church of almighty god bible

She still encounters opposition based on charges that she has joined a cult, but Tina and Charlie maintain a good relationship with their daughter and neighbors, and do not despair of eventually bringing some of them to believe in Almighty God, not through insistence but through example, cordiality, and good grace. The Chinese government and media periodically accuse the Church of Almighty God of crimes. Some have been posted on the Web by independent human rights organizations, which regard them as believable. As she grew up, through the years, I saw that the disasters across the world became ever more frequent and the people increasingly panicked and corrupt. In light of the great disasters and various signs of the last days mentioned in Revelation, I was more convinced in my heart that the last days have arrived, and the little scroll [of Revelation 10:10] shall have been opened now. In the mid-1990s, a harsh repression targeted both the Shouters and the Church of Almighty God, whose theological differences were not necessarily clear to the Chinese authorities. In the Age of the Millennial Kingdom, people will have already been made perfect and the corrupt disposition within them will have been made pure. Understandably, his testimony is much more theological, yet grounded on his personal experience. The headquarters of the Church of Almighty God in Seoul. Australian scholar Emily Dunn, in what was the first scholarly book devoted to the Church of Almighty God in 2015, noted that, like many Chinese, some members of Eastern Lighting embraced the Mayan prophecy but they appear to have done so without sanction from the groups self-proclaimed authorities, who in fact declared Mayan and other theories about the end of the world as theologically and factually mistaken (Dunn 2015b: 95). How fortunate we are! They are fake Almighty God, while we are the real Almighty God (The Beijing News 2014). After 2014, members of the Church of Almighty God were able to practice their religion freely and openly outside China, and a number of important artistic productions followed. There is no formal liturgy in the Church of Almighty God, nor sacraments such as baptism or eucharist. But she also put out her doubts on Facebook. This, however, does not mean that gathering together is not important for the members of the Church of Almighty God. One of the distinctive characteristics of the new kingdom of God is beauty (The Church of Almighty God 2017a: 46, 88). The Church of Almighty God (2017c) Declaration Concerning Websites Imitating The Church of Almighty God, February 24, 2017. https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/solemn-declaration/. Testimony of a Church member persecuted in China, presented at a human rights conference in Seoul on October 23, 2017. The Church of Almighty God releases periodical statistics, and claims that between 2011 and 2013 more than 300,000 members were arrested. Christopher (2016) A Pastors Spiritual Confession. https://www.findshepherd.com/a-pastor_s-spiritual-confession.html. In this section, we present one of them through a video, and then discuss four personal stories of conversion. Definitions of xie jiao are, however, vague. The disasters are prophesied in the Bible, but we do not know the details. At this stage, Gods work on the China mainland will come to an end; in other words, when those who were predestined and chosen by God have been made perfect, God will be glorified. The Church does not believe that the person it worships as Almighty God would live on earth forever. But he was still disturbed by the allegations of crimes the Church was accused of having committed. They are attempting to obtain control over the human race forever. But they will be ultimately defeated (Max 2017). Contrary to stereotypes about the Church of Almighty God, she was told that her duty was to remain with her family. With Jesus sacrifice on the cross, the sins of humans were forgiven, but their sinful nature was not eradicated. A Declaration Concerning Websites Imitating The Church of Almighty God was issued by the Church denouncing the incident (The Church of Almighty God 2017c). It came to be accepted by the movement, and refers to a passage in Matthew 24:27: For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. This lighting that comes from the east, according to the Church, is Jesus Christ returning as Almighty God, from a country in the east, China, to inaugurate the third age of humanity. The Age of Law lasted for 4,000 years, from humankinds fall (believed to have occurred 6,000 years ago, according to the traditional literalist interpretation of the Bible) to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth During this period, God revealed himself as Jehovah and gave to the