The Iron Rod of the Faux Almighty God

Author:

Warren G. Nozaki

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Article ID:

JAF48234

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Updated: 

Sep 10, 2026

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Published:

Sep 10, 2026

This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, Special Print Issue, volume 48, number 02-03 (2025).

For further information on this issue please click here. To learn more about receiving this issue for your partnering gift please click here. 

For information on receiving  the Special Dual Language “Flip”-English and Chinese Print Issue 48: 02-03 — The Eastern Lighting Cult: Christ Returns to Earth as a Female please click here. 

 

CONTENT WARNING: GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE IN TEXT AND IMAGES.

 

My firstborn sons shall pick up the iron rod from now on and begin to execute My authority to govern all nations and peoples, to walk among all nations and peoples, and to carry out My judgment, righteousness, and majesty among all nations and peoples.1 —the female christ

The Church of Almighty God, also called Eastern Lightning, guided by the prophecies of the self-proclaimed female christ, is an inherently dangerous pseudo-Christian cult. Their heretical doctrinal DNA directs beliefs and practices which assault the very social structures that give stability to homes, communities, and nations. These assaults manifest in the form of threats, deceptions, robberies, manipulations, and abuses committed either individually or collectively in the name of the faux Almighty God. I will demonstrate how the heretical doctrinal DNA generated by the female christ informs the fundamentally violent disposition of The Church of Almighty God.

THE FEMALE CHRIST CULT

Heretical teachings that “compromise, confuse, or contradict the essentials of the historic Christian faith”2 distinguish The Church of Almighty God as a pseudo-Christian cult. Their heretical doctrines center around a belief that Christ has returned as a woman from Northern China,3 who on February 11, 1991, ushered in the Age of Kingdom.4 (The Church of Almighty God reckons history according to God’s six-thousand-year management plan: “The first age is the Old Testament Age of Law; the second is the Age of Grace; and the third is that of the last days — the Age of Kingdom.”5) This female christ is addressed as “Almighty God”6 and “the practical God.”7

The Church of Almighty God is antitrinitarian. “The Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit simply does not exist,”8 says the self-proclaimed Almighty God. This denial contradicts the clear teachings of the Bible.9 Moreover, the Trinity is an essential Christian doctrine that divides the kingdom of God from the kingdom of the cults.10

The Church of Almighty God demotes the Christian Scriptures. The female christ teaches, “You need not read the Bible,”11 and “the Bible is of no great use for today’s people of the last days.”12 Instead, the heretical doctrinal DNA generated from the female christ is codified in the multi-volume The Word Appears in the Flesh, which serves as The Church of Almighty God’s authoritative writings.13 The female christ says, “God’s house has published the standardized version of The Word Appears in the Flesh, and no one is allowed to make the slightest alterations. No standard version of God’s words can be altered by anyone, and if someone does alter them then it will be treated as tampering with His words.”14 Note The Word Appears in the Flesh is essentially regarded as the very word of God.

Sociologically deviant practices likewise distinguish The Church of Almighty God as a cult. Cultic social deviancy is characterized by “displaced loyalty,” “psychological intimidation,” and “we/they siege mentality” (i.e., social polarization).15 Eastern Lightning’s cultic social deviancy is vividly displayed in their vitriol and violence against opponents of the faux Almighty God, who are labeled offspring of the great red dragon.16

CLEAN EXTERIOR WITH A CORRUPT INTERIOR

It is an egregious error to judge The Church of Almighty God according to outward appearances. The cult’s website (holyspiritspeaks.org) presents dozens of videos of members with happy faces singing songs about their so-called Almighty God. Numerous testimonials are posted from converts who were formerly apprehensive and/or even antagonistic to the group until experiencing the warm hospitality of the Eastern Lightning evangelists who shared about the female christ from The Word Appears in the Flesh. Converts have been persuaded that the negative portrayals of The Church of Almighty God are rumors and propaganda generated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other rivals to Almighty God.17 But this apparently clean exterior is a façade for a diabolical interior.

