Counter Counter Argument -- "There is Only One God"

By special request from a World Mission Society Church of God member, I will be addressing several key points and counterarguments that the WMSCOG uses to respond to objections.

Continuing the counter-counter-argument series...

Let's start with the argument:
The Bible says there is only one God, like in 1 Timothy 2:5, so how can there be two--God the Father and God the Mother?

Now let's consider the WMSCOG's counter-argument (with quotes from Truth of God the Mother, though the ideas appear on many websites) and responses to each part:

Think of Adam and Eve...

"Are Adam and Eve one person or two people? I think most people would agree and say they are two people. However, the Bible says they are one.

"Genesis 2:24 So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.

"According to God, Adam and Eve are one person, one body. Does this mean that God doesn't know how to count? Of course God knows how to count! But in the eyes of God, Adam and Eve are one."

The response is that since the two people in a married couple are considered "one," so are "Father and Mother" two who can also be considered "one," and therefore there is no contradiction with the verses that insist there is only one God.

First, there is a difference in being numerically one and metaphorically one. My husband and I are numerically two people, though metaphorically you can say that we are "one" in love, teamwork, finances, etc. If I'm going to travel some place exciting, I want to share the experience with my husband because we are deeply connected as "one" couple, but the airline will make us buy two seats, and on a crowded flight, those two seats might not even be next to each other.

Will the airline allow me to purchase just one seat for the two of us because we are "one" in marriage? Absolutely not, even if we could fit in one seat. That's because we are numerically two people.

So how do you know if the verses about "one" God are speaking numerically or metaphorically? You look at the context. The context tells you that there is numerically one God.

Also, considering Gen. 2:24 (and in Mark 10:8), when it says, "the two will become one flesh," this is a euphemism. Can you guess what expression is substituted by this euphemism? Read 1 Corinthians 6:16, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh.'"

Yes, this phrase is talking about sex (please excuse my bluntness). Therefore, we can ask the WMSCOG, "If you insist that 'Father and Mother' are 'one' because in marriage 'two become one flesh,' then you are referring to their sexual union, right?"

Who sinned in the Garden of Eden?...

[Regarding Romans 5:12-17]
"Was it Adam who actually sinned in the Garden of Eden? People know that it was Eve who sinned first. But in these verses, it's Adam who gets blamed for sinning against God, even though God explicitly told both Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil....

"But because Adam and Eve are husband and wife, they are one body, the Bible regards them as one. And so only Adam is referenced here, almost as if Eve wasn't there. But we all know that she was. It's the same with God."

It is true that during the first sin incident with the fruit in the Garden of Eden, Eve sinned first, then Adam. It is also true that Adam takes the blame for the first sin, not only in Rom. 5:12-17 but also 1 Cor. 15:21-22. Is it because Adam and Eve are considered "one"? No.

For one thing, Eve does not escape blame (1 Tim. 2:13-14 and 2 Cor. 11:3). And both Adam and Eve received individual punishment (Gen. 3:16-19).

But why would the blame be given to Adam primarily? Here is a good explanation. Basically, Adam was created first and was put in authority. Adam had the role of leader, while Eve's role was as helper (Gen. 2:18). Adam failed to protect his wife and failed to admit to his sin when God asked him about it. Notice God spoke to Adam before speaking to Eve.

It's interesting that the writer of this counter-argument says God "explicitly told both Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree." Actually, God "explicitly" gave this command before Eve was created, so we only have record of Adam being told not to eat from the tree (Gen. 2:16-18). Eve knew about the command (Gen. 3:2-3), but we are not told specifically if she heard it directly from God or indirectly from Adam.

The example of the temple...

"Take the example of the temple. Most Christians know that the sanctuary has two parts -- the holy place and the most holy place. But to anyone standing outside the sanctuary, it looks like just one sanctuary. However, when you enter the temple, you can clearly see that there are two parts inside.

"I bring up the temple because, in the Bible, the temple represents God (John 2:21). So just as the temple looks like one from the outside, when in reality there are two parts inside, for many, God has existed as being only one. This shows our limited understanding of God, just as if we were standing on the outside of the temple."

The temple represented God's presence with His people. And it was in the Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, where God said His presence would appear in the cloud above the Ark (Lev. 16:2). If the WMSCOG's analogy were true, why were there not TWO Arks of the Covenant so that both rooms in the temple would have God's presence in this way? No, there was only ONE.

Also, if the temple represents God because Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days," speaking of His body (John 2:19-21), then what about 1 Cor. 6:19, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you...?" Does that mean we also have "two parts inside" since the temple represents us as well?

God refers to Himself in the plural...

"How would you explain Genesis 1:26 where God says, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us?" Here, God refers to Himself in the plural form, not singular. This is clear testimony that God is not only one, but two. Otherwise, if God were only one, the verse would read, 'Let me make human beings in my image, to be like me.'"

This show a lack of understanding of the Hebrew language. I've already written about the structure and use of the word "Elohim" (read all three parts).

Here's something else to think about. If there were two images of God--a male image and a female image, as the WMSCOG teaches--why doesn't Gen. 1:26 read, "Let us make man in our images..."?

Only one verse...

"Our faith cannot be based only on one verse. We cannot say that there is only one God the Father basing it solely on 1 Timothy....

"As true Christians who claim to believe in God and the Bible, we cannot deny God the Father and God the Mother who referred to Themselves as "us," even if in one verse, God is referred to as being only one."

There are MULTIPLE verses, not just one, that emphasize there is only ONE God. If you'd like to read them, start here or even here.  Do you want a list written by someone else? Try this one, or this one.

