This experience of dealing with my sister involved in such a group has been simply dreadful. But I see one good thing that has come of it.
Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Dreadful things do happen to us in this life, but God is able to carry us through them and even find a way to work them into something good.
What is the good that has come about for me through this? I have been able to see my faith in Jesus through a new perspective. I can now understand better the way non-believers, especially Jews, react to the Christian faith.
When I hear Ahnsahnghong being refered to at "Christ Ahnsahnghong" or "My God Ahnsahnghong" or in other ways being given the attributes and credit that should only be given to God... Or when I hear of the woman called "Mother Jerusalem" who is being hailed as "Mother God" and also given worship... It makes me sick to my stomach, an anguish of soul that imposters are being woshiped as only God should be.
I think that must be similar to the feeling some Jews have when they think of Jesus Christ and all the worship He receives.
And when I am frustrated at how much devotion my sister and other church members give to the World Mission Society Church of God, how they spend so many hours in church services and prayer meetings and Bible studies, and how they give so much of their money... And I am especially frustrated knowing that their church does not deserve their devotion.
I think that must be simliar to the feeling some atheists and other non-believers have when they see how devoted I am to my faith, how much time I spend at my church, and how much money I give.
So with this new perspective of how others view my faith, I can be more sensitive and understanding. That is a good thing.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Examining Prophecies--Passover, Part 2
I was investigating whether or not the World Mission Society Church of God's Passover prophecy would pinpoint Ahnsahnghong as the second coming Christ, when a question about dates came up...
In 2009, the WMSCOG celebrated Passover on April 9, while the Jewish community using the Hebrew calendar celebrated on April 8. When I asked about the difference, I was told that it must be because the Jews start their day at sunset, but the WMSCOG believes that Biblically the day should start at sunrise. Ok, I thought, that must be what accounted for the difference...until Passover came this year, 2010.
When I heard the news talking about Passover on March 29, I expected my sister to say that she and her church would be keeping the date on March 30--a day later, just like in 2009. But NO--they kept the same date. I was totally confused--why was it different? So now I've had to investigate a new thing--calendars.
It turns out that the WMSCOG does not follow the Hebrew (Rabbinic) calendar, or the Karaite Jewish Calendar, or the Samaritan Calendar, or any of the other several "Biblical" calendars that I was able to find. Either they have (1)made mistakes in their scheduling or (2)made their own "sacred" calendar.
(1) If they have mistakenly kept the wrong day, for example celebrating Passover on the 15th day of the first month instead of the 14th day, then they are not even keeping Passover according to their own requirements. They believe eternal life is given through keeping the Passover exactly on the correct day. If their own leader, "Jerusalem Mother", who is supposed to be God herself, can't keep the correct day, then she clearly is NOT God.
(2) If they have made their own calendar (which could be to cover up mistakes or to just be different from every other church), then how are we to know except by their own word, if their method of calendar making is correct. Every other calendar also has Biblical reasons they believe their calendar is the only correct one. Should we believe the WMSCOG's calendar simply because it was made by their "gods"? No you must prove that Ahnsahnghong or Mother Jerusalem are God first.
If one was going to be very legalistic in their search for the only preacher whose church is celebrating the Passover exactly right, then you cannot prove that Ahnsahnghong fulfills this prophecy, especially because of the problem with the calendar. It becomes circular again, since you must prove he is God before you can prove he has the right calendar and is keeping Passover the right way.
If one is not so legalistic, and only looks for a preacher whose church takes the Lord’s Supper at about the time of Passover, then there are many of those. This prophecy would not pinpoint Ahnsahnghong. And really the prophecy itself would be flawed since it assumes that the Passover is nowhere to be found apart from the second coming Christ, and yet the Passover is being kept in a number of other churches.
Either way this prophecy fails in proving Ahnsahnghong as the second coming Christ. And since it was the key prophecy, Ahnsahngong's whole claim is unsupported.
In 2009, the WMSCOG celebrated Passover on April 9, while the Jewish community using the Hebrew calendar celebrated on April 8. When I asked about the difference, I was told that it must be because the Jews start their day at sunset, but the WMSCOG believes that Biblically the day should start at sunrise. Ok, I thought, that must be what accounted for the difference...until Passover came this year, 2010.
When I heard the news talking about Passover on March 29, I expected my sister to say that she and her church would be keeping the date on March 30--a day later, just like in 2009. But NO--they kept the same date. I was totally confused--why was it different? So now I've had to investigate a new thing--calendars.
It turns out that the WMSCOG does not follow the Hebrew (Rabbinic) calendar, or the Karaite Jewish Calendar, or the Samaritan Calendar, or any of the other several "Biblical" calendars that I was able to find. Either they have (1)made mistakes in their scheduling or (2)made their own "sacred" calendar.
(1) If they have mistakenly kept the wrong day, for example celebrating Passover on the 15th day of the first month instead of the 14th day, then they are not even keeping Passover according to their own requirements. They believe eternal life is given through keeping the Passover exactly on the correct day. If their own leader, "Jerusalem Mother", who is supposed to be God herself, can't keep the correct day, then she clearly is NOT God.
(2) If they have made their own calendar (which could be to cover up mistakes or to just be different from every other church), then how are we to know except by their own word, if their method of calendar making is correct. Every other calendar also has Biblical reasons they believe their calendar is the only correct one. Should we believe the WMSCOG's calendar simply because it was made by their "gods"? No you must prove that Ahnsahnghong or Mother Jerusalem are God first.
If one was going to be very legalistic in their search for the only preacher whose church is celebrating the Passover exactly right, then you cannot prove that Ahnsahnghong fulfills this prophecy, especially because of the problem with the calendar. It becomes circular again, since you must prove he is God before you can prove he has the right calendar and is keeping Passover the right way.
