GUWAHATI: The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), which is the state’s apex church organisation, is wary of a Chinese cult called 'Church of Almighty God' that is suspected to have spread its tentacles into the Christian-majority state.
In a statement addressed to fellow church workers, NBCC general secretary reverend Dr Zelhou Keyho cautioned: “I am writing this with a grave concern concerning a cult, called the Church of Almighty God from China, reportedly making inroads into our land. The Church of Almighty God or Eastern Lightning cult is a well-organized group, aggressively moving forward with publication and creating many Facebook pages and colourful artwork that appears biblical and enticing”.
Keyho said the cult teaches that Jesus has returned to earth as a woman, named Yang Xiangbin, also called Lightning Deng, and the New Testament has been replaced by their new bible called "The Word Appears in the Flesh".
"They teach that God is speaking through this woman and they refer to God’s speaking through this woman, as utterances and these are written in their books as revelations from God and they are being published and promoted through books, videos, computer-generated movies, artwork and other forms of media," Keyho said.
The cult proclaims there are three ages that God is working out His plan for mankind. The Age of Law that begins salvation and God’s name is Jehovah. The Age of Grace which continues salvation and God’s name is Jesus. The Age of Kingdom which completes salvation and God’s name is The Almighty.
"Jesus said in His Word that He would return to earth, not as the almighty who speaks through a woman from China, but as He was, is and ever shall be," Keyho said.
He appealed to church workers to beware of this "dangerous" cult as "they are actively spreading a false Gospel and false teachings".
"Let us research them and expose them and take every measure to shield our respective congregations from such false religion," Keyho wrote in the statement.