I was contacted today by e-mail by a lady who lives in my area. She says that two of her children have joined a group called "Church of God, World Mission Society." The group has a web site at http://english.watv.org/index.asp . She is very concerned about this, and says her children have become belligerent, deceptive and defensive. Also, they have threatened to prevent her from seeing her grandchildren if she rejects their preaching.
The group apparently believes in keeping the Saturday Sabbath, the Passover, and according to her, teaches that Sunday keepers will go to hell. Christian holidays, like Christmas and Easter, are prohibited (sound familiar?). The group's web site has a section called "Who We Are" that seems to focus mainly on responding to charges of heresy that have been made (I'm not sure by whom).
The group appears to be Korean in origin, which immediately led me to suspect a connection with Rev. Moon. However, I see no evidence of that, and I don't believe that the Moonies are sabbatarians. The "Church of God" name and sabbath-keeping also make me wonder if they are followers of the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, but there isn't really a clear enough doctrinal statement on their site to figure that out.
There is little doubt in my mind, however, that this is a high-control group, and I would like to help this lady in any way I can. Since I had never heard of this group before today, I am turning to my friends online who are "cult experts." What I'd really like is to find information about the origin and history of the group (along with any moral failures or unfulfilled prophecies), as well as its doctrines.
So does anyone know anything about this cult that might be helpful?