Ahn Sahng-hong

Ahn Sahng-hong (13 January 1918 – 25 February 1985) was a South Korean religious leader and founder of the Church of God. In 1948, after receiving baptism from a Seventh-day Adventist minister, he began to call for the restoration of the truth of the New Covenant and the last religious reformation. In 1964, he established the Church of God in Busan. During his lifetime, Ahn had 13 churches in Korea. After Ahn Sahng-hong's passing, the World Mission Society Church of God declared him as the Second Coming Christ.

Early life
He was born to non-christian parents on 13 January 1918 in the small, rural village of Myeongdeok-ri in the North Jeolla Province at a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. From 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, Ahn and his mother lived in Japan over a nine-year period. He returned to Korea in 1946. The family migrated to Busan, the city in which he would later found his church.

Own church
Ahn began attending the local congregation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1947 and received baptism in 1948. Ahn said he received revelation in 1953. He became critical of the teachings in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the church disfellowshipped him in March 1962. Twenty-three people followed him and left the church. Two years later, on 28 April 1964, He established his church named the 'Church of God' in Haeundae District of Busan. He cites the First Epistle to the Corinthians and the First Epistle to Timothy as the sources for the name 'Church of God.' On 15 April 1984, the last Passover ceremony was held in Gangdong District, Seoul. On 10 January 1985, the last Provisional General Assembly took place in Seoul. Church of God expanded to 13 congregations in South Korea before Ahn's death in 1985.

Beliefs
He published his claims in more than two dozen books. His teachings are compiled in his representative book, 'The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life', published in 1980.

The Restoration of the Truth of the Early Church
Ahn claimed the restoration of the New Covenant of the Early Church, insisting that the truth of the Apostolic early church had been distorted.


 * The Old Covenant feasts of, such as the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day of First Fruits, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles, were changed into New Covenant feasts through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. In order to receive salvation, one must keep God's laws, including the seven feasts in three times of the New Covenant.


 * The New Covenant Passover has blessings such as eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and protection from disasters.


 * The Sabbath must be kept on Saturday, not Sunday.


 * Christmas is a pagan religious celebration that originated from the birthday of the sun god, not the birthday of Jesus.


 * The cross is considered a form of idolatry.


 * Women must wear a veil on their heads during worship and prayer.

The Second Coming of Christ
Ahn wrote various interpretations of Bible prophecies about the second coming of Jesus, in his book 'The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life.'


 * The Bible sealed after the apostolic era will be revealed by the Second Coming Christ.


 * The Second Coming Christ will appear in the flesh, and fulfill the mission of Elijah, the parable of the fig tree, the prophecy of King David, and the prophecy of Melchizedek. He will restore Zion, where the feasts of the New Covenant are kept.


 * The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same Holy Spirit.


 * The 6-day creation work is a prophecy of the 6,000-year salvation work. At the end of the 6,000 years, the Holy Spirit and the Bride will appear and give the water of life.

Soul
Ahn says that human souls are angels who sinned in Heaven and were cast out, and that the New Covenant Passover is the way to receive the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ and to return to Heaven.

Death
He collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage after lunch on 24 February 1985, and passed away the following day, 25 February at the Maryknoll Hospital, at the age of 67. He was buried at Seokgye Cemetery, located 30 km away from Busan.

Ahn Sang-hong's followers believe that his death fulfilled a biblical prophecy regarding King David. The basis for this is Ahn Sahng-hong's interpretation of the Bible prophecy related to King David and an interview article published in a weekly religious newspaper on 18 March 1981.

Ahn Sahng-hong claimed that King David is a prophecy about Jesus Christ, the spiritual King David. and that David's reign of 40 years after being anointed at the age of 30 is a prophecy that Christ would receive baptism, a spiritual anointing at the age of 30 and carry out the ministry of salvation for 40 years. He said that since Jesus preached the gospel for 3 years and ascended, he must appear in flesh again to fulfill the remaining 37 years of the 40-year reign on the throne of David and then die.

