]]>The World Mission Society Church of God has been accused of being a cult online since as far back as 2005. The WMSCOG’s religious beliefs, practices and treatment of members have been extensively criticized on this site, as well as on others here in the US and in South Korea.
From a Christian perspective, cults are groups that claim to be Christian but deviate from fundamental Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith alone. The WMSCOG completely distorts the Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) by adding a new character, “god the mother” a.k.a. Zahng Gil Jah. The WMSCOG deviates from the deity of Christ by worshiping Ahn Sahng Hong, who members believe was the Second Advent of Jesus. The WMSCOG teaches a salvation by works doctrine. Members are taught that in order to receive salvation they are required to tithe, observe the Sabbath on Saturday, observe Old Testament feasts and recruit new members, among other requirements. Christian cults also commonly teach that there is something that Jesus left unfinished that their respective religious leaders are tasked with completing. In the case of the WMSCOG, they teach that Ahn Sahng Hong had to restore the Passover and fulfill the prophecy of King David, which they allege Jesus only partially fulfilled. Therefore, from a Christian perspective, the World Mission Society Church of God is a cult.
The American Psychological Association, defines a cult as,
“a religious or quasi-religious group characterized by unusual or atypical beliefs, seclusion from the outside world, and an authoritarian structure. Cults tend to be highly cohesive, well organized, secretive, and hostile to nonmembers.”
The beliefs that people may consider most unusual are the WMSCOG’s beliefs that Ahn Sahng Hong was the Second Coming of Jesus and that Zhang Gil Jah is “god the mother”. The WMSCOG secludes its members from the outside world by teaching that those outside of the church are controlled by the devil. In the WMSCOG, the authority in all things is Zhang Gil Jah. Some marriages within the group are said to have been arranged by “mother”. A phrase frequently used within the group is “mother said” (insert whatever the WMSCOG wants the member to do here). The WMSCOG is a very well organized system that represents the shape of a pyramid. Zhang Gil Jah and General Pastor Joo Cheol Kim are at the top, then the pastors, missionaries, deacons, team leaders and regular members. Those at the top of the pyramid know all of the group’s history, then information is trickled downward if and when they see fit. Members are instructed to report any grievances they may have with the group directly to the leadership
If you have problems concerning your faith, please consult with the pastor immediately. If you tell your brothers of weak faith, what will he learn from you? You may feel better, but when the brother hears you talking about your troubles, he may be hurt. The door of the counselor is always opened. Whenever you need, you can call or visit your pastor to solve your problems.
The World Mission Society Church of God is especially hostile to former members of the group, as explained by a former leader here.
Cult experts have developed different models of criteria for identifying cults. See the articles below for more information.
One characteristic of a cult is that they do not tolerate any negative criticism. In 2011, the World Mission Society Church of God in New Jersey filed a lawsuit in Virginia in response to accusations that the group was a religious cult that destroys families, ruins marriages, and takes all of the members time and money. The WMSCOG in NJ ultimately dropped the lawsuit and refiled the complaint in a New Jersey Court in 2012. In February of 2015, the Court dismissed the WMSCOG’s complaint and opined:
The speaker was an ex-member of the Church who believed she was discouraging cult-like behavior for the benefit of the public. Church governance, and whether a specific religious organization is akin to a cult, is a matter of public concern…The fact that she believes Plaintiff and WMSCOG act like a cult and that their practices are destructive to families is opinion based on her own experience.
p. 10 & 11 of the Court’s Opinion
The World Mission Society has unsuccessfully filed similar lawsuits in South Korea. Scientology is another cult that has unsuccessfully and improperly used the court system to attack its critics.
