Mother God -- Responding to WMSCOG comments

I've received several comments lately from members of the World Mission Society Church of God.  This one mainly has to do with the existence of "Mother God."  I'll respond to it in parts...

(I have not removed any words from the original comment, but I have fixed spelling errors to help anyone needing to use the online translator.)

December 14, 2011, 5:17 AM, Follower of Christ said...

God bless brothers and sisters =D! I attend The Church of God. At first I was a hard devoted Catholic... Just went to Sunday worship for one hour a week.... 

Thank you, Follower of Christ, for taking the time to write to me.  I must say, I'm surprised that you describe yourself as being a "hard, devoted Catholic" but only went to church for "one hour a week."  Seems like you were missing something in your walk of faith, and I'm sorry for you about that.

Then...Well after a Family member Told me about MOTHER GOD I couldn't help but just hear him out, So later after hearing his "nonsense" at the time I would gladly introduce him to my Catholic Church... Well the opposite happened.. When I went I asked about Mother God and I brought my own bible so I would know if they changed something. Anyway Long story short all of the teachings from the church are in the bible. I told myself many times and prayed to GOD that if this was a false church I would leave, with just finding one thing changed in the bible... That was 7 months ago.. To this day I still have the same mentality. If I find one thing different I will leave, Because from what I know, The BIBLE is the word of GOD nothing else. 

You are right that the Bible is the word of God.  However, the WMSCOG does change things in the Bible, though not necessarily the words on the page.  They change the meanings (especially by removing them from their contexts), they miss the finer meanings that you can see by looking at the original language, and they add things not written in the Bible--assumptions that contradict the full message of the Bible.

Many say there is no where that mother GOD is mentioned.. Well allow me to Leave you all with some verses of the bible.. Not my words just GODS lol New King James Version

I'm glad you wrote this.  It shows the chain of verses the WMSCOG uses.  Unfortunately, these verses are taken out of context and don't mean what the WMSCOG tells you they mean.  It's dangerous to try to match up verses like this without considering the context and the full message of the Bible.  (I'll talk more on that later.)

Who is Jerusalem? 
Galatians 4:26 = but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Well that tells me she is in heaven and is my, your, our mother... But I still want to know who she is to GOD.

Galatians 4:26 is not talking about a particular woman in heaven.  Click here for a study on what Galatians 4:26 is talking about and how the WMSCOG misinterprets this verse.

Who is she to GOD? 
Revelation 21:2 and 21:10 = Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from GOD, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. / And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from GOD. )
So I understand so far that Jerusalem is our mother and she is a bride.... 

You've already started out with an incorrect assumption from Gal. 4:26, and now you are trying to pair it with Revelation 21:2,10.  Ahnsahnghong himself wrote that the New Jerusalem was a place, not a person.  The New Jerusalem here represents the Church, just as it does in Gal. 4:26.  I know the WMSCOG objects to the Bride in Revelation being the Church, but I will address that in more detail in the future.

But who is she the bride to? 
Revelation 21: 9 = Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
Oh wow so before you learn that she is our mother and she is a bride, a bride to the lamb. 

Now this one is in the correct context.  Rev. 21:9 does belong with Rev. 21:2,10.  Yes, the Bride is the wife of the Lamb.  The Church is also described as the Bride of Christ in other verses.

Who is this lamb?
John 1:29 = The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of GOD who takes away the sin of the world!"
Oh wow well we all know Jesus took away the sins of the world and only he did that so he must be that lamb he speaks of right? 

Yes, correct.  The Lamb referred to in Revelation is Jesus.

Well is there more to Jerusalem? Answer Sure is... =D
Isaiah 62:7 = And give HIM no rest till He establishes and He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
So we know now that Jerusalem is our mother, Gods Bride, and the earth will praise her... but wait I thought you only give praise and honor and glory to only GOD?
1 Timothy 1:17 = Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to GOD who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Wow so if God said he will make Jerusalem the praise of the earth and we can only give praise to GOD, then she must be GOD......

Here you've matched two verses incorrectly again and made assumptions that don't fit.  The Bible does say that God will not allow His glory or praise to be given to another (Isaiah 42:8).  But does that mean that nothing and no one else can get any kind of praise?  Check these verses (using NKJV):
Genesis 49:8; 2 Samuel 14:25; 1 Kings 10:1-9; Proverbs 27:2; Proverbs 31:28-31; Ecclesiastes 4:2; Song of Solomon 6:9

You also need to see the context of Is. 62:7.  Keep reading.  Here's Isaiah 62:9,
"But those who have gathered it shall eat it [Jerusalem's grain],
And praise the Lord;
Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts."
It's not that Jerusalem is receiving God's praise and therefore must be God.
It's that Jerusalem is causing people to praise God.

By the way, did you notice the verse you referenced, 1 Timothy 1:17 says that there is only one God (singular) who alone is wise?  The only way this reconciles with the WMSCOG's insistence of two gods is if the second "Mother God" is not wise, because only one is wise.