He died in 1985, 37 years after he was baptized at the age of 30 in 1948. Therefore, his followers claim that he prophesied his own death during an interview with a weekly religious newspaper in 1981 and they believe that his death fulfilled the prophecy of King David.

Succession
The unexpected death of Ahn gave rise to a power struggle within Church of God: After Ahn Sahng-hong's death on February 25, 1985, an extraordinary general assembly was held in Busan on March 4, including Ahn Sahng-hong's family. All attendees confirmed the evidence left by Ahn Sahng-hong, recognizing Kim Joo-cheol as his successor and Zahng Gil-jah (born 1943) as the spiritual bride established by Ahn Sahng-hong. However, in April, members of two out of the thirteen churches refused to acknowledge Ahn Sahng-hong and Zahng Gil-jah as God. They separated and formed the New Covenant Passover Church of God.

Both groups claim him as their founder and Christ. However, while the World Mission Society Church of God refers to him as God, the New Covenant Passover Church of God calls him a teacher.

Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God
One group, consisting of 11 out of the 13 churches, recognized Kim Joo-cheol as the successor and Zahng Gil-jah as the spiritual bride. Kim Joo-cheol declared Ahn Sahng-hong as the Second Coming Christ. On a meeting in Seoul on 2 June 1985, they discussed how to call Zahng Gil-jah, and changed the church's name to Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God. Two major new doctrines were codified


 * Ahn Sahng-hong should be regarded as Jesus Christ who had already come, should be titled Christ Ahn Sahng-hong, and pursuant to a traditional trinitarian view of Christian hypostasis Ahn was consequently also The Holy Spirit, God the Father, and thus God.
 * Zahng Gil-jah should be regarded as God the Mother, a female image of God, be titled Heavenly Mother, or simply Mother, and together with Ahn Sahng-hong be regarded as God.

A change in religious practice, as reflected in the change of name from "Jesus Witnesses" to "Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong", was, that prayers were no longer conducted in the name of Jesus Christ but in the name of Christ Ahn Sahng-hong. Around 1997, Witnesses of Ahn Sahng-hong Church of God had established a non-profit organization titled the World Mission Society Church of God for the purpose of registering and managing the organization's assets.

New Covenant Passover Church of God
Another group consisting of 2 out of 13 churches-Busan and Ulsan. Among them were Ahn's wife and their three children. According to the minutes they provided on 10 January 1985, the church was renamed as New Covenant Passover Church of God. Ahn's son Ahn Kwang-sup (born 1954) is an elder in the church and continues to expound on his father's work. At first, they opposed acknowledging Ahn Sahng-hong as the Second Coming Christ and the doctrine of God the Mother. From 2007, they changed their doctrine to acknowledge Ahn Sahng-hong as the Second Coming Christ but continued to pray in the name of Jesus. They claimed that they had 25 truth books published by Ahn Sahng-hong, 37 books about his growth and 10 handwritten notes. At present, there are seven churches in total, including Songpa Church in Seoul. The church observes the Sabbath and seven feasts, including Passover. Due to the calculation of feasts, Church of God in Gwangan-ri, Busan was to be independent from the New Covenant Passover Church of God in 2016 and also oppose God the mother doctrine. An outside observer visited this church and commented, 'The service performed at the New Covenant Church is not much different from that of mainstream churches.'

Eschatology
Ahn claimed that the present day is the last era. In his book 'The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life' (1980) he interpreted the year 1988, which is 40 years after the independence of Israel in 1948, as the year of the end. In his book 'The Bridegroom Was a Long Time in Coming, and They All Became Drowsy and Fell Asleep' (1985) he interpreted the year of the end varies, suggesting both 1988 and 2012. However, in the same book, he interpreted 1988 as the year of the end while also claiming that it marks the point when the Bridegroom comes slowly. He emphasized that salvation does not depend on knowing the day of the end but rather on believing in and obeying the truth of the new covenant. His eschatology influenced the successor church.

