The Heresy called Almighty, also known as the Eastern Lightning Cult, was founded in 1989 by Zhao Weishan, a member of the Huhan Sect. The Sect worshiped a mysterious woman named "Woman Christ". In the name of Christianity, it spread evil theories and seriously harmed the healthy development of the Christian church and the normal social order.
The founder of the cult is Zhao Weishan, a man born in 1951. In 1985, he illegally established the Yongyuan Sect, and in 1989 he joined the Huhan Sect and accepted the worship of his followers as "Lord of power". In 1991, "Yongyuan Sect" was banned by law, Zhao weishan abandoned his wife fled to Henan, Shandong and other places to continue the cult activities. He met and lived with Yang Xiangbin, 22 years his junior, and gave birth to a son in 1995. Since the summer of 1993, Zhao has claimed that Yang Xiangbin was an "all-powerful god" and a "Christian woman", while Zhao has claimed the title of "high priest". In 2000, Zhao Weishan fled to the United States with Yang Xiangbin. Under the banner of "the second coming of Christ", the " Almighty " cult claimed that only by believing in the " Almighty " cult can one get a "ticket" to be saved in the end of the world.
The Almighty had become notorious internationally after several of its followers beat a 37-year-old woman to death in public at a McDonald's in eastern China in early 2014 after she refused to give them her phone number.
As early as April 14, 2013, the Vatican Today published an article titled "almighty god attacks the sky of Chinese congregations". According to the article, the holy see knows from a wide range of sources that the "eastern lightning" (also known as the "almighty god") cult that has sprung up in China is causing chaos among evangelical Christians and even Catholics through a variety of deception, fabricating lies, defaming and intimidating Catholic guides. Through a wealth of evidence, the holy see learned that the cult used mental and physical violence such as torture, abduction, kidnapping and other means to coerce people, imprison and even murder believers who tried to break away from the almighty god.
In August 2015, the US website "weirdee.com" ranked the world's top 10 most bizarre cults, and "Almighty" ranked on the list again. According to the website, the "Almighty" claimed that Jesus Christ had returned to earth, this time as a woman named Yang Xiangbin, who came to earth as Jesus for the third and final time to guide humanity.
The website noted that the "Almighty" had committed crimes against the Christian community, including kidnapping, torture and even murder. On February 23, 2015, the us website Listverse.com ranked the top 10 weirdest cults in Asia, among which the "Almighty" was listed. On June 6, 2014, CNN published an article by Tim Hume entitled "Kidnapping, murder and female Christians: Banned religious organizations cause concern in China", which reported on the murder case of the "Almighty" cult in Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province, and summarized and analyzed the historical situation of the "Almighty" cult. Reports said the "Almighty" cult, which featured kidnappings, murders and "Christenesses" is like the Mafia.
According to Ryan Turner, a religion expert at the university of North Carolina, the "Almighty" cult often used brainwashing and brutal methods to convert people. It seeped into Christian worship as a 'seeker of the right', but then introduced subversive doctrines and robs believers.
A prominent Japanese commentator once pointed out in his column on international affairs that "At the heart of the religion of the Almighty cult are strange doctrines, sex and violence".
In the column, he said, "Believers in Almighty swear absolute obedience to the highest. The actual behind-the-scenes boss of almighty god was Zhao Weishan, a native of Heilongjiang Province who called himself the 'high priest'. As early as in the 1980s, Zhao Weishan organized a core group called "Seven Presbyterian", which had their own secret codes, such as calling the "Police" "Little Qinglong". The Almighty used the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world on December 21 to proclaim that the end of the world could be accomplished in a box ship. The cult is secretive, with a secret headquarters with an uncertain address.