Eastern Lightning
| Zhao Weishan | |
|---|---|
| Founder of Eastern Lightning | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 12, 1951 Acheng District, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China |
| Nationality |
 People's Republic of China
|
| Profession | Teacher |
| Nickname(s) | Zhao Kun |
Eastern Lightning (Chinese: 东方闪电; pinyin: Dōngfāng Shǎndiàn) is a new Chinese Christian movement. Its official name is the Church of Almighty God (Chinese: 全能神教会; pinyin: Quánnéng Shén Jiàohuì), but it is known by many names, prominently also as Church of the Gospel's Kingdom (国度福音教会; Guódù fúyīn jiàohuì). The group has been described as a cult and a terrorist organization.
The name "Eastern Lightning" comes from the New Testament, Gospel of Matthew 24:27: "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be".
The denomination was founded in 1990 in Henan by Zhao Weishan (赵维山, born 1951) who later went to the United States from where he continues to lead the church. The followers believe that the biblical God has returned to earth as a woman named Yang Xiangbin "born to an ordinary family in the northern part of China" in order to guide mankind for the third and final time. According to the group, the first and second times of active guidance of mankind were as Yahweh of the Old Testament and as Jesus in the New Testament.
The group teaches that a woman who styles herself "Almighty God" (全能神), from Zhengzhou, Henan, is the second Christ. Her most widely distributed book, The Word Appears in the Flesh [1] proclaims itself the Word of God. The book claims the first coming of Christ was to redeem humanity, while the second is to judge and purify mankind and defeat Satan. It also claims that those who do not accept her words will receive severe punishment when the judgment ends.
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