A Brief Evaluation of “the Bride” of World Mission Society Church of God in Revelation 22:17
By Jaymark Molo
“Have you ever heard the God the mother in the Bible?” This is how I was approached by one of the members of World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG). To my astonishment, numerous texts has been presented before me to support that God the mother is in the Bible.[1] One of those was Revelation 22:17.
This text has received a considerable attention among “God the Mother” advocates. On this text, they would assert that “the bride” unquestionably is divine and is no other than “God the Mother”. But one might ask, “how does the WMSCOG arrive at such a conclusion?”
This will be the sole interest of this paper. Let us examine now this text in the lens of their teachings and in the light of the Scripture.
WMSCOG “God the Mother” Theology in Revelation 22:17
God the Mother and the Bride. WMSCOG would assert right away that “the Spirit” to said text refers to the Holy Spirit. Then after this, they would point out to that the Holy Spirit is divine because He offers the “free gift of the water of life”. Since God alone can make such an offer, the bride also can be considered divine since she can makes a similar claim. Thus the argument revolves around the prerogative of the “bride” to offer eternal life which God alone can claim.[2]
Meanwhile, the “bride” according to them can be identified as “God the Mother” fulfilled in the personhood of Zhang Gil-Jah, who became the wife of Ahn Sahng-hong.
A Brief Reply to the Arguments of WMSCOG in Revelation 22:17
The Bride. The fundamental problem with the interpretation of the WMSCOG is they go straight claiming that the identity of the bride is Zhang Gil-Jah without giving a single support from the Scriptures why is it so.[3] This is begging the question at its finest.
Secondly, in the bible, the bride is identified with the church, people of God.[4] Ephesians 5:22-24 in particular compares the union of husband and wife to that of that of Christ and the church. We read, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior (NRSV, italics mine).” Christ is the husband. The church is the bride. This chart can further clarify this point.
|
The husband (a) |
as (=)
|
Christ (a) |
|
is head of the wife (b) |
is the head of the church (b). |
This could not get any clearer. Now, since they do not deny that Christ can be identified with the husband; there is no reason to deny to that the church can be identified as the bride.[5]
Come. The argument from God’s prerogative does not hold the water in several reasons. Firstly, to be able to invite/offer the water of life does not necessarily make you the source of it. If the bride invite/offers us to drink the water of life, she does not necessarily become the source of it just as the water delivery boy does become necessarily the owner of the water station.
Secondly, a closer look on the text will suggest that it is not only the Spirit and the bride who makes the invitation/offer here but “everyone who hears” extends the invitation saying, “Come”. The identity of “everyone” is no other than the readers of this book.[6] So following the reasoning of WMSCOG: If the Spirit and the bride is divine because of the prerogative to invite belongs only to God. So is “everyone” of the reader of the book (“…and let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’” [Rev. 22:17b]). Thus, it would result to multiplicity of gods which the Scripture is strongly against with.[7]
Thirdly, the true of source of water of life[8] is revealed in the book itself. This is attested in Revelation 21:7, “Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life (italics mine).’” The speaker here is undoubtedly no other than Jesus Christ himself, here is the true God who just not offers eternal life, but also the source of it.[9]
Conclusion
When we let the Scripture interprets itself, we will have no room to accept the teachings of WMSCOG. Jesus Christ is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6ab). We can be saved without going through God the Mother. “No one comes to the Father except through me” (14:6c) claims the second person of the Trinity. The good news is, He bridged the gap between the Father and Man.
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[1] See also, Jaymark Molo, “A Brief Evaluation of ‘God’s Two Images’ of World Mission Society Church of God in Genesis 1:26, 27, posted on July 25, 2014. (https://amologetics.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/a-brief-evaluation-of-gods-two-images-of-world-mission-society-church-of-god-in-genesis-126-27/)
[2] http://english.watv.org/truth/truth_life/content_mother.asp. See also, http://www.truthofgodthemother.com/god-the-mother-in-revelation/
[3] Even citing Galatians 4:24 cannot help their case here for it still begs the question on how Zhang Gil-Jah became the fulfilment of that verse. Not mentioning that the WMSOCG completely disregards the immediate and larger context of the text.
[4] See, 2 Corinthians 11:2.
[5] This implies that the bride does not refer to single individual (Zhang Gil-Jah), but to corporate entity (church).
[6] See the immediate context of Revelation 22:17 by reading verse 18. See also, Revelation 1:3.
[7] See, Deut. 4:35,39; 6:4; 32:39; 2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Kings 8:60; 2 Kings 5:15;19:15; 1 Chro. 17:20; Neh. 9:6; Psa. 18:31; 86:10; Isa. 37:16,20; 43:10,11; 44:6,8; 45:21; 46:9; Hos. 13:4; Joel 2:27; Zech. 14:9; Mark 12:29-34; Jn. 17:3; Rom. 3:30; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; Gal. 3:20; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2:5; James 2:19, etc.
[8] See also, John 4:13-14.
[9] See, Revelation 22:13, 14.
A-molo-getics 