The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) was established by Zahng Gil Jah and Joo Cheol Kim in 1985 after their former leader, Ahn Sahng Hong died of a stroke. The group was previously known as the “Church of God Ahnsahnghong Witness Association” and later in 1997, as the World Mission Society Church of […]]]>
The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) was established by Zahng Gil Jah and Joo Cheol Kim in 1985 after their former leader, Ahn Sahng Hong died of a stroke. The group was previously known as the “Church of God Ahnsahnghong Witness Association” and later in 1997, as the World Mission Society Church of God (commonly translated from Korean to English as “World Gospel Association”). The second splinter group to come out of Ahn Sahng Hong’s original congregation became known as the New Covenant Passover Church of God (NCPCOG) and is currently run by Ahn Sahng Hong’s son. The reason for the division among Ahn Sahng Hong’s followers after his death, was that one group of members believed that Zahng Gil Jah was “god the mother” and the other group did not.
A Court in Seoul, South Korea documented the events surrounding the split between Ahn Sahng Hong’s followers in the WMSCOG vs. Ji Won Tak case. According to the Court’s records, the group led by Zahng Gil Jah changed its name from “Church of God Ahnsahnghong Witness Association” to “Church of God World Gospel Association,” in order to distance itself from Ahn Sahng Hong’s failed prediction that the world would end in 1988. The WMSCOG would suffer yet another embarrassment when their prediction that the world would end in 2000 also failed.
Despite the evidence that the group believed that the world would end in 2000, the World Mission Society Church of God traveled to the United States and filed for tax exemption in California in January of 1999. The WMSCOG went on to establish two other main hubs under which it would incorporate numerous locations across the US, Illinois in 2000 and finally in New Jersey in 2008.
To date, the World Mission Society Church of God claims to have 7500 churches, 175 countries and a total of three million members. It is unknown if the WMSCOG subtracts the members who leave the organization from its calculations.
The WMSCOG has made extensive efforts to improve its already damaged public image since 2011, when information about the group became more readily available online and on social media. Prior to 2011, numerous blogs not only criticized the group’s religious beliefs, but also criticized its negative effects on families, marriages, individuals’ finances and the other abuses by the group. In response, the WMSCOG in New Jersey filed numerous lawsuits against the creators of this website in an attempt to silence negative online criticism about the group, only to have the cases dismissed. The WMSCOG has been equally unsuccessful in silencing former members with a non-disclosure agreement that a New Jersey Court declared “invalid, unenforceable and void.” In addition to their efforts to bully critics, the WMSCOG has flooded the Internet with YouTube videos and blogs about their volunteer efforts and numerous awards, in an attempt to bolster their public image. The WMSCOG’s efforts seem to be thwarted by the recent increase in YouTube videos created by former members about their negative experiences within the group.
The World Mission Society Church of God’s beliefs and practices are not unique. Ahn Sahng Hong established his own church in 1964, but critical beliefs and practices that the WMSCOG credits specifically to Ahn Sahng Hong, already existed in other churches.
Zhang Gil Jah 장길자, born Jang Gil Ja on October 29, 1943 in South Korea. It is believed that Jang Gil Ja’s name was romanized in order to claim that Ahn Sahng Hong is the alpha and that Zhang Gil Jah is the omega in Revelation 22:13. The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) […]]]>
Zhang Gil Jah 장길자, born Jang Gil Ja on October 29, 1943 in South Korea. It is believed that Jang Gil Ja’s name was romanized in order to claim that Ahn Sahng Hong is the alpha and that Zhang Gil Jah is the omega in Revelation 22:13. The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) believes that Zhang Gil Jah is “god the mother.”
Zhang Gil Jah was baptized into Ahn Sahng Hong’s church, Church of God Jesus Witnesses in 1969. At that time, she was married to Jae Hoon Kim and had two children, a son and a daughter. According to Jae Hoon Kim, his then wife Jang Gil Ja’s involvement in Ahn Sahng Hong’s church caused problems within their marriage and resulted in Jang Gil Ja selling their home and donating all marital assets to the church. They ultimately divorced and Jang Gil Ja and their two children remained members of Ahn Sahng Hong’s church.