Reports of The Church of Almighty God’s social deviancy are widely circulated. For a well-known example, although The Church of Almighty God denies allegations of kidnapping thirty-four leaders from China Gospel Fellowship in 2002,18 testimonials of victims, along with Beijing Public Security Bureau documents, indicate that under false pretenses members of The Church of Almighty God sequestered China Gospel Fellowship members for proselytization.19

Furthermore, examples abound of displaced loyalty to The Church of Almighty God through disrupting the family. Li Zhanguo has two younger brothers, aged 54 and 52, and a younger sister, aged 57, in the Almighty God cult. They have been estranged since 1995. The younger sister visits once a year to discuss the supposed second incarnation of Jesus but never shares any information about their brothers’ whereabouts. Neither the brothers nor sister attended their parents’ funerals, an absence seen as disrespectful in Chinese culture.20

Shao Pengjun and Chen Mengli were a married couple with two children from Chuansha, Pudong. On November 14, 2009, Chen left her husband, son, and daughter to follow the so-called Almighty God and escape the end of the world. Divorce papers were mailed to Shao on April 9, 2011.21 Sister L joined The Church of Almighty God, quit her job at the Huize Cigarette Factory, pocketed ¥200,000 (approximately $27,654) from the family savings, and abandoned her husband and two children.22

Violent abuse is also inflicted by the Almighty God cult. Eminent journalist David Aikman indicates Eastern Lightning “has ravaged China’s house churches and attempted to ravage underground Catholic churches, Patriotic Catholic churches, and even Three-Self churches through a brutal campaign of kidnapping, beatings, blackmail, and, according to some Protestant house church leaders, even murder.”23

Some academics, however, express skepticism about reported Eastern Lightning violence. As a case in point, Massimo Introvigne, director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), considers Eastern Lightning violence reports to be “false myths.”24 “The CAG [The Church of Almighty God], according to Chinese governmental sources, has four million members,” reasons Introvigne. “It is surprising, and a testament to its peaceful nature, that only a handful of them have been accused of violent behavior (the rate is much higher in mainline religions).”25 Moreover, he asserts, “Chinese propaganda shows pictures of people beaten and mutilated by [The Church of Almighty God] but has failed to produce any more specific evidence, detail, or court record, related to the prosecution of CAG members for these alleged crimes.”26

This dismissal of Eastern Lightning violence, however, fails to account for the magnitude of reported instances of violence27 and the obvious fact that such accounts are entirely consistent with the words of the female christ. The heretical doctrinal DNA propagated by the female christ informs and energizes The Church of Almighty God’s violent disposition.

BREAKING DECREE BREAKERS

The female christ delivers “judgment and administrative decrees” to “deal with each individual.”28 “Ten Administrative Decrees” must be obeyed during the “Age of Kingdom.”29 No administrative decree is to be trifled with — “I kill all who are not in line with My intentions and who violate My administrative decrees,”30 says the female christ. Moreover, the faux Almighty God says, “I am the God who judges; no longer am I the merciful, kind, and loving God that people imagine Me to be!”31

Threats are made to anyone who opposes The Church of Almighty God. “This is how I chastise people,” says the female christ, “I do not need to give Satan a reason; I simply use My iron rod to thrash it until it is within an inch of its life and repeatedly begging for mercy.”32 The defiant can be squashed like insects.33

Vows are taken by Eastern Lightning members promising to either fulfill duties or suffer violent ends. Twenty-eight-year-old Tian, who had been involved with The Church of Almighty God since 2012, shared about taking a vow prior to entering full-time ministry. He vowed never to disclose any past service, engagements, or internal matters concerning God’s House and pledged not to harm the interests of The Church of Almighty God. He was warned that breaking his promise would result in divine punishment: specifically, being struck by a car while walking, followed by death and condemnation to the lake of fire. He took similar vows before taking on any new assignment in The Church of Almighty God.34

Another member named Li vowed, “If I don’t preach [the] gospel to fifty people, may I suffer a terrible death. If I betray the church, my entire family will all die.”35 Such vows exhibit the use of psychological intimidation to compel displaced loyalty to the female christ.