Israelites his ten commandments. At that time, the words spoken by God will guide people step by step, and reveal all of the mysteries of Gods work from the time of creation until today, and His words will tell people of Gods actions in every age and every day, how He guides people inside, the work He does in the spiritual realm, and will tell man [sic] of the dynamics of the spiritual realm. The visible sign that the Age of the Millennial Kingdom has arrived will be that all nations will come under Gods name, and all come to read Gods words, a situation obviously not yet realized in the present Age the Kingdom. Only when the day comes on which people are made perfect by God, and are able to surrender before Him, and can completely obey God, and leave their prospects and fate in the hands of God, then the second part of Gods glory [the first having been achieved by Jesus] will have been entirely gained.. This name was originally given to the group by outside observers. He went to visit his mother, and could not accept her claim that this time Jesus Christ had incarnated as a female. In fact, Gods glorification on earth is not yet complete. Although some members of the Church of Almighty God developed an interest in the so-called Mayan prophecies predicting the end of the world in 2012 (see below, under Controversies), they were rebuked by the leaders, as their position was not consistent with the theology of the Church. This is life in the kingdom (The Church of Almighty God 2017a: 92). There is no pattern of the religious lifes frequency or duration, which depends on the needs and situations of the members of each local community. And this will not occur before the work of Almighty God on Earth is completed. During the stage of making people perfect, the Millennial Kingdom is merely a microcosm; at the time of the Millennial Kingdom spoken of by God, man will have been made perfect (The Church of Almighty God 2015, from which the following quotations are also taken). My family has no money, should I start making money? Her daughter remained skeptical, but her husband Charlie was persuaded to read The Word Appears in the Flesh and concluded that he could not deny these words. An enthusiastic Tina considered leaving her business and going to New York to work as a full-time missionary for the Church. Although Jesus was able to endure every hardship, to be humble and hidden, to be crucified for God, God only gained one part of His glory, and His glory was gained in Israel. Almighty God does not announce the end of the world, but its transformation. http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2014-08- 22/123730728266.shtml. When Jesus arrived, He was male, and this time He is female. Stay up to date with CenSAMM News and Information, Profiles of Millenarian & Apocalyptic Movements, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/statement/. What is the Millennial Kingdom? Believers respond to this divine beauty by producing beauty on Earth. I got to understand that being saved means that one has received Jesus salvation, and will no longer be condemned [] for violating the law. Fellowshipping today is often done by Internet, and it may happen that believers from different countries and even different continents fellowship together. Folk, Holly (2018) Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God. The Journal of CESNUR 2(1):58-77. http://cesnur.net/wp-content/u Introvigne, Massimo (2017a) Cruel Killing, Brutal Killing, Kill the Beast: Investigating the 2014 McDonalds Cult Murder in Zhaoyuan, The Journal of CESNUR 1:61-73. http://cesnur.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/tjoc_1_1_6_introvigne_ter.pdf. Both were included in the first list of xie jiao, published in 1995. In 1989, a revival took place in the Chinese independent churches (i.e. A member of the Church of Almighty God called Danny answered, and told her: God has come to do His work on earth and expressed the words to judge and purify man in the last days. (Christian counter-cult approach): Shen, Xiaoming, and Eugene Bach (2017) Kidnapped by a Cult: A Pastors Stand Against a Murderous Sect, New Kensington, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House. Chinese authorities claimed that the perpetrators were members of the Church of Almighty God, and used the claim to justify their increasing public repression of the Church. Other alleged incidents were connected, according to critics, to announcements that the end of the world would occur in 2012. The Church of Almighty God is a millenarian movement, but its brand of millennialism is often misunderstood by critics. On July 17, 2009, Ma Suoping (female, 19692009), who took over He Zhexuns role, was also arrested by the Chinese police and died while in custody. A video posted on the movements