Shang Hui was a pastor in China. He began to hear of people leaving the church to join the Church of Almighty God. Even his parents had joined them. When he met the cult members, they said, “God’s name was Jehovah, but then it was Jesus on earth. God can do a new thing again, and be another Christ on the earth.” Shang was confused by their teachings. He was discouraged in his ministry because the cult was growing so rapidly.

Read 2 Timothy 3 aloud . Write a paragraph that summarizes this scripture passage. What does this passage tell us about false Christian religions? Write a list of statements. 

Origin and Influence

The official name for the cult called Eastern Lightning is Church of Almighty God. The religion was started in 1989 in China. Estimates of their membership range from 100,000 to 1,000,000.

They believe that God revealed himself during Old Testament times as Jehovah, then came to the earth as Jesus, and has revealed himself now in the form of a woman who calls herself Lightning Deng. Her real name was originally Yang Xiangbin. Deng does not appear publicly, and it is not publicly known what she looks like or where she is. [1] The visible leader of the cult is Zhao Weishan who may be Yang’s husband.

They claim that the Bible is now out of date,[2] and that new revelation is necessary.[3] The cult has published several books, including Lightning from the Orient, which claims to be revelation from God to the female Christ. The books speak to Christians and threaten them with detailed punishments.

They say that the name of Jesus is now obsolete and powerless, and that Deng is now the Christ.[4]

They predicted the end of the world for December 21, 2012.

► What are some things you see already that show that this organization is not Christian?

Activities and Strategy

They especially target Christian churches, even selecting the strongest Christians. They are less interested in people of other religions or sects.[5] They send members to pretend to join churches.

They use prostitution to attract poten­tial converts. People who join are sep­arated from their spouses and are required to engage in sexual activities.[6]

They offer large amounts of money to Christian pastors to convert.

They use torture, kidnapping, and murder.[7] They physically attack leaders of Christian organizations. They refuse to let a convert leave their membership.

If a person seems interested in joining, they give gifts, but they threaten violence if a person does not convert.[8] They try to get Christians into sexual sin, then blackmail them.

They claim that they are falsely accused of violence, but many Christians and missionaries in China have witnessed their actions.

They have hundreds of stories of people that they claim received a fatal disease from God for resisting the cult.

Members are required to give everything they have to the cult. They are encouraged to leave their families and live with the cult and work at spreading the message. They have stories of many people who were in Christian ministries before leaving the church to join them.

They have started expanding their organization in several other countries. They start by giving printed material to people at Chinese churches.

► How is the true church contrasted with the actions of Eastern Lightning?

Beliefs

They acknowledge that Christ died for our sins, but do not believe a person can be saved by Christ without their organization. They deny the resurrection and the second return of Christ.

They believe that anyone who does not accept the message of Deng (the female Christ) will be condemned by God.

“Now the responsibility of man is to follow the female Christ, and only if he forsakes his faith in Jesus Christ, tears his Bible in public, calls himself a ‘son of the devil,’ is ‘conquered’ by fully submitting himself to the spoken words of the female Christ and thus becomes a ‘victorious one,’ can he enter the Kingdom that will be established on the earth by the female Christ.” (From an article about the cult written by “China for Jesus”).[9]

► How do we know that Jesus Christ and the Word of God are still necessary for the Christian?

The Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning) claims to be real Christianity. They claim that all other churches are false. But if a person understands and believes all their doctrines, he does not believe the scriptural gospel and is not a Christian.[10]

Now go back and read the footnotes for the entire section on Eastern Lightning. Look up the referenced Scripture verses and read them.

[1] The Bible says we should not believe it when people say the Messiah is hidden on earth (Luke 17:23).

[2] “This revelation [of the Bible] is now complete. God will add nothing more to it, because it contains everything necessary for men, both in reference to this world and that which is to come, and he has denounced the heaviest judgments against those who shall add to it or diminish anything from it.”  
- Adam Clarke, Christian Theology, 50

[3] Jesus said that his words would never pass away. A new messiah is not needed (Mark 13:31).

[4] “He [Jesus] descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and dead.”  
- The Apostles’ Creed

[5] The Bible speaks of those who hate what is good (2 Timothy 3:3).

[6] Christians maintain purity and protect marriage commitments (Ephesians 5:3).

[7] The Bible says that a Christian is to be gentle, obeying the law, and not violent (Titus 3:1-2).

[8] Wisdom from God is peaceable, merciful, and pure (James 3:17).

[9] The Bible predicted people who would resist truth and try to divide the church (Jude 17-19).

[10] “The pivotal proposition of atonement teaching is that the death of Christ is the procuring, enabling cause of salvation. Christ’s death makes our salvation possible.”  
- Thomas Oden, The Word of Life, 347-348

The doctrines in the list below are all denied by Eastern Lightning. Look at the Handbook of Doctrine to see the importance of each doctrine and the evidence for it. Make sure you understand how the verses referenced prove the doctrine.

(5) Jesus is God.

(7) The Holy Spirit is God.

(8) God is a Trinity.

(9) Salvation is only by the atonement of Christ.

(11) We receive salvation by faith.

(12) We can have personal assurance of salvation.

Even though the violent, immoral, and deceptive strategies of this cult make them seem like a terrorist organization, many of their followers do not know about the leaders’ activities. Especially in countries other than China, people impressed by the cult may not believe the accusations against them. Therefore, it is important for a Christian to be able to respond to their doctrines.

It is not possible that a person who fully participates in the cult and believes their doctrines is a Christian. Therefore, they have a spiritual hunger that is not satisfied. The priority of a Christian should be to share the gospel with them.

Many people join Eastern Lightning because of fear. We must preach that faithfulness to the truth is more important than any earthly condition. We also know that the kingdom of God will triumph.

Christianity from ancient times until now has had a great variety of beliefs. However, the foundational doctrines about the nature of God and the nature of Christ were established and defended by the church in all ages. Early councils that represented all churches wrote statements of biblical doctrine, and all gospel-preaching churches have considered these doctrines necessary. Biblical churches look very different from one another, and disagree on many things, but they agree on certain essentials.

Some cults say that all churches but their own are wrong on the essential doctrines and are not truly Christian. They disagree not just on small doctrines, but on the doctrines that are necessary to the gospel. They deny the things that distinguished Christians from other religions. A cult that denies essential Christianity is another religion and should not claim to be Christian.

When a cult says that it is right and that all other churches are wrong, we need to realize what they are implying. They are saying that the ancient councils that represented all churches were wrong. They are saying that the millions of Christians who lived in all ages were wrong. They are saying that the godly people you knew who were examples of Christ were wrong. They are saying that all the men and women around the world who love God, pray, worship, testify to the grace of God, suffer persecution, follow the Bible, and share the gospel are all wrong. The cult says that all these were wrong on even the basic truth that makes a person a Christian.

If the cult is right, God did not choose to guide his church in essential gospel truth for centuries. If the cult is right, it is strange that sincere, godly people everywhere still reject their doctrines. It is true that religious organizations may become worldly, powerful, and rich and not really be interested in truth, but godly and spiritual people in churches everywhere hold to essential biblical truth.

Lia joined the Eastern Lightning cult because she thought they were Christians, but soon realized they didn’t believe in the Bible or Jesus. She decided to leave, but they beat her legs with an iron bar, so she could not walk. They said they would kill her if she left. Later she did escape with the help of a Christian. She is now in a church and seeking God’s help. She is still crippled from the injuries from Eastern Lightning.

Now read 2 Timothy 3 again. Write a paragraph explaining the message this passage has for a follower of Eastern Lightning.