The Church of Almighty God disseminates myriad testimonies concerning perilous ends that have come upon those who oppose the female christ.36 Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God purports that Sun, a 38-year-old member of the “local churches” movement from Dengfeng, in central China’s Henan Province, heard Eastern Lightning preaching “many times” in 1998. However, Sun rejected the message and allegedly spread rumors to discourage others from accepting Almighty God’s message. When a sister from The Church of Almighty God approached again, Sun angrily responded, “I already believe in God, and you still bother me! The one you believe in is an evil spirit, a false christ, Satan, the devil, and a deceiver!” The sister warned her about speaking recklessly, but Sun replied, “I’ve said it. Let’s see what your God can do to me!” On the evening of December 26, 1999, while riding home on a three-wheeler with her husband, Sun was knocked off by an oncoming vehicle. Her husband subsequently found pieces of her body and internal organs scattered on the pavement. The Church of Almighty God thus warns: “Whoever blasphemes God will surely suffer retribution!”37

Mao, a 77-year-old Three-Self pastor from Baoji, in Shaanxi Province in Northwestern China, resisted Almighty God’s end-time work in 1997. He warned his congregation that The Church of Almighty God preaches “the deception of a false christ.” On June 24, 2001, Mao again condemned Almighty God’s work, insulted a female convert, then threatened to report her to the authorities. But three days later, Mao fell ill. Hospitalized, he suffered intensely, making strange animalistic noises, “like a horse whinnying,” “donkey braying,” “cow mooing,” “dog barking,” “cat yowling,” and “bird chirping.” When midnight came “his eyeballs dropped from their sockets, and he died.” The Church of Almighty God warns: “This old pastor resisted God and was cursed.”38

Disobey the female christ, you will be killed. Fail to carry out Eastern Lightning duties, you will suffer a terrible accident. Oppose the work of Almighty God, you will die. All this represents the heretical doctrinal DNA that informs the violent disposition of The Church of Almighty God.

ROD OF ALMIGHTY GOD

“My firstborn sons shall pick up the iron rod from now on and begin to execute My authority to govern all nations and peoples, to walk among all nations and peoples, and to carry out My judgment, righteousness, and majesty among all nations and peoples,”39 declares the female christ. Devotees of The Church of Almighty God are called to wield the rod of Almighty God against rivals. Rivals of The Church of Almighty God are dehumanized, being likened by the impostor Almighty God to “bugs crawling in the dirt that I can crush to death underfoot in accordance with My intentions, at any time.40 But the female christ resolves, “I would have My firstborn sons deal with them.”41 This is the most debased we/they siege mentality.

Unsurprisingly, Eastern Lightning members have taken up the rod of Almighty God. Pastor Liu had preached to various Christian house churches about The Church of Almighty God’s false teachings. In October 1998, Eastern Lightning members ambushed the pastor. Under the pretense of coming out to pray for a sick woman, they led him to a remote location and attacked him with iron rods, delivering multiple blows to his legs. Lights from a passing tractor startled the assailants and they fled. Severely injured, Liu managed to reach his in-laws’ home, but due to financial constraints, he delayed seeking medical attention for three days. A doctor confirmed the assailants broke his leg bones. Attempts to mend the bones were unsuccessful, and Liu remains with long-term disabilities.42 According to Liu, the same three Eastern Lightning members were responsible for eight other assaults. Eventually, the police investigated, and they arrested three assailants.43 Ultimately, The Church of Almighty God is convicted by their own published words and represents a destabilizing force to civil societies.