Web site in 2015 distinguishes between the Age of Kingdom, in which we now live, and the Age of the Millennial Kingdom: How do you see the vision of the Millennial Kingdom? L Yingchun is also God in substance (The Beijing News 2014). With their sinful nature truly eradicated, the saints made perfect by God will live forever in the Kingdom, surrounded by peace and beauty. The scroll has been opened! (Ann 2017). The Church also maintains that some flyers and brochures depicted in Chinese anti-xie-jiao Web sites as evidence of its 2012 prophecies were in fact either fabricated or derived from alterations with Photoshop and other techniques of existing materials of the Church of Almighty God. While authorities in these countries claim that there is not enough evidence of the fact that asylum seekers have been persecuted, some international experts counter this with the argument that, since the Church of Almighty God is persecuted as a movement, this is sufficient evidence that the members can be viewed as genuine asylum seekers, and decisions unfavorable to applicants are unjustified (oryt 2018). In fact, the Millennial Kingdom has yet to officially arrive. The Word Appears in the Flesh also mentions the piteous state of those who, remaining outside the new kingdom, are deprived of this beauty, watching the beautiful scenes within the kingdom but unable to enter (The Church of Almighty God 2017a: 166). Other incidents are also mentioned, but the most frequent accusations concern the Zhaoyuan McDonald's murder of 2014, which was at the center of a BBC World Service news item (BBC World Service 2014). Attempts by the Church of Almighty God to have it removed have been so far unsuccessful. A Churchs video about family life and worship. It doesnt mean that he has been completely purified. The sinful disposition remains, and is only being eradicated now, by the second appearance of Christ as Almighty God in the Last Days. For example, Christianity as a whole was classified as a xie jiao in 1725, but taken out of the list in 1842, due to Western political and military pressure. The Church of Almighty God believes that its members now must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) in their meetings, and that traditional Christian sacraments were practices of the Age of Grace, which have no place in the Age of Kingdom. Some believers may decide to serve as full-time missionaries (which, obviously enough, occurs in many religious organizations). In this respect, the Church of Almighty God emphasizes some details of the Biblical narrative. http://en.people.cn/n/2014/0603/c90882-8735801.html, https://wrldrels.org/2016/10/08/church-of-almighty-god/, http://cesnur.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/tjoc_1_2_5_folk.pdf, http://cesnur.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/tjoc_1_1_6_introvigne_ter.pdf, https://wrldrels.org/2017/12/04/church-of-almighty-god-eastern-lightning-and-the-visual-arts/, https://wrldrels.org/2017/10/16/lu-yingchun-zhang-fan-group/, https://www.findshepherd.com/behold-the-scroll-has-been-opened.html, https://www.findshepherd.com/a-pastor_s-spiritual-confession.html, https://www.findshepherd.com/no-longer-define.html, Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CDAMM), Online resources (open-access videos and podcasts), Biblical, early Christian, and early Jewish millenarian and apocalpytic movements, Apocalypticism and related ideas in the Bible, early Judaism and early Christianity, Reformation, early modern and nineteenth century, Waco, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Links to external resources about apocalyticism and millenarianism, The Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements Conference 2022, The Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements Conference 2021, Video Games and Religion: Apocalypse and Utopia, Apocalypticism and Millenarian Movements in the Ancient World, Virtual Symposium: The Cold War and the End Times, The Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements Conference 2020, The Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements Conference 2019, Natural Disasters and the Apocalypse (1500 to Present) Sept 13, 2018, Apocalypse in Art: The Creative Unveiling (June 28 and 29, 2018), Apocalypse in Art: The Creative Unveiling (June 2018) media archive, AI and Apocalypse conference (April 2018) media archive, Leila Johnston: CenSAMM Artist in Residence for 'AI and Apocalypse', Michael Takeo Magruder: CenSAMM Artist in Residence for 'Apocalypse in Art: The Creative Unveiling'. Now I have beheld the path of achieving purification and reaching the true salvation. Finally, he overcame his doubts through a theological approach. The religious world and the satanic CCP regime have teamed up together and through the