The Sin of a Baby

Today marks a heartbreaking anniversary--the day my friend's baby died at just 10 weeks old.  Her story is one of sadness mixed with the love, grace, and faithfulness of God.  I am a mother myself, and the remembrance of that difficult time for them still brings me to tears, even years later.

I am also reminded today of the WMSCOG's teaching that each person here on earth was once an angel, who committed terrible sin in heaven and was cast down to earth.  I've written about this before here, but it bears repeating.

Ahnsahnghong said, "what each one did in the angelic world is to be done again in this world, and he is to be judged both in soul and in body."  (From Visitors from the Angelic World, Chapter 9, page 36)

Now consider my dear friend's 10-week-old baby (we can call him "James"), and here are some questions that arise:

1.  Where is James now?  Doomed to hell because he did not live long enough to take the Passover, believe in "Mother" and otherwise prove himself worthy of heaven?

2.  James didn't have time to do anything in this world (besides eat, sleep, and the normal newborn baby activities).  If the sin he did in heaven was supposed to be repeated in this world, what did he do in this world that was sinful?

3.  If James didn't do anything in this world that was sinful, then what could possibly have been his sin in heaven?

4.  Would you say that his sin in heaven was so great that he didn't deserve a chance at salvation on the earth?

5.  Or would you say that his sin in heaven was so small that it only merited a very brief time in "prison"?  But if that were the case, then James is still doomed.  Here's why...

Ahnsahnghong said,

The first death, the death of the body, is due to the natural sin inherited from Adam....  And the second death, the death of the soul, is due to the sin everyone committed in the world of angels....  All men die; after the death of their body, their soul is to be judged according to what they have done....  After being punished, the soul comes to an end with death forever.  This is the second death.  (Visitors from the Angelic World, Chapter 9, pages 36-37)

James' body would have received its punishment for "the natural sin inherited from Adam," but his soul would have not gained the pardon from the sin "committed in the world of angels."  He would still be due for punishment, his soul experiencing the second death.

And now do you see the terrible implications of this teaching?  Would anyone like to volunteer to explain it to James' parents?  Not I--it's sad enough just to think about it.

Praise God, though, James' parents are Christians.  They are confident in knowing where he is and are filled with hope of seeing their son again one day.

Babies and Angels

I'm working on a post about "Elohim", but something happened last week, and I need to address the "we were once angels" doctrine instead today....

The WMSCOG teaches that all humans were first angels living in heaven with God.  There in heaven, they committed a terrible sin and were cast down to live a human life here on earth as punishment.

If you study with them, one of the points they will bring up about this concerns babies who die very young.  They say, if the wages of sin is death, why do very young babies sometimes die before they have had an opportunity to sin?  It's because they have already sinned in heaven, they say.  The ramifications of this doctrine are truly horrible!  Here's why...

Last week, a family where I work went through that very event.  I don't know them personally, but I know their story.  I won't depress you with all the sad details, but the baby died within an hour of being born.  Besides them, my friend and her husband had a baby who died at about 10 weeks old, and my brother-in-law and his wife had a baby who died the day he was born.  If you pause a moment, you can probably think someone who has dealt with the tragedy of a child dying far too young.

When we read in the Bible that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), we understand it to mean that not only do we have to deal with the consequences of our own sin, but that the world itself is suffering and groaning under the weight of sin (Romans. 8:22)--hence natural disasters, disease, and the like...including the death of babies.

The Bible declares that even a newborn baby is born with a natural tendency to sin (Psalm 51:5), and it doesn't take too long before it shows up in action.  (If you don't think this is true, then perhaps you've never had a child of your own.)  But we still believe in the "innocence" of babies because we know they lack true understanding.  We know that children are special to God (Mark 10:14), and we trust that if a child dies young, God will be a fair and loving judge.  We have definite hope to see these children in heaven.

But in the WMSCOG, what hope is there for these babies who die, these families who mourn?  If the baby was previously an angel who sinned and was sent to earth to die for its sin, then his/her death was deserved and he/she has no hope for heaven.  I wonder what kind of comfort the WMSCOG can give to those families.  Maybe..."That's too bad.  Your baby must have committed a really terrible sin in heaven to deserve such a quick death."??

How awful is that?!?  Maybe some like this doctrine because it's a nice idea to think that you lived in heaven once, but if you think about it this way, it is not nice at all.

Thankfully, it not a true teaching of the Bible.  The WMSCOG uses misinterpreted and twisted Scriptures to support this doctrine.  Don't fall for it!

Misinterpretations about Angels

One of the doctrines of the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) is that we were once angels, living in heaven, who sinned in heaven and were cast down to earth as punishment.

They take verses out of context to support this, such as…

Job 38:21 (NIV)
“Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!”

They say that this is God telling Job that he should know these things because he was living with God in heaven. BUT if you read the book of Job as a whole, especially chapters 38-40, you can easily see that this is God accusing Job of not knowing what he is talking about.  You can see it better in the New King James:
"Do you know it, because you were born then,
      Or because the number of your days is great?" (Job 38:21)

He throws one question after another at Job, like:

"Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
      And caused the dawn to know its place,
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
      And the wicked be shaken out of it?" (Job 38:12-13)

“Can you bring forth the constellations in their season?” (Job 38:32 NIV)

“Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
      And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?” (Job 38:35)

“ Does the eagle mount up at your command,
      And make its nest on high?” (Job 39:27)

“Can you take them [light and darkness] to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?” (Job 38:20 NIV)

And in the middle of all that (Job 38:21) God basically says, “Yeah, sure. You know all and can do all. You’ve got all My knowledge and power. Right.”
It’s an example of God using sarcasm. Job knows this too, because in Job 40:4-5, he answers,
“Behold, I am vile;
      What shall I answer You?
      I lay my hand over my mouth.
Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
      Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

God is not saying that Job was living with him in heaven since the foundation of the world—He’s saying that Job doesn’t know what he’s talking about because he has NOT experienced all that.

Another passage taken out of context is Proverbs 8:22-31.
The WMSCOG uses verses like these...
“ I have been established from everlasting,
      From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.” (Pr. 8:23)
“Before the mountains were settled,
      Before the hills, I was brought forth;” (Pr. 8:25)
“When He prepared the heavens, I was there...” (Pr. 8:27)
to claim that Solomon is saying he, himself, was living in heaven with God since before the world was created.

BUT if you back up in Proverbs 8 to verse 1,
“Does not wisdom cry out,
      And understanding lift up her voice?”
And verse 12,
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
      And find out knowledge and discretion.”

You can see that the “I” in this passage is “Wisdom”.
Read all of Proverbs chapters 8 and 9, and you’ll see that Solomon is using personification to represent an abstract quality (wisdom) as a person, like in Pr. 9:1, “Wisdom has built her house….”
He is not talking about an actual woman named Wisdom, just like he is not saying that he, Solomon himself, was created before the world began.

The WMSCOG often takes Bible verses out of context. If you study with them, be sure to read more than just the verses they show you.