After Ahn Sahng Hong died in 1985, his church split into two groups. The first group, the New Covenant Passover Church of God, is currently led by his son. The second group, World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG), is led by Zhang Gil Jah and general pastor Joo Cheol Kim. The WMSCOG claims that Zhang Gil Jah is Ahn Sahng Hong’s spiritual wife and “god the mother,” despite Ahn Sahng Hong having been married with four children of his own. Ahn Sahng Hong never divorced his wife Hwang Won Soon. Both he and his wife are buried next to each other beneath a shared tombstone in South Korea.
World Mission Society Church of God members believe that Zhang Gil Jah is “god the mother”, “the bride” and “heavenly Jerusalem” that came from heaven. Contrary to mainstream Christianity, the WMSCOG believes that worship of Zhang Gil Jah is required for salvation, among many other requirements. The death of Zhang Gil Jah is believed by the group to usher in the end of the world and only those chosen by Zhang Gil Jah will be saved from death and eternal damnation.
In addition to her role in the World Mission Society Church of God, Zhang Gil Jah is the chairperson of the International WeLoveU Foundation 국제위러브유 운동. While the International WeLoveU Foundation purports to be a global volunteer organization that is involved in numerous volunteer activities. Critics have suggested that the International WeLoveU Foundation is a front group that exists for the purpose of recruiting new members for the WMSCOG.
Ahn Sahng Hong 안 상 홍 (January 13, 1918-February 25, 1985) was born in South Korea to Buddhist parents. The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) believes that Ahn Sahng Hong is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. What Was Ahn Sahng Hong’s Religious Background? After practicing Buddhism for all of his life, in […]]]>
Ahn Sahng Hong 안 상 홍 (January 13, 1918-February 25, 1985) was born in South Korea to Buddhist parents. The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) believes that Ahn Sahng Hong is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
After practicing Buddhism for all of his life, in 1946, Ahn Sahng Hong began attending the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church. The WMSCOG claims that Ahn Sahng Hong was baptized in 1948, but the SDA church in Busan, South Korea has records that prove he was not baptized until 1954. In 1953, Ahn Sahng Hong claimed to be receiving revelations from God. Ahn Sahng Hong was later excommunicated from the SDA church in March of 1962 because he claimed that the truth of the Early Church would be restored through him and that the Second Coming of Jesus would occur within 10 years. By this time, according to family census records, Ahn Sahng Hong was married to a woman named Hwang Won Soon and had a total of four children. On April 28, 1964 Ahn Sahng Hong established his own church, the Witnesses of Jesus Church of God.
Though Ahn Sahng Hong established his own church in 1964, he maintained some of the SDA’s core beliefs and practices.
Ahn Sahng Hong believed that some practices of the early Apostolic Church had been lost or distorted throughout history. In disagreement with the SDA doctrine, Ahn Sahng Hong believed that:
Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church, wrote about some unique beliefs that Ahn Sahng Hong would later write about in his books. The guiding text in the Unification Church is the “Divine Principle.” shared some similar beliefs with Reverend Moon Sun Myung regarding the appearance of Second Coming Christ. Moon wrote that the Second Advent:
The first edition of the “Divine Principle” is said to have been written and published by Sun Myung Moon in 1945. Ahn Sahng Hong did not denounce his Buddhist religion until 1948 and did not make the same claims about the Second Coming of Jesus until 1967 in the book titled “The Mystery and the Spring of the Water of Life.”
Controversial Literary WorksAhn Sahng Hong wrote about the Second Coming of Jesus being imminent in his book “The Mystery and the Spring of the Water of Life” (1967). It is clear from his writing that Ahn Sahng Hong believed he was living in the time of the “last one generation” and that the Last Church would be “ended up within 40 years.” These references to the Second Coming and the last one generation would later be removed from future editions of the text by the WMSCOG.
