The Church of Almighty God is a Chinese Christian cult also known as the Eastern Lightning. This is one of the most dangerous Christian cults growing rapidly these days. They teach about the woman Christ; the second coming of Christ has already taken place in the east. Though it is one of the youngest Christian cults, it is growing rapidly because of its aggressive influencing policy.
Origin of the Church of Almighty God
The Church of Almighty God was started in 1991 in China. The founder’s name is Zhao Wishan, a physics teacher. He was born in 1951. When he met Yang Xiangbin in 1991, he left his wife, married her, and started preaching that Yang Xiangbin is the second coming of Christ.
So, who is Yang Xiangbin? She was born in 1973 in China. When she failed her university entrance exam, she became a victim of schizophrenia. It is a psychological problem that causes a person to be unable to distinguish between imaginary and real things. This is such a severe problem that it cannot be healed completely.
While she was still going through schizophrenia in 1991, she claimed that she is the second coming of Christ. Her husband, Zhao Wishan, started preaching it so rapidly.
Beliefs and Teachings of the Church of Almighty God
The teachings and beliefs of the Church of Almighty God are based on Matthew 24:27, where Jesus illustrated His second coming. The main teaching of Jesus in Matthew 24:27 is that when He comes a second time on the cloud, all people will see Him. It is like lightning, which will be visible from east to west.
But, the Church of Almighty God misinterpreted the scripture. They said that lightning coming from the east means the second coming of Christ will occur in the east. The east is China, so the second coming of Christ already took place in China i. e. Yang Xiangbin.
Three Ages and Three Names of God
The Church of Almighty God teaches about the three ages and three names of God. These are the following:
The first age is the age of the law. The Age of the Law is the Old Testament time. In the Age of the Law, God appeared as Jehovah God. It means, they say, that the name of God in the age of the law is Jehovah. God, Jehovah, gave the Law only for that particular age.
The second age is the age of grace. This age starts with the birth of Jesus and ends with the birth of Yang Xiangbin in 1973. In this age of grace, they say, God appeared as Jesus. Therefore, the name of God in the Age of Grace is Jesus. He came to make the sacrifice for our salvation in the age of grace.
The third age that the Church of Almighty God teaches is the age of the kingdom. This age started with the birth of Yang Xiangbin in 1973, and it’s going on today. They say that in this age of the kingdom, God appeared as Yang Xiangbin.
In the Age of Grace, God appeared as a man (Jesus), and in the Age of the Kingdom, God appeared as a woman (Yang Xiangbin). The name of God in the age of the kingdom is “Almighty God,” and they say “Yang Xiangbin ” is the Almighty God. God came as Jehovah in the age of the law to give the law; as Jesus in the age of grace to make the holy sacrifice for our sins to save us; and as Almighty God in the age of the kingdom to make the judgment.
Church of Almighty God Teaching on 2nd Coming of Christ
According to the Church of Almighty God, the second coming of Christ is the Spirit of God coming upon the human body. It is the human feeling of God in the body. Therefore, they say that Jesus was not God until He started His earthly ministry.
When Jesus started His ministry, they say, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he became God. (Before that, Jesus was just a man only.) The same principle applies to Yang Xiangbin as well. She was not the Almighty God until 1991. When she felt the Spirit of God in her body in 1991, she became the Almighty God, the second coming of Christ.
Why the Second Coming of Christ in China?
The Church of Almighty God teaches that the second coming of Christ took place in China in order to fulfill the work of salvation. (They think that Jesus didn’t complete the work of salvation.)
So, what is the remaining work of salvation? This left work of salvation is, they say, “the work of judgment.” The basis of this teaching is 1 Peter 4:17, where Peter writes that judgment begins from God’s household. Now Christ has come to China for the second time as a woman to start this judgment.
This judgment starts from the church, the household of God. Churches must accept Yang Xiangbin as the second coming of Christ; otherwise, they will face judgment. Those who don’t acknowledge her as the second coming of Christ will be condemned. Therefore, they directly attack the church and believers.
The New Bible of the Church of Almighty God
The Church of Almighty God teaches that the Old and New Testament Bible is incomplete and invalid. The Old Testament was only for the age of the law, and the New Testament was only for the age of grace. Both Testaments are outdated.
Therefore, we need the new Bible for this age of the kingdom. Yang Xiangbin, the Almighty God, has given us a new Bible, which is “The Word Appears in the Flesh.” This is the very word of the almighty god, Yang Xiangbin. Apart from this, they also use more than 30 other books written by Yang Xiangbin.