***Note: The two photos in this article were  provided by the victims.***

China Gospel Fellowship relays a similar report about the assault of “Grandpa Zhang” and “Old lady Wang” from the Henan province in November 1998. Assailants lured them to remote locations and assaulted them with iron clubs and knives. Their legs were broken. Zhang’s right ear was cut off. The police eventually arrested the evildoers, who later “confessed they committed the crime and that they were EL [Eastern Lightning] members”; assailants also admitted “they committed the crime…because these people had resisted the EL with all their effort, and hindered the work of the ‘female Christ,’ and therefore should be punished.”44

The testimonials of Pastor Liu and China Gospel Fellowship corroborate the arrests and convictions of Liu Shunting and Zhao Fating in November 1998. Shunting and Fating were identified as “defenders” of Eastern Lightning. They blacklisted and assaulted opponents to their group. Their antics “included disfigurement, breaking legs, cutting off ears and other cruelty with instruments such as daggers, iron bars and lime.” (The use of iron bars as a weapon is uncanny given the female christ’s pronouncement “My firstborn sons shall pick up the iron rod.”) From October to November 1998, they lured Christians away from their villages to harm them. The two assailants were convicted of eight crimes, which included theft (three hundred yuan and a bicycle) and the harming of nine people (six having legs broken and right ears cut off ).45 Chinese house church Christians bear the marks of the rod of the false Almighty God. Their living memories should never be forgotten.

The numerous reports of Eastern Lightning-related violence coming out of China need serious attention, and they cannot be simply brushed off as rumors and propaganda.46 For example, the BBC tells of Wang Jiannan, whose mother and sister were inside the cult for about two decades. Then, on October 1, 2013, Wang’s “sister beat their father to death” because “she saw her victim as a demon who must be destroyed.”47

A Chinese anticult source recounts an incident involving infanticide linked to The Church of Almighty God. Li Guirong of Lankao County joined The Church of Almighty God in the summer of 2003 and through diligent work advanced from the position of “deacon” to “leader.” In November 2010, she gave birth to a daughter, Geng Minjie. However, the demands of nursing the child left her exhausted and detracted from Eastern Lightning duties. The Church of Almighty God then demoted her back to “deacon.” Upon discovering that her caring for the infant resulted in the demotion, the mother resolved to kill her daughter. On January 10, 2011, Li fatally stabbed Geng in the neck with scissors.48

An examination of violence related to The Church of Almighty God would not be complete without comment on what has become the most notorious example: the highly publicized 2014 murder of Wu Shouyan at the Zhaoyuan McDonald’s restaurant. Although The Church of Almighty God distances itself from any responsibility in the homicide,49 their hands are hardly clean. It is true that the perpetrators denied association with The Church of Almighty God;50 however, as coleaders of a related, rival Almighty God cult, culprits Lü Yingchun and Zhang Fan engrossed themselves in the study of The Word Appears in the Flesh.51 The Church of Almighty God thus publishes, prints, and distributes the very religious text that informed the beliefs and practices of the Yingchun and Fan Almighty God cult. The Word Appears in the Flesh corrupted the hearts and minds of the two women, who self-identified as duo incarnations of another Almighty God. They then went out to battle against their own demons, and the direct casualties amounted to one murder, two executions, and three incarcerations.52 The inherently dangerous religion of The Church of Almighty God reproduced according to its likeness, giving rise to the Yingchun and Fan Almighty God cult. Error begotten of error.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Standing in antithesis to the false female christ is Jesus Christ. Whereas the former says, “I kill all who are not in line with My intentions and who violate My administrative decrees,”53 the latter counters: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” ( John 10:10–11).54 Our Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep behind to seek and save the one lost sheep, and when the lost is found, there is rejoicing and celebration (Luke 15:1–7; Matthew 18:12–14).

The female christ says, “I am the God who judges; no longer am I the merciful, kind, and loving God that people imagine Me to be!”55 But the way of the true Christ is love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another,” says Jesus ( John 13:34; cf. 1 John 4:7–11).

The female christ declares, “The proud, conceited, selfrighteous, and impudent are descendants of the archangel, and they are the most typical of Satan — they all are My sworn enemies, My adversaries. I must punish them one by one in order to extinguish the hatred in My heart.”56 But the true Christ teaches: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father
who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:43–45).57 Moreover, the Lord calls us to forgive (Matthew 18:21–25).58 The supreme display of divine love and forgiveness is the omnibenevolent Christ’s self-sacrifice to redeem fallen humanity (Romans 5:1–8). Nothing separates the Christian from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:31–39).