I'll be examining more of the WMSCOG's counterarguments in the near future. If there is one in particular you'd like me to address, please say so!

Whom Does Eve Represent?

I've written before about the WMSCOG's prophecy of the "Last Adam."  Part their interpretation of this is the notion that Adam and Eve are both prophetic representations.  To them, the first Adam was a pattern of the Last Adam (from Rom. 5:14), who they say is Ahnsahnghong.  Therefore, they say, Eve must also represent someone in the end times.  Whom does Eve represent?

If you study with the WMSCOG and examine their available online sermons, you'll find statements like this:

"When God created Adam and Eve, each of them had a duty. Adam was a pattern of the one to come (Ro 5:14). Thus his wife, Eve, represents the wife of the Lamb, the Christ to come a second time....  Through this providence described in Genesis, we can understand that Adam is a type of Christ, Eve represents His wife and all mankind living on earth represent Their children: Abel symbolizes those who will be saved and Cain those who will not be saved....  The Lamb and His Wife are God the Father and God the Mother, who have appeared in due time."  (From The Elohim Gods, emphasis mine)

And this:

"The first Adam had a wife named Eve, who gave birth to life. If Adam represents the Second Coming Jesus, whom does Eve, the wife of Adam, represent?
Eve, called the "mother of all the living" (Ge 3:20), represents our Heavenly Mother who is to appear at the end of the age in order to give us eternal life and lead us, together with the Second Coming Jesus—the Last Adam....  The Bible says that the wedding of the Lamb has come and His Bride—His wife [the last Eve]—has made Herself ready, ... Our Heavenly Father and Mother, the Creators, have come to this earth as the Last Adam and Eve...." (From The Sabbath and God the Creator, emphasis mine)

Therefore, the WMSCOG preaches that Eve, as Adam's wife, represents "Mother Jerusalem" (Zahng Gil-Jah).
But, what did Ahnsahnghong say about Eve?

In his book, Visitors from the Angelic World, Ahnsahnghong writes:

"Adam represents Jesus who was in the world of angels before the creation, and Eve represents the angels whom Jesus loved."  (Chapter 13, page 50, emphasis mine)

and

"Thus, Jesus is the last Adam, and the saints who are redeemed can be called the last Eve." (Chapter 13, page 55, emphasis mine)

Ahnsahnghong said that Eve, as Adam's wife, represents the angels, the saints--that's the Church!

Let's go over that again...

The WMSCOG teaches that the last Eve is "Mother God."

Ahnsahnghong taught that the last Eve is the Church (the saints).

This makes us ask--what kind of church contradicts their own founder who they believe was God himself?!

PS -- Did you also notice this?  The WMSCOG teaches that the Last Adam was Ahnsahnghong.  However, Ahnsahnghong taught that the Last Adam was not himself, but Jesus.

Examining Prophecies--The Last Adam

A continuing look at the prophecies the World Mission Society Church of God uses to prove Ahnsahngong as God, the second coming Christ. Remember, the goal is to see if the prophecies point to Ahnsahnghong as the unique one to fulfill them....

When Christ returns for the second time
He will come as the last Adam.
Rom. 5:14, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come."
1 Cor. 15:45, "And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.'"

First of all, the WMSCOG says that Paul (in Romans 5:14) is not talking about Jesus, but about the Second Coming Christ. They think that since Paul says that Adam “was a type of Him who was to come” and since Jesus had already come when this was written, that Paul must be referring to one "to come” in the future. But this is not correct. Reading the following verses (vv. 15-21) and it is obvious that Paul is contrasting Adam and Jesus. To read verse 14 grammatically correct, think of it this way—Adam, in his time, was a pattern of the one who was to come, after Adam’s time. Paul was writing about Jesus in verse 14, but since I’m trying to look at things from a WMSCOG perspective, I’m going to put that aside and continue on…

So, coming “in the pattern of Adam” according the WMSCOG means:
1. From 1 Cor. 15:45, the Last Adam is a “life giving spirit”—he will give us spiritual life. How is spiritual life given? Through the Passover.  
2. From Adam came Eve, the mother of all living. The Last Adam will give us (show us) the Heavenly Mother.

In regards to #1, this is one of the prophecies related to Passover. I'm going to tackle the Passover prophecies later. But let’s consider #2, the Last Adam showed us the Heavenly Mother…

When I had the chance to talk to my sister’s study leader, I asked her what it was that qualified this woman in Korea as the Heavenly Mother? Are there prophecies concerning her that would point to that woman in particular, over all the other women on earth, as the Heavenly Mother? The answer was … No, we know she is the Heavenly Mother because Ahnsahnghong said so—he pointed her out; it’s on his word.

So now, disregarding scriptures used to prove the existence of a “Mother God”, let’s think about if the “last Adam” prophecy can point out Ahnsahnghong as the Second Coming Christ. Here’s how the argument goes…. Second Coming Christ will show us who the Heavenly Mother is. Ahnsahnghong said that Zang Gil-Jah (or Chung Gil Cha, I'm not certain of the spelling) is the Heavenly Mother. Ahnsahnghong is right because he is the Second Coming Christ. How do we know he’s the Second Coming Christ? Well, because he showed us the Heavenly Mother, of course.

It is a circular argument. It doesn’t prove anything. This prophecy fails to point out any particular person as the second coming Christ since anyone can point to any woman and say, “There she is, your heavenly mother!” This prophecy (even if it were interpreted correctly), is only useful after you have already proven someone to be the Christ.

As for the existence of a "Mother God" at all...that it a topic for another day.