They claim that all those writings are the Word of God, and the Church must accept them. Christ came a second time in China as a woman and gave this word. Now the Almighty God works through this word.
China is the Anti-Christ, The Great Red Dragon
The Church of Almighty God teaches that China is the antichrist mentioned in the Bible. The Chinese government has considered them an illegal group and is persecuting them. Therefore, they say that the red dragon in Revelation 12:3 is the communist government of China.
Activities of the Church of Almighty God
- They mainly influence believers with their emotional teachings about suffering and persecution. They have made the same kind of movies and other videos, and they share them through social media platforms. Their movies, videos, and other teaching materials are available in several languages.
- They pay good money to those who work for them. They contact new people through social media and ask if they have any jobs or not. What kind of job, and so on.
- They are creating Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp groups where they will connect people from different places and give their teaching every day.
- The Church of Almighty God has set the criteria for meeting the woman, Christ Yang Xiangbin. A high level of devotion is needed to meet with Christ. Her husband, Zhao Wishan, is the high priest of the Almighty God (Yang Xiangbin). Beside him, there are only five people who can meet her. No other people have met those criteria to see her. This is how they are motivating people to be more devoted to Yang Xiangbin.
- The Church of Almighty God forces believers to acknowledge their teaching by any means. If anyone denies accepting their teaching, they even attack to death. The news keeps coming up repeatedly about how they have been forcing believers to accept their teachings. Sometimes they harass people sexually, take pictures and videos, and threaten to publish them if s/he don’t accept their teaching. They have bitten the believers; they have broken their legs and hands; they have cut their ears; and they have killed some. You can see the BBC news video below as an example of this:
Where do Zhao Wishan & Yang Xiangbin Live?
Since the Chinese government considered the Church of Almighty God an illegal group, Zhao Wishan and her wife Yang Xiangbin have been living underground. The report of Chinese police says that they fled to the United States in 2000, but the exact proof is not yet found.
However, the Church of Almighty God has a big church in New York, and many people assume that they are living there. Actually, they are controlling their every activity from New York. They are creating fake social media accounts and connecting people all over the world. If we talk with the members of this group on social media, they say that they live in the United States.
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FAQ
The Church of Almighty God is a Christian cult that started in China and rapidly growing all over the world. It is also known as Eastern Lightning. They teach about the female Christ. They also believe that the Bible is outdated, so they use a new Bible called “Word Appears in the Flesh” given by female Christ.
Zhao Weishan is known as the founder and leader of the Church of Almighty God. He says that his wife Yang Xiangbin is the second coming of Christ and everyone should listen to the word she has given.
Zhao Weishan and his wife Yang Xiangbin started the Church of Almighty God in 1991. When he met Yang Xiangbin, Zhao Weishan left his wife and got his second marriage to Yang Xiangbin the so-called female Christ. Yang Xiangbin in the same year 1991 claimed to be Christ and her husband start to spread it around.
Hi there,
I think I have being targeted by them on a Facebook Bible Study Fellowship Group. A few times I asked them if they were a cult but they declined to answer. When I disagreed with them and asked what they considered too many questions, they removed me twice. They did keep saying Jesus had come back as Almighty God though and that he said certain words that are not contained in the Bible. However, they refused to say where these words were available though. Once they mentioned these words were available online, but I couldn’t find them.
Very nice to read about you
I am Mesko
thanks for this article: what is described here is definitely a cult…and a very dangerous one at that.
Hello readers
I too have been contacted by these people on facebook.
I have been attending their so called fellowship group meetings that are almost daily, In the beginning they make it sound like your everyday Bible study but on the third day they start introducing their Gods ‘New words’ an ‘New works’.
This is being done through FB messenger at least for my experience, the people who are recruiting believers, mine was a random women whom I thought added me through a Christian group I added on my profile, turns out I wasn’t apart of that one and it had only been recently made, (Early January maybe new years day but I’m not 100% certain)
They say basic stuff then ask if you would like to fellowship nothing crazy, then they add you to the first group with a so called teacher. By coincidence the teachers are Chinese go figure!
After a number of days they put you into level 1, then you progress to the next level, as far as I’m aware there is 3 levels or so I’ve been told. At this point I’m currently in level 3, in my case I got a free pass because I work during these fellowship meetings so I partake by listening only and don’t have to participate by answering any questions, when I do involve myself it’s usually to say that everything is clear,
The doctrine is exactly what is written in this article.