Christian language can be coopted and redefined by secularists and pagans to validate demonic ideologies and dangerous religions. Examples of this include National Socialism (i.e., “positive Christianity”),59 Christian Identity,60 and America’s patriotic militia movement.61 They pass on the skin of the truth stuffed with a lie, and their spiritual cyanide poisons the body of Christ.

The female christ generates the heretical doctrinal DNA codified in The Word Appears in the Flesh. It is this very heretical doctrinal DNA that gives The Church of Almighty God a violent disposition, which distinguishes Eastern Lightning as an inherently dangerous pseudo-Christian cult.62 Violence done in word and deed in the name of the female christ is rightly condemned. All are wise to be leery of eating and drinking from what is set at the table of the impostor Almighty God.

WARREN G. NOZAKI is a researcher at the Christian Research Institute. He holds a Master of Divinity from the Talbot School of Theology.

 

NOTES:

  1. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning—The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 88,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, The Appearance and Work of God, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, 2023), accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-eighty-eighth-utterance/.
  2. Hank Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition, rev. and expanded (Thomas Nelson, 2024), 293–94. For explication of essential Christian doctrine, see 6–11.
  3. “2. A Brief Introduction about the Background of the Lord’s Coming to China in a Hidden Way to Work,” The Church of Almighty God, archived September 15, 2016, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20160915215634/https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/about-us-02/. Note that around 2017 The Church of Almighty God revised the same statement applying masculine pronouns to the female christ. See “A Brief Introduction About the Background of the Appearance and Work of Christ of the Last Days in China,” December 13, 2015, accessed February 10, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/about-us-02/. Emily Dunn indicates, “The Female Christ and the Almighty God are one, but in Eastern Lightning’s literature, the female nature of God is eclipsed by the male.” Emily Dunn, Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China (Brill, 2015), 72.
  4. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning: Introduction,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 30, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/introduction-word/.
  5. “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II: Does the Trinity Exist?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2023, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/does-the-trinity-exist-2/.
  6.  “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches III: The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud,’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2023, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-savior-has-alreadyreturned-upon-a-white-cloud/.
  7. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning: Chapter 83,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2023, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-eighty-third-utterance/.
  8. “Does the Trinity Exist?” See note 5.
  9. For a brief explanation of the historic, orthodox, biblical doctrine of the Trinity, see Hank Hanegraaff, “Contrasting Eastern Lightning Deception and Essential Christian D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E,”, specifically the section on the Trinity. See also Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book, 52–53.
  10. Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book, 6–11. See also Bradley Nassif, “How Was Orthodoxy Established in the Ecumenical Councils,” Christian Research Journal 40, no. 6 (2017): 42–47, https://www.equip.org/articles/how-was-orthodoxyestablished-in-the-ecumenical-councils/; and Donald Fairbairn, “No Creed but the Bible: Ancient Creeds and Contemporary Faith,” Christian Research Journal 41, no.2 (2018): 42–49, https://www.equip.org/articles/no-creed-but-the-bible-ancientcreeds-and-contemporary-faith/.
  11. “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II: Concerning the Bible (1),” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2023, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/concerning-the-bible-1/.
  12. “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II: Concerning the Bible (2),” in in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2023, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/concerning-the-bible-2/.