Ahn's Doctrines about the spiritual bride
Ahn Sahng-hong interpreted the ‘Bride of Christ' as the ‘church' or ‘saints' in his books. However, in his book 'The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life,' published in 1980, Ahn Sahng-hong mentioned in the sixth-day creation diagram, 'In the last days, the Spirit and the Bride will appear and lead all Gentile people.' According to this reference, the Spirit and the Bride are interpreted as two saviors.

Among the successor churches, the 'World Mission Society Church of God,' claims the doctrine of God the Mother based on Ahn Sahng-hong's interpretation of the spiritual bride as the savior. However, the 'New Covenant Passover Church of God' opposes the doctrine of God the Mother, citing Ahn Sahng-hong's interpretation of the spiritual bride as the saints.

Two Spiritual Brides
In the Church of God, two ‘spiritual brides,’ appeared. Both of these individuals were female evangelists, and their relationship with Ahn Sahng-hong was neither familial nor physical. Ahn Sahng-hong left very contrasting information regarding the two spiritual brides. After Ahn Sahng-hong’s passing, this became one of the reasons for the division of the church.

One person is Um Soo-in (1941). She began self-proclaiming herself as the 'Heavenly Jerusalem' and the 'spiritual bride' from 1982, claiming that removing the regulation of the head veil for women was her mission. She made her claims into a book and distributed it, gathering followers within the church. Ahn Sahng-hong immediately refuted her claims. He traveled to churches and gave sermons refuting her claims, and in 1983, he produced and distributed two booklets refuting her claims. In July 1983, she was expelled from the church. Based on Ahn Sahng-hong's sermons and booklets refuting Um Soo-in's claims, the New Covenant Passover Church of God claims that Ahn Sahng-hong never taught the doctrine of God the Mother.

The other person is Zahng Gil-jah (1943). World Mission Society Church of God claims that Ahn Sang-hong established her as the spiritual bride. One of the pieces of evidence that Ahn Sang-hong established her as the Spiritual Bride is a photograph from the last Passover service on April 15, 1984. Another photo was taken on May 18, 1984, of Ahn Sahng-hong and Zahng Gil-jah wearing rented wedding attire at a wedding hall. In addition to the photos, the church claims that Ahn Sahng-hong taught the doctrine of God the Mother based on booklets and notes left by him. They also claim that because Ahn Sahng-hong had the mission of Elijah, which is to testify to the coming Christ, another savior must appear after him.

Date of baptism
The central argument to the claim that Ahn Sahng-hong should be the Second Coming of Jesus is the proposition that he fulfilled a Davidic prophecy by preaching 37 years from his baptism on 16 December 1948 to his death on 25 February 1985. It is said that Ahn Sahng-hong once wrote that he was baptized in 1948, however, the source for the baptismal date of 16 December 1948 performed by a Pastor Lee Myeong-deok in Incheon is obscure, and no written record exists. In 2011, a protocol from the Seventh-day Adventist Church was discovered, stating Ahn was baptised when he was 36 years old on 9 October 1954 by Pastor Gim Seo-gyeong. The investigation by International Korean Christian Coalition Against Heresy showed, that while Pastor Gim could be confirmed, no Pastor Lee Myeong-deok was with the church in 1948, thus reducing the length of the ministry of Ahn from 36 years to 30 years and 4 months.
 * The controversy over his baptism date

Ahn Sahng-hong noted in several writings and his Bible that he was baptized in Nakseom, Incheon, in 1948. He had already received a revelation in 1953 and began to make arguments against the doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Thus, the claim that he was baptized in 1954 does not align with his life and actions. Furthermore, the record in controversy was not the original baptism registry but a membership list created by a newly established church starting from 1958. Therefore, the reliability of this record cannot be verified without comparison to the original baptism registry or records from the church before his transfer. However, no original records have been provided. Moreover, proponents of the 1948 baptism argue that the absence of records can be attributed to the Korean War, which began in 1950. They suggest that the widespread destruction of facilities likely led to the loss of such records.
 * The counterargument to the claim of baptism in 1954