I am one of the lucky ones I believe. After the third day when they first mentioned their Almighty God I instinctively went to the internet to find any articles on this matter an have found a number of websites sharing similar information.
If you have ever been to a Jehovah’s witness meeting then these will definitely sound familiar, they use similar teaching methods where they read their material then get the audience to answer using their information,the only difference this time is you’re given an A, B or C option.
When I raised my alarm to their teaching of a Female Christ the teacher downplayed it by saying I was confused and should ask them questions outside of the fellowship, too which I have had conversations with them in my own time, but with anyone who truly believes in their cause sometimes it’s a battle that can’t be won.
So now I’m just playing along to see how far it goes, I don’t believe in their doctrine,
I feel sorry for many of these people, I pray they aren’t being preyed on if they are in a vulnerable state.
I am from New Zealand, living in Australia the group I’m involved with is based in NZ and Aus but they have cast there influence out to the surrounding areas as far as I know all the other smaller island nations are in contact with them as well.
Oh I almost forgot, when I asked the teacher what is the name of the female Christ that too was downplayed as unimportant because ‘we’ only focus on Almighty God’s essence not the worldly figure, also Almighty God’s ‘New words’ were spoken in 1991! Another coincidence!
Sorry for the Novel but after reading Annette’s Comment I thought I would share.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It’s helpful.
Hi I’m in exactly the same position I have quickly passed to level 3! The red flag for me is they can never answer my questions and just send me passages to read or movies to watch. And they’re so pushy ! If I don’t join in the fellowship they want to know why and they all start texting me like crazy. I was in hospital for a week with surgery and that’s how they started by praying for recovery. I had doctors coming and going from my room and they were texting me incessantly. So now I decided to look on the internet. They have never answered the origins of their church to me. They keep saying I will in time and it’s irrelevant. And I hate how they all say Amen in perfect unison . Sorry but yes they are nearly all Chinese and all behave like sheep. No one ever asks questions and when I do they send me a song. Yep I’m cancelling all of them on FB. P.s thanks for your input it has helped me follow my gut instinct.
Far out that’s sad. Thanks for sharing.
Been contacted too and did quite some research on my own and still doing more research. At this point I cannot support or oppose their ideology. But given that it is sweeping the world like fire, the few points of view you may need to consider before making your decision are as follows:
First and foremost I believe in finding the truth my through payer and reading rather than getting it from someone or some people and just accepting what they say wholesale.
When Jesus came people never believed he was the Christ. Even the most respected teachers of the law couldn’t believe. Even John the Baptist who prepared His way had some doubts. Most people didn’t even know who Jesus was except his Apostles and close family until Judas betrayed Him.
Jesus also said He was the Lord of the Sabbath and He had come to fulfill the law. He then went heard to give new teachings which make the Gospel. So generally, it may be difficult to dismiss stuff before looking deeper and praying for the Holy Spirit to guide you.
When Jesus was asked about when the Kingdom of God will come He said it will not be something visible and gave examples of the mustard seed and leaven. There is a difference between the Kingdom coming the second coming or the Lord’s day. Jesus will be revealed to the entire world in His day but the Kingdom of God is within us.
Jesus also said where there is a carcass vultures gather.
Most modern teachers of the law are known for their hard-line stances which are basically agreed by consensus rather than inspired by the Holy Spirit, they have turned religion into a science where Biblical Interpretation has to go through something similar to Peer Review. No wonder we have some many different interpretations of some verses. Some also interpret to favour their cause. There is also a lot of propaganda on the internet.
So where does this leave us. Jesus said His lambs know His voice and when he calls them they will hear. It is evident from the way He called His apostles and they just followed Him. He didn’t have to preach to them first and give them indisputable Bible Evidence for them to follow Him. They just followed Him after hearing His voice. Jesus kept repeating that there is nothing He could do for the majority to believe He was the Christ because even the signs and wonders couldn’t convince most people. That is why He insisted His lamb know His voice. Ponder that.
But another bombshell verse which may shock you is: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 “Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a partner in crime with Satan. He’ll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he’ll then set himself up in God’s Temple as “God Almighty.” Don’t you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?1:3 Another key point to consider is that “what is not against you is for you”.
The Eastern Lightning says Christ has come back as “God Almighty”, what a coincidence? And He wants to unite all denominations and sects. Could we be dealing with the antichrist?
On to you brethren.
May God bless you and guide you.
I’m fellowship now for 2 months and I’m 90percent sure but not all of my questions hasn’t been answered. Praying I get decrement.