In 1978 a member of Ahn Sahng Hong’s church named Um Soo In claimed to be the “mother god”, “heavenly Jerusalem” and “comforter” sent down from heaven. After expelling Um Soo In and her group of followers from his church, Ahn Sahng Hong wrote a book titled “Problems with the New Jerusalem, the Bride and Women’s Veils” in 1980 that not only denounced the idea of a mother god, but claimed that it was a result of Um Soo In’s “misguided delusion” (Chapter 7). Ahn Sahng Hong also declared Um Soo In, her beliefs and her followers, “sinful”.
In the same year, Ahn Sahng Hong predicted that the world would end in 2012 in his book titled “The Bridegroom Was A Long Time In Coming, And They All Fell Asleep.” The full text of the book is available on the NCPCOG website but is not available at any WMSCOG locations for members to access. The WMSCOG denies ever believing or teaching that the world would end in 2012 despite evidence to the contrary.
After Ahn Sahng Hong’s death in 1985, his church was divided. One group became the New Covenant Passover Church of God (NCPCOG) led by Ahn Sahng Hong’s son, and the other became the Church of God Witnesses of Ahn Sahng Hong, rebranded in 1997 (p. 5) as the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG). The WMSCOG is currently led by general pastor Joo Cheol Kim and Zhang Gil Jah.
The NCPCOG believes that Ahn Sahng Hong was the prophet Elijah, not the Second Coming of Jesus, as is written on Ahn Sahng Hong’s tombstone. The NCPCOG does not believe in a “mother god.”
In contravention to the NCPCOG, the WMSCOG believes that Ahn Sahng Hong was the Second Coming of Jesus and that Zhang Gil Jah is “god the mother.” The WMSCOG now uses the same false interpretation of the same Bible verses that Um Soo In used to say that she was “god the mother,” to argue that Zhang Gil Jah is “god the mother.” The WMSCOG claims that Ahn Sahng Hong specifically wrote “Problems with the New Jerusalem, the Bride and Women’s Veils” about Um Soo In and that none of what Ahn Sahng Hong wrote applies to Zhang Gil Jah. To date, there are no published writings by Ahn Sahng Hong that specifically name Zhang Gil Jah as the real “god the mother.” None of Ahn Sahng Hong’s books support the belief that there would ever be a “god the mother.”
In addition to the aforementioned end of the world prophecies made by Ahn Sahng Hong in his books, on July 14th, 2005 the Northern Seoul Regional Court chronicled the failed doomsday predictions and the events that took place after Ahn Sahng Hong’s death in a written decision in the WMSCOG vs. Ji Won Tak case. It is documented by the Court that the WMSCOG preached that the world would end in 1988, 1999 and 2012 (pages 4-5).
WMSCOG members have been taught that Ahn Sahng Hong and Zhang Gil Jah are “god the father” and “god the mother” despite Ahn Sahng Hong never claiming to be God. The WMSCOG claims that Ahn Sahng Hong and Zhang Gil Jah are the “spirit and the bride” in Revelation 22:17 and show the members a picture of them that suggests that they were married. Over the last decade, it has been revealed to the WMSCOG members and the public, at least in the United States, that Ahn Sahng Hong was married and had four children. Ahn Sahng Hong never divorced his wife and in 2008 when his wife died, she was buried next to him. Both of their names are written on a shared tombstone, with their children’s names written on the back. This unveiling caused a lot of controversy in the WMSCOG. The WMSCOG’s position on the issue became that the “physical” does not matter and members should focus on the “spiritual.”
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 [AhnSahngHong],
“His whole body seemed to be shattered; He could barely take a step.”
A WMSCOG member blog also describes AhnSahngHong’s suffering and sacrifice:
“Father Ahnsahnghong 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 Ahnsahnghong’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 here (left) eating a meal with his wife, children and other members of his church that clearly includes plenty of solid food. Ahn Sahng Hong is also photographed standing behind his 3 tier birthday cake (right).
Clearly, there are a number of inconsistencies between the WMSCOG’s portrayal of AhnSahngHong’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.
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