internet and media, they spread rumors about and smear the name of the Church of Almighty God without restraint in order to deceive those who do not have the truth or cannot distinguish. https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/solemn-declaration/. Almighty God came to inaugurate the third age of humanity, the Age of Kingdom, which follows the Age of Law, i.e. Some of them entered the circuit of the Christian film festivals, the theology of which is undoubtedly far removed from that of the Church of Almighty God but, nonetheless, they have honored some of the movies, including the musical Xiaozhens Story and the docudrama Chronicles of Religious Persecution in China, with several significant awards. I am so grateful to God for His mercy and salvation upon me. He has opened the scroll and revealed all the mysteries. The Church of Almighty God is personally led and shepherded by the person it recognizes as Almighty God, while Zhao Weishan is cooperating with the work of Almighty God, and is in charge of the administrative affairs of the Church. She discovered the Church of Almighty God on Facebook and started fellowshipping. When a group of believers will have been made perfect, and the righteous will have been acknowledged and the evildoers exposed, the work of Almighty God will come to an end and God and humans will enter into eternal rest (see below, under Millennial Beliefs.). Other controversies concern the denial of refugee status to members of the Church of Almighty God who escaped to South Korea and other countries. Accusations include the claim that, in 2002, the Church of Almighty God kidnapped thirty-four leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship, one of the largest House Churches in China, in order to convert them (Shen and Bach 2017). Despite governmental repression, and hostility by some leaders of the mainline Christian churches, the Church of Almighty God grew in China and, according to Chinese official sources, had reached four million members in 2014. Although the movement never mentions her name nor any biographic details, and cautions that any information supplied by outside sources may be wrong, most scholars believe it identifies the incarnated Almighty God with a Chinese woman, Yang Xiangbin (b. The Church also reports that many of its members were tortured in China, and some died while in custody in suspicious circumstances. In the UK, for example, a false Web site Church of Almighty God UK has been created at the address www.chinesetouk.co.uk/. oryt, Rosita (2018) Religious Persecution, Refugees, and Right of Asylum: The Case of The Church of Almighty God. The Journal of CESNUR 2(1):78-99. http://cesnur.net/wp-content/u Ann (2017) Behold! There are only a handful of photographs of both Yang and Zhao, allegedly taken many years ago and whose authenticity cannot be proved. They answer the criticisms by claiming that, in fact, the teachings make them better Christians and better family men and women, and help them learn how to treat their family and relatives more appropriately. I finally understood at that time if people dont experience Gods work of judgment and chastisement in the last days, they can never get rid of the bondage and shackles of sin on their own. Wu refused to supply hers, was identified as an evil spirit, and killed. In 2000, Zhao and Yang went to the United States, which they entered on September 6, and in 2001 they were granted political asylum. Words of Almighty God about the Millennial Kingdom. The slogan The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived is used by the Church of Almighty God, but described as a prophecy, which is analogous to the foretelling of a prophet, one in which God prophesies what will happen in the future., According to the Church of Almighty God, we live in the Age of Kingdom, but this is not to be confused with the Age of the Millennial Kingdom. Several members of the Church of Almighty God who have been persecuted in China have presented their testimonies in international conferences, press conferences and on the Internet. However, an examination of available sources supports the conclusion that the crime was perpetrated by Guo Bins aunt, a mentally disturbed person who later committed suicide, and had nothing to do with the Church of Almighty God. Ann, an American convert, was raised as a Jehovahs Witness. (Journalistic account, largely adopting the anti-cult perspective): Gracie, Carrie (2014) The Chinese Cult That Kills Demons BBC News, August 13, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-28641008. He was very concerned when he learned that his mother in China had converted to the Church of Almighty God, as he searched for information on the Web and found various sites describing the movement as a cult guilty of serious crimes. 