I can vouch for everything “Jack” stated in his comments on this so-called Church. I was drawn in by the Inspiration to become a member of an international nondenominational bible study group. Being a shut-in for a couple of years now, I wanted to be a part of a community that believes in God.. I was raised in Church and thought that this would be a great opportunity to share with everyone all over the world.. Once I became more involved and went from Level One to what they consider their top Level, “ The Age of the Kingdom “, I began to ponder about many aspects of the group overall. Thus leading to me asking the question, Who was the Actual Person that Resides over the Church, Teachers and, All the Facebook Posts that inspired us to join? Needless to say, I was given an answer that I felt did not address my question and concerns. I then began to feel the Teacher was in attempt to redirect me by answering, “Incarnate Christ” was the “Person” residing over the church.. I did not go any further with my questions after receiving that answer, I simply responded, “Ok”. However, that did not stop me from looking further into this organization. Fast forwarding to my findings about this group, I then Posted in each of the groups I was in, the Actual Website that went into great detail including their practices, beliefs, etc.. Before I knew it, the Main Bible Study Teacher/ Monitor of the group, advised everyone not to click on the info I shared as it is not a legit site; Perhaps I may have been hacked. Then, I was immediately removed from each group. My heart sank because at that point, I realized, My God, these people are not who they appeared to be!!! I felt badly for the group members that actually believed in these “Utterances, Passages, Movies, Stories and teachings of this Church. Also, I became suspicious early on, after receiving one too many faux Facebook Friend Requests and Messages to me on FB Messenger. In addition to all of this, early on, the teachers ask people for their addresses in order to receive this Book of Passages used in Bible Study. I actually lost my appetite, I became overwhelmed with worry for the innocent people who don’t know any better. However, I shared everything I experienced, along with the Website about this group on my own Facebook page. I even shared the Actual response to my question from the teacher, including what I asked, the answer I was provided with on up to the end result; me being immediately removed, unable to further communicate with anyone in the groups. I also removed myself from being a Follower of The Church of Almighty God. As of result of the suspicious hacking, I double-down on my settings on Facebook as well as Google.. Jack, if you are still a member of this group, I would be very interested in knowing how they explain my removal pertaining to the information I provided to the group. I pray that anyone who reads this who is a member, that they will be protected in every way possible. Only God has the final say PERIOD!!! I believe HE instilled within me to seek out this Church’s practices. Btw, I could not find this church under the Better Business Bureau. I feel the FBI needs to investigate this Church. I pray for the people that still believe in this organization and, that no harm will be done to them and, the people they may have invited to join this group, especially those that provided where the live and what they do for a living . These are some of the questions asked by this group… May God cover each and every one of us that have Faith in Him????????????????????????????????
I can vouch for everything “Jack” stated in his comments on this so-called Church. I was drawn in by the Inspiration to become a member of an international nondenominational bible study group. Being a shut-in for a couple of years now, I wanted to be a part of a community that believes in God.. I was raised in Church and thought that this would be a great opportunity to share with everyone all over the world.. Once I became more involved and went from Level One to what they consider their top Level, “ The Age of the Kingdom “, I began to ponder about many aspects of the group overall. Thus leading to me asking the question, Who was the Actual Person that Resides over the Church, Teachers and, All the Facebook Posts that inspired us to join? Needless to say, I was given an answer that I felt did not address my question and concerns. I then began to feel the Teacher was in attempt to redirect me by answering, “Incarnate Christ” was the “Person” residing over the church.. I did not go any further with my questions after receiving that answer, I simply responded, “Ok”. However, that did not stop me from looking further into this organization. Fast forwarding to my findings about this group, I then Posted in each of the groups I was in, the Actual Website that went into great detail including their practices, beliefs, etc.. Before I knew it, the Main Bible Study Teacher/ Monitor of the group, advised everyone not to click on the info I shared as it is not a legit site; Perhaps I may have been hacked. Then, I was immediately removed from each group. My heart sank because at that point, I realized, My God, these people are not who they appeared to be!!! I felt badly for the group members that actually believed in these “Utterances, Passages, Movies, Stories and teachings of this Church. Also, I became suspicious early on, after receiving one too many faux Facebook Friend Requests and Messages to me on FB Messenger. In addition to all of this, early on, the teachers ask people for their addresses in order to receive this Book of Passages used in Bible Study. I actually lost my appetite, I became overwhelmed with worry for the innocent people who don’t know any better. However, I shared everything I experienced, along with the Website about this group on my own Facebook page. I even shared the Actual response to my question from the teacher, including what I asked, the answer I was provided with on up to the end result; me being immediately removed, unable to further communicate with anyone in the groups. I also removed myself from being a Follower of The Church of Almighty God. As of result of the suspicious hacking, I double-down on my settings on Facebook as well as Google.. Jack, if you are still a member of this group, I would be very interested in knowing how they explain my removal pertaining to the information I provided to the group. I pray that anyone who reads this who is a member, that they will be protected in every way possible. Only God has the final say PERIOD!!! I believe HE instilled within me to seek out this Church’s practices. Btw, I could not find this church under the Better Business Bureau. I feel the FBI needs to investigate this Church. I pray for the people that still believe in this organization and, that no harm will be done to them and, the people they may have invited to join this group, especially those that provided where the live and what they do for a living . These are some of the questions asked by this group… May God cover each and every one of us that have Faith in Him????????????????????????????????