If one is not so legalistic, and only looks for a preacher whose church takes the Lord’s Supper at about the time of Passover, then there are many of those. This prophecy would not pinpoint Ahnsahnghong. And really the prophecy itself would be flawed since it assumes that the Passover is nowhere to be found apart from the second coming Christ, and yet the Passover is being kept in a number of other churches.
Either way this prophecy fails in proving Ahnsahnghong as the second coming Christ. And since it was the key prophecy, Ahnsahngong's whole claim is unsupported.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Examining Prophecies--Passover, Part 1
Finally, the key prophecy. Will this be the one to pinpoint Ahnsahnghong as the second coming Christ? Let's see...
When Christ returns
He will restore the Passover—the “Tree of Life.”
Gen. 3:22; John 6:53-54; Matt. 26:11-26; Heb. 9:28
They read Hebrews 9:28 to mean that when Christ returns to bring salvation, the “salvation” spoken of is the Passover, and that the church of the second coming Christ will be the only one to keep the Passover.
To the World Mission Society Church of God, the “Passover” is not the traditional Seder meal, but taking the Lord’s Supper (or Communion, the bread and the wine), on Passover evening. They also believe it is the physical act of eating the bread and the wine, at the specified hour on the proper day and in the correct manner, that provides the eternal life promised through the new covenant. We could argue that taking the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper is symbolic of truly believing in the sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood as payment for our sins. And that we are free to partake of it and remember the sacrifice of Jesus any time of the year, as often (or seldom) as is helpful to our personal faith.
But since I know that the WMSCOG is very legalistic, I’ll approach it that way, assuming for the moment that it is the day, time, and manner of the Passover that is of supreme importance, and not the sacrifice and belief that it is a symbol of….
The WMSCOG has claimed that "the Passover was abolished at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325," and then "the Passover completely disappeared from the world." (source) If Ahnsahnghong really did have the only church in the world with the correct (legalistically speaking) practice of Passover, and the prophecy was interpreted correctly, then BINGO!—that would be the key to point to him as the only one to fulfill this prophecy. So the question becomes, was Ahnsahnghong’s church the only one, and are they celebrating Passover correctly?
Well, with some work, time, and the internet, we can track down other churches that DO celebrate the Passover—the bread and the wine on Passover night. It’s easier to find them when it’s Passover season as you can look up their calendars and see it there. For example, look for different Churches of God (like Church of God 7th Day), Adventist churches, Messianic Jewish churches.... Keep in mind that they might call the celebration the “Lord’s Supper” or “Communion,” but held on Passover night it is still “Passover”.
When I brought this point up, I was told that those churches did not count because of a variety of reasons: they might not do footwashing (some actually do, though), they are a newer congregation and could be copying the WMSCOG (but some are older), they are not celebrating on exactly the right day (wait…not even the Messianic Jews?!). In 2009, the WMSCOG had their Passover celebration on April 9, but the Jewish people celebrated on April 8 according to the Hebrew calendar. Jewish culture is steeped in tradition--could they have the wrong date? That did not sound right, so I've been investigating... I'll let you know next time what I found.
Click here to go on to Part 2.
When Christ returns
He will restore the Passover—the “Tree of Life.”
Gen. 3:22; John 6:53-54; Matt. 26:11-26; Heb. 9:28
They read Hebrews 9:28 to mean that when Christ returns to bring salvation, the “salvation” spoken of is the Passover, and that the church of the second coming Christ will be the only one to keep the Passover.
To the World Mission Society Church of God, the “Passover” is not the traditional Seder meal, but taking the Lord’s Supper (or Communion, the bread and the wine), on Passover evening. They also believe it is the physical act of eating the bread and the wine, at the specified hour on the proper day and in the correct manner, that provides the eternal life promised through the new covenant. We could argue that taking the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper is symbolic of truly believing in the sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood as payment for our sins. And that we are free to partake of it and remember the sacrifice of Jesus any time of the year, as often (or seldom) as is helpful to our personal faith.
But since I know that the WMSCOG is very legalistic, I’ll approach it that way, assuming for the moment that it is the day, time, and manner of the Passover that is of supreme importance, and not the sacrifice and belief that it is a symbol of….
The WMSCOG has claimed that "the Passover was abolished at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325," and then "the Passover completely disappeared from the world." (source) If Ahnsahnghong really did have the only church in the world with the correct (legalistically speaking) practice of Passover, and the prophecy was interpreted correctly, then BINGO!—that would be the key to point to him as the only one to fulfill this prophecy. So the question becomes, was Ahnsahnghong’s church the only one, and are they celebrating Passover correctly?
Well, with some work, time, and the internet, we can track down other churches that DO celebrate the Passover—the bread and the wine on Passover night. It’s easier to find them when it’s Passover season as you can look up their calendars and see it there. For example, look for different Churches of God (like Church of God 7th Day), Adventist churches, Messianic Jewish churches.... Keep in mind that they might call the celebration the “Lord’s Supper” or “Communion,” but held on Passover night it is still “Passover”.
When I brought this point up, I was told that those churches did not count because of a variety of reasons: they might not do footwashing (some actually do, though), they are a newer congregation and could be copying the WMSCOG (but some are older), they are not celebrating on exactly the right day (wait…not even the Messianic Jews?!). In 2009, the WMSCOG had their Passover celebration on April 9, but the Jewish people celebrated on April 8 according to the Hebrew calendar. Jewish culture is steeped in tradition--could they have the wrong date? That did not sound right, so I've been investigating... I'll let you know next time what I found.
Click here to go on to Part 2.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)