Church of Zion

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Hi all,
Sun. some ladies came by from a local church, the Church of Zion. They celebrate the ‘Sabbath’, and claim that you have to know about spiritual Zion in these end times… also celebrate OT feasts like Passover. Just wondering if anybody has any helpful info, as I invited them back for a chat later this week! 🙂
I’m familiar with refuting Saturday vs. Sunday, but this lady was insistent on going over Zion texts from the OT to prove that Spiritual Zion (?) is the church to belong to. Apparantly Spiritual Zion (Physical Zion having been already destroyed) is the church that Christ founded, and the main distinguishing mark of the church Christ founded is that they celebrate Sabbath and Passover. Not even sure where to start on this one, and can’t find any info about this movement.
Thanks!
mommyjo2
 
Just to clarify, is this a Christian sect (i.e. belief in Christ as son of God, resurrection, etc) or a Jewish one?
 
The church is actually called the Church of God. Founded in Korea in 1948. Believe. apparently, that Christ has come in 1948- 1985 (not sure if he died or just left) to restore his church, for the purpose of salvation, and especially to reinstitiute the keeping of the OT feasts. Celebrate the Sabbath, object to having Communion every day (Jesus only had Communion on Passover, so they have it once a year.)
Believe that Isaac, Abraham’s son, was Christ. And Jesus is his new name (some obscure Revelation reference here).
They seem to be a weird mix of Catholic (believe in Real Presence, and only their ordained priest/pastor can bring it about and infant baptism, baptism bringing about a real change)/Seventh Day Adventist/Millenium Cult. And a few things I never heard before, such as the word “cloud” in the Bible refers to “flesh”, the whole Isaac/Christ thing, and that Heaven is NOT a physical place (Christ/Elisha/Enoch etc. did not have their physical bodies go to heaven)
Just need an idea of where to start? The typical, Where we got the Bible, or Marks of the true church, etc. topics don’t seem to fit.
Should I treat this as a Christian (i.e. Fundamentalist) or Non-Christian? Start with a basic 'Good News of the Gospel" or specific topic and go through exhaustively?
Main visitor is an ex-Catholic (couldn’t get the reason he left), and the couple of people he brought with him seemed to be new converts/not as well versed. There is also a whole Gnostic/secret/‘hidden manna’ thing going on… can’t tell you until you are baptized, until you attend our Bible study, etc.
Any help or ideas welcome. These are much different from the Evangelicals I usually speak with.
mommyjo2
 
Sorry, more info. It is a Korean sect, called Church of God, but apparently not related to the Armstrong Church of God.
 
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mommyjo2:
Hi all,
Sun. some ladies came by from a local church, the Church of Zion. They celebrate the ‘Sabbath’, and claim that you have to know about spiritual Zion in these end times… also celebrate OT feasts like Passover. Just wondering if anybody has any helpful info, as I invited them back for a chat later this week! 🙂
I’m familiar with refuting Saturday vs. Sunday, but this lady was insistent on going over Zion texts from the OT to prove that Spiritual Zion (?) is the church to belong to. Apparantly Spiritual Zion (Physical Zion having been already destroyed) is the church that Christ founded, and the main distinguishing mark of the church Christ founded is that they celebrate Sabbath and Passover. Not even sure where to start on this one, and can’t find any info about this movement.
Thanks!
mommyjo2
Click to expand...
Physical Zion has been destroyed? When did that happen?

Sometimes it’s difficult to refute an out-there belief, simply because it is so out there. Ask her to support her belief, then point to errors in her methods of support. For example, if she uses a Bible verse out of context, point to the context and how it affects the meaning of the verse. If she has a strange interpretation of something, explain your interpretation and why you think it is more valid.

Ask her why she believes hers is the church that Christ founded if it is a relatively new church. Undoubtedly, it is a relatively new church, and no amount of manipulating history will change that. For historical support, look up what you can ahead of time about the origins and beliefs of this Church of Zion.

If you can’t convince her to change her mind, or if you don’t have an answer for everything, don’t despair. You know what the true faith is. Pray that God will bring her to an understanding of the true faith, as well. It is your job to share what you know of the truth, but it is the Holy Spirit’s job to give the gift of faith.
 
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mommyjo2:
The church is actually called the Church of God. Founded in Korea in 1948. Believe. apparently, that Christ has come in 1948- 1985 (not sure if he died or just left) to restore his church, for the purpose of salvation, and especially to reinstitiute the keeping of the OT feasts. Celebrate the Sabbath, object to having Communion every day (Jesus only had Communion on Passover, so they have it once a year.)
Believe that Isaac, Abraham’s son, was Christ. And Jesus is his new name (some obscure Revelation reference here).
They seem to be a weird mix of Catholic (believe in Real Presence, and only their ordained priest/pastor can bring it about and infant baptism, baptism bringing about a real change)/Seventh Day Adventist/Millenium Cult. And a few things I never heard before, such as the word “cloud” in the Bible refers to “flesh”, the whole Isaac/Christ thing, and that Heaven is NOT a physical place (Christ/Elisha/Enoch etc. did not have their physical bodies go to heaven)
Just need an idea of where to start? The typical, Where we got the Bible, or Marks of the true church, etc. topics don’t seem to fit.
Should I treat this as a Christian (i.e. Fundamentalist) or Non-Christian? Start with a basic 'Good News of the Gospel" or specific topic and go through exhaustively?
Main visitor is an ex-Catholic (couldn’t get the reason he left), and the couple of people he brought with him seemed to be new converts/not as well versed. There is also a whole Gnostic/secret/‘hidden manna’ thing going on… can’t tell you until you are baptized, until you attend our Bible study, etc.
Any help or ideas welcome. These are much different from the Evangelicals I usually speak with.
mommyjo2
Click to expand...
Wow. Those are some out-there beliefs. I can understand your frustration. Ask her why, if Jesus came back in 1948, it was not as He had described it would be in the gospels? Isn’t this just what He warned us against when He told us not to believe people who say that He’s returned? Also, did she ever meet this so-called Jesus? Was he a reincarnated Jesus, or what? Is there any evidence to suggest that he wasn’t just some nut?

Use Scripture to, one by one, examine her odd beliefs. Choose the ones that are most easily refuted for the first topics of discussion. You might want to enlist help, especially if you’re not uber-knowledgeable about the Bible, but try not to make it look like you’re ganging up on her.

This definitely sounds like a cult, and if she was gullible enough to believe this stuff, or if she’s not gullible but brain-washed, then an afternoon of reason might not be enough to disabuse her of such falsehoods. Try to establish a continuing dialogue with her, even making friends if she’ll allow it. If you’re able to help her break the cult’s control over her thinking, she might be able to see how unreasonable her beliefs are.
 
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