1951), a native of the Heilongjiang Province in China, who was at that time a leader in an independent branch of the Shouters movement. The Church of Almighty God, a Chinese millenarian movement, is also known as Eastern Lightning. He believed to be a good and effective Christian pastor, yet after years of service to his church he still looked on himself as a sinful and less than perfect human being, who easily lost his temper with his family. It is not willing to be defeated. In the Age of Kingdom, God becomes flesh in China and achieves the other part of his glory. the time of the Old Testament and the Age of Grace, which went from the birth of Jesus to the advent of Almighty God in the twentieth century. Introvigne, Massimo (2018) Captivity Narratives: Did The Church of Almighty God Kidnap 34 Evangelical Pastors in 2002? The Journal of CESNUR 2(1):100-110. http://cesnur.net/wp-content/u Introvigne, Massimo and David Bromley (2017) The L Yingchun Zhang Fan Group, World Religions and Spirituality Project, October 16, 2017. https://wrldrels.org/2017/10/16/lu-yingchun-zhang-fan-group/. Beauty is, first, an inherent feature of the words of Almighty God, described as uniformly beautiful and moving (The Church of Almighty God 2017a: 3). How was this possible, since he firmly believed he had been saved by Jesus? This beauty manifests first in the life itself of the believers. Tina was not religious, but was curious about the future of humanity and the causes of the present troubles. Gradually, however, he came to accept the notion, particularly because he fellowshipped with members of the Church of Almighty God and found them to be normal and pleasant people, not the violent cultists depicted in the anti-cult Web sites. When people give great praise before Me, Almighty God revealed, I am exalted among all things, and thus the flowers on earth grow more beautiful beneath the hot sun, the grass becomes more verdant, and the clouds in the sky seem more blue (The Church of Almighty God 2017a: 121). Some scholars believe that the accusations are grossly exaggerated and, in some cases, fake news have been fabricated by the Chinese government (Introvigne 2017a; Introvigne and Bromley 2017; Folk 2017b). Planet Earth, however, will not be destroyed. Max was born in the United States but his parents soon returned with him to their home country, China. A painting by the Church of Almighty God depicting the Last Days. Return to God. https://www.findshepherd.com/behold-the-scroll-has-been-opened.html. Although humans sin, God loves them to the point of taking personal care of their clothing. For example, in the story of Adam and Eve, the Church notes the importance of the clothes with which they will be able to cover themselves, overcoming the newly discovered shame of being naked. I will proclaim Gods words and I want to say my heartfelt word: Behold! Almost by coincidence, when performing a different search on the Web, he found a Web site of the Church of Almighty God, became interested in the Churchs theology, and wrote seeking a contact. The Scroll Has Been Opened! Max (2017) I Will No Longer Define the Gender of the Returned Lord by My Imagination. https://www.findshepherd.com/no-longer-define.html. The Church of Almighty God (2015) A Brief Talk About The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived. https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/a-brief-talk-about-the-millennial-kingdom-has-arrived/. The Church of Almighty God (2017b) Statement: The Church of Almighty God Did Not Kidnap 34 Leaders of China Gospel Fellowship in 2002. Her daughter and husband were originally concerned she spent too much time on her religious activities, and also read on the Web that the Church of Almighty God was a dangerous cult. However, scholars who studied the documents of the subsequent trial, where two of the assassins were sentenced to death, concluded that the group, although using the name Almighty God, was not part of the Church of Almighty God and in fact believed in a different Almighty God, a dual deity incarnated in the two female leaders of the movement: Zhang Fan (19842015), who was executed, and L Yingchun. They fellowship by meeting and discussing Almighty Gods words, hearing a sermon as well as meeting to sing hymns, share testimonies, and listen to preaching. A miracle follows: nature itself reacts to the efforts and prayers of the believers and becomes more beautiful. The boy later became internationally famous for a successful ocular prosthesis surgery performed on him in Shenzhen. Although in China, because of the persecution, the Church was limited in its possibility of promoting and organizing artistic activities, its theology did include a doctrine of beauty.

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