Editing Rod of Iron Ministries

{{Short description|Korean-American religious organization}}

'''Rod of Iron Ministries''' (or currently shortened as the '''Sanctuary Church''';<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sanctuary Church |url=https://www.sanctuaryusa.org/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=www.sanctuaryusa.org}}</ref> originally known as the '''World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church''') is a [[schism]]atic offshoot of the [[Unification Church]] established by [[Hyung Jin Moon|Hyung Jin "Sean" Moon]] and [[Kook-jin Moon|Kook-jin "Justin" Moon]]. Both of them are sons of [[Sun Myung Moon]] and [[Hak Ja Han]]. Their father was the founder of the Unification Church and its leader until his death in 2012. Hyung Jin "Sean" Moon is the group's current leader.

The group exalts the [[AR-15]] semiautomatic rifle in its ceremonies, believing it represents the "rod of iron" mentioned in the [[Book of Revelation]] that Jesus would use to assert his authority during [[end times]]. Originating in [[Newfoundland, Pennsylvania]] in 2017, it has attracted attention from some right-wing antigovernment  American groups and individuals who anticipate a coming civil war in the United States. Sean Moon hosts a webcast during which he discusses reports from sources such as ''[[Breitbart News]]'' and ''[[InfoWars]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Neuman |first1=Scott |title=AR-15s Are Biblical 'Rod Of Iron' At Pennsylvania Church |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/01/589808670/ar-15s-are-biblical-rod-of-iron-at-pennsylvania-church |publisher=National Public Radio |date=March 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Alex |title='Freedom Festival' unites 'doomsday' church, Steve Bannon and the NRA in Pennsylvania |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/freedom-fest-nra-gun-church-b1935263.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=October 9, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Owen |first1=Tess |title=The Leader of the Gun Church That Worships With AR-15s Is Now a MAGA Rapper |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rod-of-iron-ministries-sean-moon-rapper-king-bullethead/ |publisher=[[Vice Media]] |date=May 31, 2023}}</ref><ref name="WaPo2018">{{cite news |last1=Dunkel |first1=Tom |date=May 21, 2018 |title=Locked and Loaded for the Lord |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/21/feature/two-sons-of-rev-moon-have-split-from-his-church-and-their-followers-are-armed/ |access-date=November 27, 2020}}</ref> The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] characterizes the organization as an "antigovernment Christian gun cult."<ref name="USA Today">{{cite news |last1=Meyer |first1=Josh |title=Trump vows to go after his enemies if elected. Meet two enforcers ready to carry that out |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/24/donald-trump-presidential-revenge-enemies-enforcers/75716067007/ |work=USA Today |date=October 24, 2024}}</ref>

== History == 
The Rod of Iron Ministries was formed as the result of a dispute between Sean Moon and his mother following the death of Sun Myung Moon. This led Sean and his wife to separate from the Unification Church and establish an offshoot sect named ''World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church'' in early 2013.<ref name="WaPo2018"/>

In 2015, Sean began renouncing his mother as the '[[Whore of Babylon]]', saying she was no longer a "True Mother". He also began teaching that Hyun Shil Kang, one of Sun Myung Moon's first disciples, was now True Mother instead, as his spirit had married her.<ref name="WaPo2018" /> He and his wife Yeon Ah Lee also began assuming the titles "Second King" and "Second Queen" respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Hyung Jin Moon: Hyun Shil Kang in now True Mother, not Hak Ja Han |url=https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/HyungJinMoon-16/HyungJinMoon-170923.pdf |access-date= |website=tparents.org}}</ref>

Sean is supported by his elder brother Kook-Jin "Justin" Moon, who effectively serves as assistant pastor of the church. He also owns [[Kahr Arms]], a [[small arms]] manufacturer.<ref name="RollingStone">{{cite magazine |last1=Dickinson |first1=Tim |date=18 August 2022 |title=Inside the Bizarre and Dangerous Rod of Iron Ministries |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/rod-of-iron-ministry-jan-6-sean-moon-moonie-1398447/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>

By 2018, Sean began wearing a [[coronet]] of [[bullet]]s on his head and expressing a more [[militant]] and pro-[[gun rights]] ideology. Sanctuary Church assumed the name Rod of Iron Ministries and performed religious rituals that heavily involved the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dunkel |first1=Tom |date=May 21, 2018 |title=Two sons of Rev. Moon have split from his church — and their followers are armed |language=en |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style/wp/2018/05/21/feature/two-sons-of-rev-moon-have-split-from-his-church-and-their-followers-are-armed/ |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> In October 2019, members of the group were invited to "show their willingness to defend their families, communities and nation" by bringing their rifles to a service in which their weapons were blessed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 Oct 2019 |title=This church in Pennsylvania holds a ceremony to bless guns |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/15/church-pennsylvania-holds-ceremony-bless-guns/ |url-status=dead |access-date=15 Oct 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015132130/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/15/church-pennsylvania-holds-ceremony-bless-guns/ |archive-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref>

Sean Moon and other members of the group participated in the [[2021 United States Capitol attack|January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack]].<ref name="Jan 6 riots">{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Jordan |title='Good Way to Die': The Moonies and the Jan. 6 Insurrection |url=https://www.dcreport.org/2021/08/04/good-way-to-die-the-moonies-and-the-jan-6-insurrection/ |access-date=13 November 2021 |work=DC Report |date=4 August 2021}}</ref>

Former [[Donald Trump]] national security advisor [[Michael Flynn]] addressed an October 2024 Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, saying that if Trump won the 2024 presidential election, "Katie, bar the door. Believe me, the gates of hell — my hell — will be unleashed." Flynn's close associate [[Ivan Raiklin]] urged attendees to "confront" their state representatives with "evidence of the illegitimate steal" should Trump lose. Raiklin had previously characterized himself as Trump's "Secretary of Retribution" and said he had prepared a "Deep State Target List" of over 350 people he would go after in a second Trump administration.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Homans |first1=Charles |last2=Berzon |first2=Alexandra |title=Far-Right Figures Escalate Talk of Retribution and Election Subversion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/27/us/politics/flynn-raiklin-election-trump.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 27, 2024}}</ref><ref name="USA Today"/>

== Properties ==

In 2021, Sean Moon and the Sanctuary Church bought and moved to a compound 40 miles from [[Waco, Texas]].<ref name="compound near Waco">{{cite news |last1=Graziosi |first1=Graig |date=1 June 2021 |title=Trump loving church that uses guns in holy rituals buys compound near Waco, Texas |language=en |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-gun-church-waco-compound-b1856407.html |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref> Upon moving to the compound they continued to espouse a highly militant ideology. Later that year it was reported that Moon and the Sanctuary Church had bought a 130-acre property in [[Grainger County, Tennessee]], to serve as the church's retreat center.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morgan-Rumsey |first1=Camruinn |date=October 15, 2021 |title=Gun-toting religious organization buys East Tennessee property |language=en |work=WAFF48 |url=https://www.waff.com/2021/10/13/gun-toting-religious-organization-buys-east-tennessee-property/ |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Owen |first1=Tess |title=MAGA Gun Church That Worships With AR-15s Buys Giant Property in Tennessee |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rod-of-iron-ministries-purchases-property-in-tennessee/ |access-date=7 September 2022 |website=Vice.com |date=12 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Unification Church}}

[[Category:Unification Church]]
[[Category:Christian new religious movements]]
[[Category:Gun politics]]
[[Category:Groups and movements involved with the January 6 United States Capitol attack]]