  13. Prophecies from the multi-volumed The Word Appears in the Flesh were also published under the titles The Scroll That the Lamb Opened and Utterances of Christ of the Last Days. There are numerous pamphlets and tracts under various titles containing selections from The Word Appears in the Flesh in circulation.
  14. “Part Three: Almighty God’s Fellowship with a Portion of His Chosen People: Words on How to Approach Truth and God, Excerpt 1,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 3, The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, 2024), accessed October 24, 2024,https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/how-to-treat-truth-and-God/.
  15. Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book, 294.
  16. The female christ says, “You must understand that, in China, apart from My firstborn sons and My people, all the others are the offspring of the great red dragon” (“Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning: Chapter 95,” in Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 24, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-ninety-fifth-utterance/). Elsewhere she says, “The great red dragon I speak of is not a big red dragon; rather it is the evil spirit in opposition to Me,” and “all the spirits other than the Holy Spirit are evil spirits, and can also be said to be the offspring of the great red dragon” (“Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning: Chapter 96,” in Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 8, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-ninety-sixth-utterance/).
  17. See, for example, “19. I Have Received Almighty God’s Great Salvation,” The Church of Almighty God, archived January 1, 2016, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20160121062703/http://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/19-ihave-received-almighty-gods-great-salvation/; “21. Breaking From the Rumor Trap,” The Church of Almighty God, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/breaking-free-from-rumor-trap/; and “20. Breaking Through Lies to Turn Toward God,” The Church of Almighty God, accessed October 1,2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/God-s-love-draws-me-back/.
  18. “Statement: The Church of Almighty God Did Not Kidnap 34 Leaders of China Gospel Fellowship in 2002. The Kidnapping Incident Is Simply a Fabrication,” The Church of Almighty God, October 18, 2017, Religious Freedom and Human Rights, archived April 23, 2024, at Wayback Machine, accessed October 1, 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20240423112637/https://www.rphrr.org/statement-thechurch-of-almighty-god-did-not-kidnap-34-leaders-of-china-gospel-fellowship-in-2002-the-kidnapping-incident-is-simply-a-fabrication.html.
  19. See Zhang Heng, Abraham Ho, and Jacob Feng, “A Firsthand Account of the ‘4/16 Eastern Lightning Kidnapping Case,’”. For a critique of The Church of Almighty God’s denial of the China Gospel Fellowship kidnapping, “Concerning CAG’s Denial of the ‘416 Kidnapping Incident,’— A Rebuttal,” Asia Research Center, archived June 15, 2022 at Wayback Machine, accessed March 6, 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20220615012445/https://asiaresearchcenter.org/static/media/AH%20rebuttal%20416_Eng.4464a6d8.pdf.
  20. Li, unpublished personal interview by Hank Hanegraaff, April 10, 2024.
  21. Shao Pengjun, “Eastern Lightning Tore My Family Apart,” Kaifeng, August 3, 2012, https://www.kaiwind.com/n436/n437/c608906/content.html.
  22. Yi Yang, “Tens of Thousands of Believers in Yunnan Once Captives of ‘Almighty God’ Cult,” China Christian Daily, May 29, 2022, https://chinachristiandaily.com/news/church-ministries/2022-05-30/tens-of-thousands-of-believers-in-yunnanonce-captives-of-almighty-god-cult–11494.
  23. David Aikman, Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power (Regnery Publishing, 2003), 240.
  24. Massimo Introvigne, “The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning: 10 False Myths,” Bitter Winter, April 9, 2019, https://bitterwinter.org/the-church-ofalmighty-god-eastern-lightning-10-false-myths/.
  25. Introvigne, “The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning: 10 False Myths.”
  26. Introvigne, “The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning: 10 False Myths.”
  27. Salient examples of Eastern Lightning violence will be discussed below.
  28. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning—The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 107,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-one-hundred-and-seventh-utterance.
  29. “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches IV: The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 8, 2024, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/ten-administrative/.
