Welcome to another special edition of the Hank Unplugged Podcast—a podcast committed to being interesting, informative, and inspirational. On today’s special edition, I want to talk about a special edition of the Christian Research Journal. This issue is devoted to the Eastern Lightning cult, a movement that holds to the notion that Jesus Christ has returned to earth in the form of a female.

As we talk about this so-called female Christ and the cult she has initiated, I want you to imagine something with me.

Imagine this: imagine that Jesus Christ was actually reincarnated as a female on the Chinese mainland. Imagine a new iteration of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords—one who self-designates as the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Imagine a woman by whom all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.Imagine Almighty God in the form of a female, poised to kill all who are not in line with her will—not my words, but the way she herself puts it.

Imagine further that this Chinese Female Christ shamelessly asserts that the words of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, spoken during His Olivet Discourse—Matthew 24—apply specifically and directly to her. She claims that “the lightning that comes out of the east and shines even to the west” in verse 27 points emphatically to her reincarnation, and to the reality that this “Eastern Lightning,” her mission and her ministry, will radiate to the West and then to the rest of the world.

Imagine this woman and her devotees designating the people of China as children of the Great Red Dragon and claiming that she—who declares herself to be Almighty God—will soon cause the whole of China, the entire country, to be annihilated and laid to waste. Now imagine one more atrocity: imagine that this Chinese deity and her millions of devotees are being legitimized in the West as a Christian group unjustly persecuted by the Chinese government. Imagine that Eastern Lightning, also known as the Church of Almighty God, is presented not merely as a Christian tradition, but as a Christian tradition engaged in dialogue with other Christianities—not an evil cult, but rather a new religious movement.

Well, there is no need to imagine—all of this is very real. That is why, in this special edition of the Christian Research Journal, we aim to bring you face to face with one of the most insidious cults imaginable: a cult that has gone so far as to publish a lurid volume provocatively titled Typical Examples of Punishment for Those Who Resist Almighty God. In other words, the book details the fates of those who resist the Chinese woman who claims to be the very one through whom the universe came into existence.

The initiator of Eastern Lightning arrogantly describes this tawdry publication as a collection of “typical examples” of people from various religions and denominations who were punished—cursed by God—due to having resisted her work as the so-called God of the Last Days. And there are many such examples.

A classic example involves a fifty-four-year-old pastor who refused to convert to her cult or commune. Consequently, he was brutally dismembered as proof that this Chinese woman was none other than God Almighty, and that having the temerity to resist her is a ready prescription for a gruesome death. There are numerous accounts validating the vicious use of iron rods to intimidate, punish, and kill those who oppose this false female Christ. Not only that, but spouses are forced to divorce and children become estranged from their parents in accordance with the strict instructions of this female Christ.

The danger imposed on people by the Church of Almighty God is such that being arrested by public security officials appears to pale by comparison. Adherents of the China Gospel Fellowship are a case in point. They assert that they would rather be arrested by public security officials than fall into the clutches of Eastern Lightning operatives. Why? Because violating Chinese law may lead to imprisonment, but falling into the hands of Eastern Lightning devotees may well portend death.

Tragically, the theological and sociological threats posed by the female Christ are no longer confined to mainland China.

Like other global religious movements, the Church of Almighty God is using the full force of its financial and creative resources to spread pernicious dogmas to far-flung places across the globe. An Oxford University Press publication even provides a list—albeit a partial one—of countries that now boast Eastern Lightning devotees. This list includes South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia.

I personally traveled to Australia to conduct primary-source research, as well as to Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands—where I was born—Italy, France, Germany, and even Greece. Not long ago, I returned from Greece. It is hard to believe that this cult has reached places such as Finland, Spain, and Hungary. Eastern Lightning has also established cultic communes in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.

Collectively, these cultic enclaves are home to millions of adherents. That is why we undertook this primary-source research project. This is a cult that is multiplying worldwide, and the lives of millions of people are being devastated. The notion that the Church of Almighty God is merely another persecuted Christian group has become the prevailing narrative.

Let me be clear: I do not, for a moment, minimize the reality of Christian persecution. But while persecution is real, the Church of Almighty God is not Christian. It is sociologically subversive and doctrinally deviant, and as such it exacerbates—rather than alleviates—the problem of Christian persecution.

