Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

My understanding is that this church -- which also goes by the name "Eastern Lightning" (in reference to Matthew 24:27) -- originated in China in the 1990's and still has a presence there (although the church has been banned by the Chinese government due to the church's anti-government stance). It spread to the United States in 2000, where it is based in New York City. (It also has a presence in Hong Kong and San Francisco.)

The group denies the sufficiency of the Bible, and supplements it with additional teachings that are supposedly inspired, and that the church says can remove the sin nature that is present in humans. These teachings are given by a woman named Yang Xiangbin, whom the group believes to be a second incarnation of God, and who actually calls herself Almighty God. 

The group does not recognize the Trinity. It says that God was named Jehovah in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ in the New Testament, and is today properly known as Almighty God (in the person of the group's founder). The group also denies the power of Jesus' death and resurrection to fully save people. Full and final salvation is possible only through adherence to the group's teachings.

In addition, the group has committed offenses such as kidnapping and bribery in the furtherance of its beliefs, and some of its members even beat a woman to death for refusing to join the group (a crime for which two of those members were executed in China).

In short, the group possesses all the characteristics of a cult, and should be avoided by those seeking to follow Christ.

September 06 2019 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report