  30. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning—The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 103,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/the-one-hundred-and-third-utterance/.
  31. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning: Chapter 59,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 8, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/ the-fifty-ninth-utterance/.
  32. “Chapter 107.” See note 28.
  33. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning—The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 91,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-ninety-first-utterance/.
  34. Tian, unpublished personal interview by Hank Hanegraaff, April 9, 2024.
  35. Scanned copy of handwritten vow by Li, dated 2008 cf. Li Wei, “The Evils of ‘Almighty God’ as Seen from ‘Handwritten Documents’ (Photos),” Kaifeng, September 26, 2018, trans. Jacob Feng, accessed October 11, 2024, https://www.kaiwind.com/n436/n553/c248854/content.html.
  36. The Church of Almighty God claims to have documented “more than ten thousand cases of punishment for resisting Almighty God” that allegedly occurred among Protestants and Roman Catholics across twenty-four provinces and municipalities in China from 1993 to 2002. Of these cases, 219 were translated into English and published in Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God (“Preface,” in Typical Examples of Punishments for Resisting Almighty God, trans. The Church of Almighty God [n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, n.d.], accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/preface-2/). While The Church of Almighty God presents these cases as historical fact, the examples provided below exhibit a fantastical, urban legend quality. The fact that the cult portrays them as factual underscores a facet of their disturbing social deviance.
  37. “Typical Cases of People from Christian Denominations and Sects and Catholic Churches in Henan Province Who Were Punished for Resisting Almighty God,” in Typical Examples of Punishments for Resisting Almighty God, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/typical-cases-of-people-from-christiandenominations-and-sects-and-catholic-churches-in-henan-province-who-werepunished-for-resisting-almighty-god/.
  38. “Typical Cases of People from Christian Denominations and Sects and Catholic Churches in Shaanxi Province Who Were Punished for Resisting Almighty God,” in Typical Examples of Punishments for Resisting Almighty God, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/typical-cases-of-people-from-christiandenominations-and-sects-and-catholic-churches-in-shaanxi-province-who-werepunished-for-resisting-almighty-god/.
  39. “Chapter 91.” See note 33.
  40. “Chapter 91.” See note 33.
  41. “Chapter 91.” See note 33.
  42. Liu, unpublished personal interview by Hank Hanegraaff, April 9, 2024.
  43.  Liu, interview by Hank Hanegraaff.
  44. “Beware! Satanism in China—the Eastern Lightning Cult,” China Gospel Fellowship, accessed October 1, 2024, http://www.chinaforjesus.com/EL_2.htm.
  45. “Eastern Lightning Cult: A Calamity for the Nation of China,” China Gospel Fellowship, accessed October 1, 2024, http://www.chinaforjesus.com/EL_1.htm; cf. Li Feng, “Ten Major Cases of Cruelty to Life by the Evil Cult Almighty God,” Kaifeng, January 6, 2014, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.kaiwind.com/n1790/c591120/content.html; and “Over Ten Days, Almighty God Believers in Henan Province Committed Crimes, 9 People Were Injured, 2 People Had Their Ears Cut Off,” People’s Daily Online, March 6, 2014, accessed October 1, 2024, http://news.sohu.com/20140603/n400379667.shtml.
  46. There are no known reports of Eastern Lightning-related violence and arrests outside of China. Introvigne writes, “More than 5,000 Chinese CAG [The Church of Almighty God] members escaped abroad. If they are so violent, why not even one of them has been accused of any violent crime in the host countries?” “The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning: 10 False Myths.” Note also it is common knowledge that often perpetrators of crimes evade arrest, trial, conviction, and incarceration.
  47. Carrie Gracie, “The Chinese Cult That Kills ‘Demons,’” BBC, August 13, 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-28641008; cf. “China’s Violent Christian Cult: Church of Almighty God – BBC News,” posted August 16, 2014, by BBC News, YouTube, https://youtu.be/crQ9zeyd9hQ?si=GJrOL_cS7Q_BW9jw.
