In the past, there has been some controversy over whether or not Ahn Sahng Hong ever had children.  When I was a member of the World Mission Society Church of God, I was told on more than one occasion that Ahn Sahng Hong was never married or had any children.  After some research into Ahn Sahng Hong’s life, not only did I discover that he had established another church called Witnesses of Jesus Church of God, now known as the New Covenant Passover Church of God, but that Ahn Sahng Hong was in fact legally married to a woman named Hwang Won Soon and had four children.

However, now it appears as though the WMSCOG openly admits that Ahn Sahng Hong and Zahng Gil Jah had both been married and had children with their respective spouses.

Why Is This Important?

It seems as though the way that the WMSCOG describes Ahn Sahng Hong’s life to its members and what the actual evidence shows, just does not add up.  Let’s take a look.

In the WMSCOG’s New Song Book, a song titled “Holy Is Your Sacrifice” claims that [Ahn Sahng Hong],

“His whole body seemed to be shattered;  He could barely take a step.”

A presumed WMSCOG member blog also describes Ahn Sahng Hong’s suffering and sacrifice:

“Father Ahn Sahng Hong climbed rough hills and mounts; no one knew He suffered all alone, searching for us. Every step, with pain, His whole body ached as He stumbled over stone, and He was feeble with weary legs. How much in pain Father Ahn Sahng Hong’s feet were.”

Ahn Sahng hong hardly suffered alone as the documents shown below demonstrate, he was married and had four children.  Ahn Sahng Hong also does not appear “feeble with weary legs” in this picture of him standing in a river nor in this picture of him swimming at the beach.

The lyrics of “Holy Is Your Sacrifice” further claim that [Ahn Sahng Hong],

“Even a bowl of soup he would sacrifice; He saved his poor wages, skipping his poor meals…He was hungry, He was cold, for thirty seven years.” 

The same presumed member blog (see screenshot above) similarly goes on to say:

“Mountain water was His only meal…Even His food He spared for the sake of the children and we steam Him not.”[sic] 

Yet, Ahn Sahng Hong is seen above eating a meal with his wife, children and other members of his church that clearly includes plenty of solid food.  Here, Ahn Sahng Hong is photographed standing behind his 3 tier birthday cake.

Clearly, there are a number of inconsistencies between the WMSCOG’s portrayal of Ahn Sahng Hong’s life and the evidence that we have available.  Yet, another contradiction stands out. WMSCOG General Pastor Joo Cheol Kim’s view on family and love being “temptations of Satan” does not reflect Ahn Sahng Hong’s actions with respect to the same issues.  Clearly Ahn Sahng Hong did not believe that family and love were temptations of the satan since he married and decided to have four children.  It would appear that the WMSCOG believes that their own leader and supposed “god”, Ahn Sahng Hong, was tempted and succumbed to Satan’s tempations.  It also is apparent that a marriage and four children did not interfere with Ahn Sahng Hong’s important work of establishing a new church, “restoring the Passover”, and preaching to the public.  Three of his four children were born after Ahn Sahng Hong’s baptism into the Seventh Day Adventist Church on the alleged date of December 16, 1948.  You can see the proof in Ahn Sahng Hong’s official family census record below.

This article is dedicated to all of those who thought Ahn Sahng-Hong was married to Zahng Gil-Jah, only to learn he was really married to Hwang Won-Soon.

The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) claims that their supposed founder Ahn Sahng Hong was “spiritually married” to a woman named Zahng Gil Jah, whom he revealed as “god the mother”.  Actually, Ahn Sahng Hong founded the New Covenant Passover Church of God (NCPCOG), and was legally married to a woman named Hwang Won-Soon with whom he had four children.

That is why, after Hwang Won Soon’s death in 2008, she was buried next to Ahn Sahng Hong, and his original tombstone was replaced with the one below:

The first picture, which is the front of the tombstone reads:

선지 엘리야 – Prophet Elijah

안상홍- Ahn Sahng Hong

처– Wife

황원순-Hwang Won Soon

의 묘– Their grave

So the tombstone reads:

Prophet Elijah Ahn Sahng Hong and his wife Hwang Won Soon’s grave

The right side of the tombstone has the dates of their births and deaths.

The tombstone is located at the cemetery:  경남 양산시 상북면 외석리  산8-1번지 석계공원묘원at lot:  5블럭 42열 12번, 13번에.

The Real Tomb of Jesus

Here is the tomb of Jesus, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is visited by millions of Christians from around the world every year:

Yet the tomb of Ahn Sahng Hong, is relegated to a common cemetery, an overgrown grave, and is shared with a woman who is not Zahng Gil Jah.

Where are the great pilgrimages to Ahn Sahng Hong’s tomb by followers of the WMSCOG?

If millions of Christians visit the tomb of Jesus every year, why don’t WMSCOG members visit the tomb of Ahn Sahng Hong? Perhaps it is because they (at least those that read Korean) would see that “the Prophet Elijah” is written on it and not “the Christ”.  Or perhaps it is because they would see that he is buried beside his real wife, Hwang Won Soon. Whatever the reason, I find it hard to believe that a man who:

• Contradicted Scripture;
• Never claimed divinity;
• His followers claimed was the prophet Elijah;
• Died of a stroke in a hospital;
• Is now buried next to his legal wife;

is the Second Coming of Jesus and was “spiritually married” to another woman other than his legal wife.   Put aside for a moment that Ahn Sang Hong’s end of the world predictions didn’t come true and were removed from his writings, that he said the idea of a “mother god” was delusional, that he completely refutes the same verses that the WMSCOG uses to say that Zahng Gil Jah is “god the mother” and concludes that there is no mother god… At some point you have to stop and ask yourself “how much longer can I ignore what is plain to see”?  The WMSCOG’s teachings are part of an ever-evolving story that have been invented to fit a set of facts and that whenever another fact emerges, the story must become ever more convoluted in order to fit the new “truth”.