In my prior video examining the World Mission Society Church of God’s doctrine of
Christ Ahn Sahng Hong, I gave a multitude of reasons why Ahn Sahng Hong is not the
second coming of Christ. Chief among these is the fact that Ahn Sahng Hong died in 1985.
The Bible is clear in its teaching that Christ is not subject to a second death:
“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been
baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death,
so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of
His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this,
that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with,
so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have
died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been
raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that
He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” (Romans 6:3-10)
Since producing that original video, I have had the opportunity to raise this objection
with members of the World Mission Society in person. In doing so, their response has been that
Jesus died once for sin; in other words, He only needed to die one time to pay the price for sin.
They argue however that this condition does not preclude that Christ will die a second time
at the conclusion of His second coming – a death that, according to them, would be,
“without reference to sin,” (Heb. 9:28). Thus, the fact that Ahn Sahng Hong is dead is not a proof
in refutation of the World Mission Society’s claim that he was the second coming of Christ.
In order to properly understand what the Bible teaches about Christ’s second coming,
we need to understand the Biblical reason for why a person
dies. The answer to this question is that people die because people are sinners:
“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23)
Death is the payment for sin. The fact that a man, woman or child can die is proof that they
are in sin. This is true going all the way back to the first man and the first woman:
“The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Because Adam & Eve disobeyed God (i.e. because they sinned against Him),
they became subject to death. Because of God’s grace, they did not die immediately,
but the curse of death now became a reality for them and for all of their descendants:
“…through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,
because all sinned…death reigned from Adam until Moses,
even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam…” (Romans 5:12-14)
This is the whole reason why Christ came – to set people free from the curse of sin & death:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Christ Himself is the only man who has ever lived a life free from sin. Yet,
“(God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf…” (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ died in His
first coming because He took our sin upon Himself as a perfect sacrificial offering.
Our sin produced His death. This is the reason why Christ’s people have a promise
of eternal life, because our penalty was perfectly paid in His death for us.
This is Paul’s point in Romans 6 – Christ has died once with respect to sin;
not His own sin, but our sin. This point is echoed by the author of Hebrews in chapter 9:
“…Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would
offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his
own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now
once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so
Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time
for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28)
The World Mission Society Church of God points to verse 28 as proof that Christ will die
a second time. However, this is not what the verse says. All it says is that Christ,
“will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin…” Look closely at
what the Hebraic author states – “without reference to sin.”
In Christ’s second coming, He is not coming to offer Himself for another sacrifice. The
death He died in His first coming already completed the sacrifice for sin (John 19:30).
The World Mission Society agrees with this understanding. Yet this begs the question – if
Christ is subject to death again in His second coming, for what reason would He be subject to it?
The Biblical answer to this hypothetical scenario is that Christ would be in some way or another
connected to sin. In His first coming, His death was connected to our sin. But since the Bible’s
clear testimony is that His death for our sin was a singular occurrence, a hypothetical second death
would have to be in connection with sin in another way – through Himself. To put this succinctly,
the only way Christ would die a second time was if He, Himself were guilty of sin.
There are many obvious problems with this. First, the Bible clearly teaches that Christ is without
sin. Second, He, “…will appear a second time without reference to sin…” Christ was not
a sinner in His first coming and He will not be a sinner in His second coming.
Third, if Christ were a sinner, it would completely undue His entire work of redemption.
The World Mission Society agrees with this.
But, in light of their agreement, this then begs another question – why is Ahn Sahng Hong
dead? The answer is obvious. Ahn Sahng Hong was a sinful false prophet. The fact that he is dead is
proof of this, for, “…the wages of sin is death.” If Ahn Sahng Hong were, as the World Mission
Society believes, without sin as the second coming of Christ, He would not be dead. Period.
Contrast this with the Bible’s testimony about the real, living Christ:
“The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by
death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever,
holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near
to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:24-25)
Christ is NOT subject to a second death. Anybody who has been claimed as His second coming
who is now deceased has been proven a liar and a false prophet. The same is true for
all those who are alive today making the same claim who will die in the future.
For a further rebuttal to the World Mission Society Church of
God’s doctrine of Christ Ahn Sahng Hong, please see my prior video on the subject.
If you are currently a member of the World Mission Society Church of God, please, read
the Bible for yourself and examine it’s clear, consistent teaching of Who Christ really is.