  48. An Shangxiu, “Li Guirong, a Member of the ‘Real God,’ Killed a Young Girl,” Kaifeng, November 30, 2011, translated by Google, accessed October 1, 2024, archived June 14, 2014, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/ web/20140614070303/https://www.kaiwind.com/xjdg/xjwh/201111/30/t20111130_863387.htm. Cf. Li Feng, “Ten Major Cases of Cruelty to Life by the Evil Cult Almighty God,” Kaifeng, June 1, 2014, translated by Google, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www.kaiwind.com/n1790/c591120/content.html.
  49. “Truth Emerges: The Church of Almighty God Was Not Responsible for the 2014 McDonald’s Murder in Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province,” The Church of Almighty God, October 14, 2017, Religious Freedom and Human Rights, archived at Wayback Machine, September 18, 2020, accessed March 22, 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20200918201641/https://www.rphrr.org/truth-emerges-thechurch-of-almighty-god-was-not-responsible-for-the-2014-mcdonalds-murder-inzhaoyuan-shandong-province.html.
  50. Yang Feng, “Shandong Zhaoyuan Bloodbath Defendant Confessed: I Am God,” Beijing News, August 22, 2014, https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2014-08-22/123730728266.shtml.
  51. China Youth Daily, “Zhaoyuan McDonald’s Murder Case Female Criminal Confession: Two Years to Write Tens of Thousands of Words of Exposing and Criticizing,” China News, May 26, 2017, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www. chinanews.com/sh/2017/05-26/8234450.shtml; Wuxiejun, “Kaifeng Exclusive: The Prison Confession of the Perpetrator of the Shandong Zhaoyuan McDonald’s Murder Case,” Kaifeng, May 28, 2016, archived June 24, 2016 at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20160624080449/http://anticult.kaiwind.com/xingao/2016/201605/28/t20160528_3879217.shtml. The influence of The Church of Almighty God upon the perpetrators of Wu Shuoyan’s murder is addressed in the article by Hank Hanegraaff, “The Sociological Deviance of The Church of Almighty God,” see especially the section, “Fake News: The McDonald’s Murder of 2014.
  52. “China Cult Murder Trial: Two Members Sentenced to Death,” BBC, October 11, 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29581195.
  53. “Chapter 103,” See note 30.
  54. All Bible quotations are from the ESV, unless noted otherwise.
  55. “Chapter 59.” See note 31.
  56. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning—The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 80,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed October 1, 2024, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/the-eightieth-utterance/.
  57. Cf. Luke 6:35; Romans 12:20; Proverbs 25:21–22.
  58. See also Luke 17:3–4; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13.
  59.  Positive Christianity refers to an anti-Semitic cultic system of beliefs and practices that aligned with Nazi ideology, which was widely embraced in early twentieth century Germany. See James Patrick Holding, “Was Hitler a Christian?” Christian Research Journal 37, no. 1 (2014): 28–31: https://www.equip.org/articles/was-hitler-a-christian/#christian-books-4. See also discussion in John Strickland, Paradise and Utopia: The Rise and Fall of What the West Once Was, vol. 4, The Age of Nihilism: Christendom from the Great War to the Culture Wars (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2022), 202, 243.
  60. Viola Larson, “Christian Identity: A ‘Christian’ Religion for White Racist,” Christian Research Journal 15, no. 2 (1992): 20–28, Gospel of Hate,” Christian Research Journal 19, no. 3 (1997): 10–19, 46, https://www.equip.org/articles/the-patriot-movement/.
  61. Richard Abanes, “America’s Patriot Movement: Infiltrating the Church with a Gospel of Hate,” Christian Research Journal 19, no. 3 (1997): 10–19, 46, https://www.equip.org/articles/the-patriot-movement/.
  62. The Church of Almighty God is far from alone in being inherently dangerous. Various inherently dangerous religions and cults exist. For example, Islam in its own way is an inherently dangerous religion with a violent disposition. This violent disposition is expressed particularly in Muhammad’s prophecies from the Qur’an on the waging of jihad against infidels and imposing jizya upon the unconverted among the subjugated (Surah 5:33; 9:5, 29). This is confirmed by the authoritative interpretation codified in the Hadith. For discussions on Islamic jihad and the Qur’an, see David Wood, Christian Research Journal 36, no. 1 (2013): 42–47, https://www.equip.org/articles/jihad-jizya-just-war-theory/; Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) (Regnery Publishing, 2005), 19–46; and Hank Hanegraaff, MUSLIM: What You Need to Know about the World’s Fastest-Growing Religion (W. Publishing Group, 2017), 54ff.
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