My brothers and sisters all the verses were from the bible. The bible isn't about stories... Its a book of prophecy. As you can see it speaks of Jerusalem, How she is God and how she is our mother and She is God's wife... We are all God's children. Please open up your eyes.. none of this is a CULT.. all teachings are from Christ Ahnsahnghong.

I know it doesn't feel nice to have your beloved church called a 'cult.'  But if you want other Christians to consider the idea that they have been following the deceptions of Satan, then you must also be willing to consider the possibility for yourself.

If Ahnsahnghong was God, he (and the WMSCOG) wouldn't have so many flaws in his teachings, Bible references, and historical facts.  He wouldn't have ANY flaws, but he does.  Therefore Ahnsahnghong was NOT God.

I know it first sounds really insane and you have every right in the world to doubt.. I sure did at first... But Hey if it's in the bible I'm not arguing with it.. As of Ahnsahnghong , there is so much evidence and proof of him being the HOLY SPIRIT. =D Go to THE WORLD MISSION SOCIETY CHURCH OF GOD to learn more... all in the bible.. God bless brothers and sisters. =) http://english.watv.org/ 

There is so much evidence and proof of Ahnsahnghong NOT being the Holy Spirit.  Please look deeper into the Bible besides just the verses and explanations the WMSCOG gives you.

Thanks again for writing.  I do see that you sincerely want to follow God, and I hope that you seriously consider the material presented here.  I'm also sorry I was unable to answer your comment sooner.  I hope you'll be back to respond.

More WMSCOG comments and responses to come...

Ahnsahnghong's Birthday, Baptism, and Death

If you have talked with a World Mission Society Church of God member or visited the official church website recently, you probably already know that this year they celebrated Christmas.  No, not exactly Christmas... they celebrated Ahnsahnghong's birthday which happened to fall on December 25, 2011.  They even have a new website highlighting it.

(UPDATE Jan. 12, 2012 -- That new website is gone, but you can find the information here and here.  It's interesting how much publicity the WMSCOG put into celebrating Ahnsahnghong's birthday Dec. 25, 2011.  Why is there no record of such celebration any other year on their website?)

(UPDATE Apr. 10, 2012 -- That website it back again, but different.  This time it only shows several videos from the WMSCOG's "I Have Already Come" campaign.  Strangely though, it has no apparent link to their main church website.)

How does someone's birthday fall on a different day each year, I wondered?  The lunar (lunisolar) calendar of Korea (same as the Chinese calendar) is different from the solar calendar that we commonly use, the Gregorian calendar.

If you measure your birthday on the lunar calendar, and each year convert the date to the Gregorian calendar, you'll find that it falls on different 'Gregorian' days each year.  This is similar to seeing January's full moon (for example) on a different day of January each year.

I thought I ought to investigate, and not just this, but other important dates.  For your reference, here's a handy Gregorian-Lunar calendar converter (provided by the government of Hong Kong).  I'll go through this step by step...

Ahnsahnghong's Birth Date

The WMSCOG tells us that Dec. 25, 2011 is the 94th birthday of Ahnsahnghong.
They say his birthday by the lunar calendar was Dec. 1.

Actually, Dec. 1918 to Dec. 2011 is only 93 years.  What they really mean (which didn't come across well in the translation) is that Ahnsahnghong's birthday is the 1st day of the 12th month.

You can see in the calendar of 1918 that the 12th month, 1st day, is January 13, 1918.  This birthday (January 13, 1918) was verified by a friend, and also calculates the "94th Anniversary" correctly to Dec. 25, 2011.

From this we need to remember:
Birthday = Jan. 13, 1918 = 12th month, 1st day (early 1918)

Ahnsahnghong's Baptism

The WMSCOG says Ahnsahnghong was baptized in 1948, but the New Covenant Passover Church of God (the NCPCOG, another church founded by Ahnsahnghong) give us a more specific date, Dec. 16, 1948.

Here's the calendar for 1948.  We know they mean the Gregorian Dec. 16, and not the lunar 12th month, 16th day, because that would be January 26.  Jan. 26, 1948 would be too early because Israel did not declare independence until May 14, 1948.

From this we need to remember:
Baptism = Dec. 16, 1948 = 11th month, 16th day (late 1948)

Ahnsahnghong's Death

The WMSCOG tells us that Ahnsahnghong "ascended" (died really, here's his grave) in February 1985.  A more specific date of Feb. 25, 1985, is given in this article (third paragraph under the first bullet point).

Here's the calendar from 1985.
From this we need to remember:
Death = Feb. 25, 1985 = 1st month, 6th day (early 1985)

Now Some Calculations

Since we know these dates, let's see how they work with the WMSCOG's claims that Ahnsahnghong
1)  was baptized at 30 years old, and
2)  preached 37 years (they count this from his baptism, not from when he officially established his own church in 1964.).