In one of my articles in this special edition of the Christian Research Journal, titled The Sociological Deviance of the Church of Almighty God, I recount my interview in China with a church leader who would rather die than surrender to this cult. His name is Pastor Shuhai, the spiritual leader of a group of churches in Hunan Province. I vividly remember sitting on a small stool in his village church, surrounded by his family, as he recounted being savagely beaten with rods and left for dead by devotees of the female Christ. I remember him lifting his pant leg to show the scars left by broken bones.

When I asked why they would beat him, he explained plainly: had he been incapacitated, he could not walk to surrounding villages to shepherd his flock; had he been killed, the church would have lost its shepherd, and the sheep would have become easy prey for cultic wolves in sheep’s clothing.

I also recall interviewing a young man named Jie, who dropped out of school after being convinced by Eastern Lightning devotees that the world was about to end—yet another apocalyptic cult scenario. Over time, he embodied the counterfeit Christ’s mandate of absolute compliance: to refrain from moral analysis and to relinquish rational, critical thought. Eventually, disciples of the Church of Almighty God abandon virtually all social obligations, devoting themselves entirely to spreading the cult’s subversive message—even to the tearing apart of families.

In graphic terms, the false female Christ exhorts her devotees to leave their families and commit wholeheartedly to recruiting new converts. Those who fail to do so are explicitly rendered worthless.

And just as destabilizing as the sociological damage are the theological deceptions of Eastern Lightning. In my article The Theological Travesties of the Church of Almighty God, I document the female Christ’s explicit disparagement of the Bible. She calls it outdated—a “low and moldy old book.” Moreover, Eastern Lightning asserts that the Triune God does not exist, claiming the Trinity to be mythological. In place of resurrection, the cult promotes reincarnation, teaching that some will remain human while others will become animals. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is denied outright, replaced with the claim that this female figure is His reincarnation. She even asserts that had Jesus come only as a man, no woman would have been saved.

Even the name Eastern Lightning is perverse. To claim to be the Church of Almighty God is tantamount to asserting that a Chinese woman is the very one who spoke the universe into existence.

In my article Contrasting Eastern Lightning Deception with Essential Christian Doctrine, I lay the straightedge of historic Christian orthodoxy alongside this counterfeit. As I often say, contrast is the conduit to clarity.

The deity of Christ is compromised. Original sin is redefined. Scripture is supplanted by extrabiblical “administrative decrees,” in which the female Christ claims the right to execute violators. The Trinity is dismissed. Resurrection, incarnation, salvation, and eschatology are all grotesquely distorted.

And yet, despite the horrific social and theological consequences, many Western academics now hesitate to label Eastern Lightning a cult. The term “cult” is replaced with softer language—“new religious movement,” “alternative religion,” or “minority religious group.”

So why would I travel to China and across the world to conduct this research? Why produce a special edition of the Christian Research Journal on a cult that originated in central China?

The answer is simple: cults are the unpaid bills of the church. When the church fails in its mission, cults fill the vacuum. If truth matters—and it does—the church must commit to education, not entertainment. We must equip believers to give a reason for the hope that is within them, with gentleness and respect. We should be willing to do for the truth what cults are willing to do for a lie.

Alongside our commitment to research, the Christian Research Institute remains committed to equipping church leaders worldwide—in America, India, Africa, and Asia—where millions of new believers are vulnerable to cultic deception. Last year alone, users from over 230 countries accessed equip.org, benefiting from our free resources, including the Bible Answer Man broadcast, the Hank Unplugged Podcast, our YouTube channel, Daily e-Truths, and the Christian Research Journal Online.

This special edition of the journal is the largest we have ever produced. It is substantial, yet accessible, and includes contributions from many authors.

By contrasting truth and error, believers become so grounded in the historic Christian faith that they can instantly recognize counterfeits. Having seen firsthand the devastation wrought by this cult, I am convinced that we must stand for truth, no matter the cost.

Thank you to all who stand with me prayerfully and financially. You can obtain your copy of this special edition at equip.org, or write to us at P.O. Box 8500, Charlotte, North Carolina 28271.

Thank you for tuning in to this special edition of the Hank Unplugged Podcast. I look forward to being with you next time.

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