Am also a target,I have been being taught this funny doctrine,am currently in so called Kingdom class,they have started creating wattsup groups where they have fellowship everyday,they creat groups everyday and change them everytime,they creat groups with many admins and during fellowships they watch and delete any questions which they detect will raise alarm to people and tell you to directly text admin in her inbox,they are all female admins from Taiwan,China and claim to be staying in Italy.Am Gerald From Uganda.
I’m also in those so called groups I once asked that I hear the incarnated Jesus is a female , they never aswered my question, in uganda now they have so many followers
Yes, they are now doing the same in Nz, through social media, I thought I was joining a general Christian chat but it soon came evident there were a number of people from this group who were part of the Church of Almighty God, I posted counteracts with scripture from the Bible and also posted links where others on the site could look up warnings about this group as I was concerned for any new believers also for anyone who got caught up with them. Needless to Say they didn’t like it, then I left the group voluntarily- and low and behold they tried to friend me on messenger, which I promptly deleted.
They are so deceived and twist the scripture, so I suggest everyone warn their churches and church leaders so people are aware.
Aloha Guys, I just encountered these people this week, and My doctrine alarm went off the moment they told me Christ is here on earth and then they tried to tell me China which already knew has their own evil going on. To be frank i sat with them for two study lessons and didnt buy anything they said because the only thing they said was true was the we should listen for God’s voice and trust in his words. But after all that they tried offering me the VIP class, please tell me guys what session is this because i feel this the third one they offered and honestly I have blocked them all except for the girl who got me in the group in the first place. I need advice is she the a real person or not? and also i am already considering blocking her but i also feel like God wants me to witness to her at least thats what my heart is saying but she is so indoctrinated and i want to help her get out of it or at least wake her up. IF shes not a real person somebody please tell me because i don’t want to disobey God if he is trying to work. I will pray on that too, but I also want to know how to avoid them after this?
I was recently contacted by someone who was let into a local Catholic Women’s group I belong to on FB. She seemed like a new parishioner in my community and so I became her friend. Then she started pushing me to join a bible study with her. And it turned out to be this group. I pushed really hard and got them to send me to the website which contains the book they use, and then found the rest of the information about who they are from there. These people lie through their teeth about where they are and who they are. And introduce all kinds of really whacky doctrine. I am afraid for the woman who initially contacted me because she seems like she is genuinely having a really hard time. But I’m not sure much can be done to convince her that she is in a cult and in danger. How very sad. It was definitely a shock to see how far this one has spread and how easily they can wiggle their way in and then suck you into what they are doing. And the psychological brainwashing techniques in their videos! Holy cow! If I wasn’t already aware and well catechized I could see this being very dangerous.
I nearly believed in this so called the “new enlightenment”, and was attending their online fellowships; but after my research, my challenge in accepting this as a true God’s movement is the fact that the Christ of the last days (also called the Almighty God in their teachings) is married and living with her husband; and the Christ that I know, never got married because He is God though living in the flesh. Our Christ was never entangled with the issues of flesh, although He was God incarnate.
Secondly, they always refer to the sealed Book (Revelation 5) to back up their new bible called “Word in the flesh”. They claim the new utterances are from the sealed book; but when i read this chapter, the sealed book was opened by the Christ and it tells us of what was contained in the Sealed Book from Chapter 6. There are many flaws in this new ministry. You cant say the work done by the Christ during the dispensation of redemption was incomplete, what did He mean when He cried with a loud voice: “it is finished”.
Let’s think twice before we accept this. Read Mathew 24:26: “Wherefore if they shall say unto you,Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not”.