First, how old was Ahnsahnghong when he was baptized?
Jan. 13, 1918 to Dec. 16, 1948 = 30 years, 11 months, 3 days (Gregorian)
12th month, 1st day early 1918 to 11th month, 16th day late 1948 = 30 years, 11 months, 16 days (lunar)

Yes, technically he was 30 years old, but nearly 31.

Second, how long did he 'preach' from baptism to death?
Dec. 16, 1948 to Feb. 25, 1985 = 36 years, 2 months, 9 days (Gregorian)
11th month, 16th day late 1948 to 1st month, 6th day early 1985 = 36 years, 1 month, 20 days (lunar)

Just over 36 years--that takes extra rounding to get up to 37 years.

Thought you might be interested to know all that.

Perhaps a greater question, considering the WMSCOG's insistence on avoiding anything with pagan origins,
Why are they keeping Ahnsahnghong's birthday according the lunar calendar, instead of the "Sacred Calendar"?

For more information...
...about the WMSCOG's claimed prophecy of 37 years, please read my posts about David's Throne, Part 1 and Part 2.

I find it especially compelling that they use 2 Samuel 5:4 for this prophecy,

"David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years."

But they don't seem to read on to the next verse, 2 Samuel 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."

If God truly meant this as a prophecy about 40 years of preaching divided between Jesus' first and second comings, it would have been divided 7 years and 33 years, NOT 3 years and 37 years.
The "David's Throne" prophecy has been wrongly interpreted by the WMSCOG.

The "New Name" -- Information Control

The World Mission Society Church of God places great emphasis on the "new name" of God in this age.  They say that using this "new name" is essential to salvation, that you cannot be saved and enter heaven without believing in this "new name."  This is part of their Truth of Life teaching.

They place this emphasis on both the "name of the Holy Spirit" and the "name of His Bride."  Here are some quotes from their sermon, "The Value of the New Name":

Now, let's consider how great the new name, the Savior's name in the age of the Holy Spirit, is, how valuable the name of His Bride, the new Jerusalem our Mother, is and how important the names are for us, Their children. ...
Some say that more people will receive the truth if we do not speak or teach in the new name. Absolutely not! The most precious thing is the new name written on our foreheads. What makes us valuable is the new name. ...
In these last days, God has come to this earth as the Spirit and the Bride with the new name. We are God's people; we ought to know the name of God our Father and the name of our heavenly Mother, the new Jerusalem. For we may go to heaven or hell according to whether we believe in Their names or not, and by Them our value is determined. ...
God has promised to give the eternal kingdom to His children who know the names of the Spirit and the Bride, the heavenly Father and Mother. ...
We must take pride in the new name and boast that we are God's children. ...
If we do not proclaim the new name for fear of persecution, God's name will be erased from our minds. But if we proclaim the name more boldly and confidently despite persecution, it will be inscribed more deeply within us. ...
 The devil our wicked enemy knows that, and he tries to take away the name of our Father from us and erase the name of our Mother from our minds, so that we may not attain the eternal glory of heaven. ...
The Bible teaches that we, who love God's name, are to continually proclaim His glorious name so that it may be praised in the world. ...
Considering this fact, we should confidently boast in the new name before all people and boldly proclaim it to them.
Now, let's openly pronounce God's name on our foreheads, so that His name will be quickly proclaimed even to the ends of the earth.

They claim that the name of the Holy Spirit is "Ahn Sahng-hong," and the name of the Bride is "Zahng Gil-ja."  These are not alternate spellings or pronunciations of Jesus.  They are the actual names of the founder of the World Mission Society Church of God (who died in 1985) and his "spiritual wife" who currently leads the church as "Heavenly Mother Jerusalem."

If these two names are so very important for salvation and should be proclaimed boldly to the world without fear of persecution, then...

• Why do so many people report being baptized by the WMSCOG before being told the name of Ahnsahnghong, whom they are being baptized into?
• Why do so many people report being told to wait when they ask about the woman in the pictures at the church?
• Why do so many people report that they are approached by WMSCOG evangelists who are not open and candid about the name of their church, much less the names of their gods?
• Why is there no mention at all of these two names in the government applications for tax exemption filed by the church in Los Angeles or the church in Bloomingdale, Illinois?
• Why does the sermon I quoted above repeated talk about the "new name" but only once says the name of Ahnsahnghong?
• Why, out of 156 online sermons at the official church website (verified as of Dec. 5, 2011), only 6 sermons mention the name of Ahnsahnghong, and 0 (that's right, zero) mention the name of Zahng Gil-ja?

Seems to me that although the WMSCOG likes to talk about the importance of proclaiming the names of their gods, they are reluctant to share the actual names with people.

This control of information is one of the key factors in destructive mind control.  Watch out--it's a red flag!