles) so we can get a clearer picture of God's message to us, and not to put all your attention to only one. ...Unless, of course, it's the original Hebrew/Greek. :)
Thanks for your input.
Hi genny, the site cultwatchahnsahnghong.com seemed to be down. I'm afraid someone had it removed. :(
ReplyDeleteYes, I've noticed that too. I hope it comes back soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan. Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'm posting your comment this way to avoid it showing personal details like your full name. May the Lord bless you and your time in France!
ReplyDeleteApril 27, 2011, Jonathan said...
"I encountered these people in Lyon ( France ) .... Even though my first language is English, and the Koreans were using french (spoken & scriptures), I couldn't understand at all what they were trying to tell me about. I'm a Christian and a member of reformed Protestant church.... They wanted me to visit their church, which initially I agreed to having been promised information about who they were in English. But almost immediately they started making phone calls, so I was wise enough to know it was time to go. I came home and researched thoroughly their church & belief system, and some of the twisted ways in which they're abusing Scripture to "support" their heresy. I went back today with a Bible, marking out a lot of Scripture which warns against false Christs and false prophets, but they wouldn't accept it. They tried again to explain some of their beliefs to me but I made it clear I wouldn't ever accept any of it, and despite my limitations in French I also indicated that in my own language I understood precisely who they were and what they were saying.
Anyway, that's my experience, I wanted to say thank you very much indeed for this website, it's been very helpful. So thank you for your time and your faithfulness to Christ-- we have decided to follow Jesus-- no turning back!!"
Hello! I am from Croatia and i, like you, believe in Christ. A few days ago i met Korean people from that church. At the time, i did not know who are they and i did not know about the Church of god. I believe that all of you know that renowned story: nice Korean people aproached on street and asked about their heavenly mother. We started a nice conversation about religion and then we exchanged our phone numbers. Next day we meet and i thought we are going to somewhere on a coffee in neighborhood but we went to their apartmant which is placed very near my place. Then i met some older man who is their teacher and we started to read Bible with his own interpretations of Bible. From begining i was sceptic about all that interpretations and their way to "teach" me some things for which i heard for the first time in my life. During the session i asked many questions about everything that he told me so we opened so many topics that the teacher was totally lost and he told me that he can not teach me everything at once. Also, he said that i have to come more than once to understand the passover, the baptism, the salvation etc. On my question who are they, he showed me a video about church of god. Also, he asked me if i will do the baptism and passover and i said that i have to think about it (of course i will not do any baptism because i already did it as a chirstian) So, the problem is that my next session with them is for two days and i am looking for some help how to get rid of this people and their beliefs on properly way. I have to admit i was naive because i thought we will criticly discuss some topics that i am really interested in but obviously i am stucked with some kind of cult. I do not know what is going to happen when i will tell them that i do not want to study with them anymore, does anybody have an idea about it? The sad thing is i am not the only one who is involved in this situation so please help if you have any ideas!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to meet you here. I'm so glad to hear that you noticed things were not right in your conversation with the WMSCOG members.
ReplyDeleteOnce you start showing them that you disagree with their teachings, and especially if you show Biblical reasons why you disagree, they will soon leave you alone.
In my experience, they do not want to 'waste time' with people who ask the difficult, investigative questions. They give different excuses, but I think they want to spend time with people that look like they have a chance at recruiting. If they really cared about people's souls, they would not be so quick to give up in my opinion. (And besides, they might have to admit that they have no good answers to those difficult, investigative questions.)
I've never liked just saying, "I'm not interested, leave me alone." It's important for them to hear the truth even if they don't want to listen. I suggest focusing on one topic or series of verses, and showing them the reason you won't accept their teaching.
It is difficult because they are so prepared in what they want to teach you, and there are so many places they are wrong, that you can easily open many topics, as you say, and get side-tracked. If that happens, return to your focus and put the other topics aside temporarily. If they want to continue talking to you, you can choose another focus for another day. (But it won't take too long for them to give up on you when they know you won't believe.)
This way at least they will hear some truth before abandoning you.
I hope to hear from you again. May the Lord bless you!