Is Ahnsahnghong the Christ, even though Herbert W. Armstrong came first?
Friend: What makes you think Christ Ahnsahnghong is the Second Coming Christ?
Me: Because he restored the Passover of the New Covenant, which was not being kept since 325 A.D.
Friend: You are wrong, before Ahnsahnghong came, the Worldwide Church of God established by Herbert W. Armstrong was already keeping the Passover. That means that based on what you are saying, that would make Armstrong the Second Coming of Christ.
This is the conversation I had with a friend the other day as I preached to him about Christ Ahnsahnghong, the Second Coming of Christ. Now, this is not the first time I have heard this. I know that those who speak against the Church of God make the same insistence as my friend. For this reason, I am writing this article to discuss this matter.
Why is restoring the Passover significant to identify Second Coming Christ?
One of the many prophecies about Christ’s second coming may be found in the book of Hebrews and it states as follows:
Hebrews 9:28 — “…so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
As stated in the prophecy above, Second Coming Christ will appear to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. This means that whoever brings salvation, He is Second Coming Christ.
Then, we must know the definition of salvation according to the Bible?
Luke 1:77 — “…to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,”
According to the Bible, salvation is receiving the forgiveness of sins. We understand that only God can give us salvation, since it is only God who can forgive our sins (Mark 2:7). This means that God left us a sign to recognize Him at His second coming. That sign is to bring the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins!
Celebrate the Passover of the New Covenant to receive the forgiveness of sins.
When you study the Bible you can see that the only way to receive the forgiveness of sins is through the blood of Christ (Eph 1:7). That is why you may often hear Christians say, “I am saved through the blood of Christ”. What many of these Christians do not understand is that we can only receive the blood of Christ through celebrating the New Covenant Passover.
Matthew 26:17-28 — “… So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover… While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.‘”
The only night that Jesus promised us the forgiveness of sins through His blood was on the Passover night. Thus, when we celebrate the Passover, we are accepting God’s covenant,or promise, for the forgiveness of sins.
As the Bible describes, salvation is to receive the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins; and forgiveness of sins is obtained when we celebrate the Passover. In this way, we understand that celebrating the Passover gives us salvation.
Forgiveness of Sins = Eternal Life.
According to the Bible, the wage of sins is death (Ro. 6:23). This means that if we receive the forgiveness of sins, then we also overcome death. For this reason, we may also understand that celebrating the Passover allows us to receive eternal life. This is something that Jesus taught as well.
John 6:53-54 — “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day…'”
When we celebrate the Passover, we eat the body of Christ and drink His blood (Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 10:16). For this reason, we may say that the Passover gives us eternal life.
Armstrong did not restore the Passover of the New Covenant.
The dictionary defines the word “restore” as follows:
Restore: to bring back (a previous right, practice, custom, or situation); to reinstate.
We cannot say that Armstrong restored the Passover, because Armstrong did not teach the Passover for the same reasons that Jesus did. Jesus taught that the Passover gives forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Armstrong only taught the Passover as a law, since he read it in the book of Leviticus, and not explaining the meaning of celebrating the Passover.
Other theologians of the world, know that the Passover is kept once a year, and that the bread and wine represent Jesus’ flesh and blood. However, it was only Christ Ahnsahnghong who taught and emphasized to us the importance of the Passover, to receive God’s promise of eternal life and forgiveness of sins. That is why it is only Christ Ahnsahnghong who restored the Passover, the way of salvation, and thus He fulfills the prophecy of Hebrews 9:28.
Armstrong is far from the prophecies about the Second Coming Christ.
Christ Ahnsahnghong is Jesus who came a second time and there is much more evidence in addition to the restoration of the Passover of the New Covenant. The one who fulfilled all the prophecies of the Bible is Christ Ahnsahnghong. That’s why the World Mission Society Church of God proclaims to the world that Christ Ahnsahnghong is Jesus who has come a second time.
Please understand that we confidently believe Christ Ahnsahnghong is the second coming of Christ because of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and His restoration of the Passover is one of many signs to recognize He is God. As I will explain below, when we take a look at more and more prophecies about the second coming of Christ, it becomes clearer that Armstrong has nothing to do with Christ. The prophecies about Second Coming Christ are all fulfilled by Christ Ahnsahnghong. Below are just two examples of prophecies about the second coming of Christ, which were fulfilled by Christ Ahnsahnghong and not by Armstrong.
1. Christ must appear and be baptized when the fig tree blossoms again.
According to the prophecy of the fig tree, Second Coming Christ has to appear in 1948 when the nation of Israel was rebuilt. However, Armstrong was baptized in 1927 and became a minister in 1931. In other words, he started his ministry before 1948. Armstrong did not fulfill the prophecy of the fig tree.
2. Christ must appear from east with the Seal of God.
According to Revelation 7:1-3, the Second Coming Christ must bring the seal of God right after 1945 when World War 2 ended. He must also appear from the east of the island of Patmos on the outskirts of the nation Greece. According to Rev 1:9, John was on the island of Patmos when he saw the Savior coming from the east, and He must teach the Passover is the seal of God which protects us from the last disaster.
However, Armstrong began his ministry “before 1945” and he appeared in the west (United States). Armstrong never taught that the Passover is the seal of God, which protects us from the last disaster. Therefore, Armstrong is far from the fulfillment of the prophecies of Second Coming Christ as identified in the Bible.
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