Yoo Jae-yeol is introduced in Shincheonji teaching as the founder of the Tabernacle Temple (장막성전) in Gwacheon, which came into existence in the early 1960s. SCJ interprets this temple as the “holy place” mentioned in Revelation 13 and Matthew 24, a spiritual dwelling that was to play a central role in the fulfillment of prophecy. As its leader, Yoo was entrusted with responsibility over God’s people, and his position gave him direct symbolic significance in the eschatological framework of the New Testament. He was seen not merely as an ordinary church leader but as someone with a providential role in preparing the way for the appearance of the Promised Pastor.

Spiritually, SCJ ascribes to Yoo the symbolic name “Samson,” likening him to the Old Testament judge who was once endowed with God’s strength but ultimately betrayed his calling. In Revelation 1:20, the Seven Stars are described as the “angels of the seven churches,” and SCJ identifies Yoo as the representative of these seven. This role placed him in a position of honor and authority, but also under divine scrutiny, as the fate of the lampstands was tied to their faithfulness. From SCJ’s perspective, Yoo’s leadership of the Tabernacle Temple represented the presence of a chosen messenger within the providence of Revelation, but it also foreshadowed the testing and betrayal that would unfold.

Within Shincheonji’s teaching, Yoo Jae-yeol is not seen as a solitary figure but as the representative of a group known as the Seven Stars from Revelation 1:20. These seven are interpreted as messengers of the Tabernacle Temple, each given symbolic names drawn from Old Testament figures, with Yoo himself likened to “Samson.” Their presence is meant to signal that God’s work had begun at the Tabernacle Temple and that this community was central to the unfolding of Revelation.

While their role was initially to guard the temple and remain faithful to God’s commands, Shincheonji explains that the seven ultimately faltered. Divisions arose, compromises were made, and what began as a body of chosen messengers gradually fell into betrayal. This turn of events is presented as the fulfillment of the warnings to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3, where lampstands are removed from those who do not endure. From SCJ’s perspective, the story of Yoo and the six others is less about their individual lives and more about the prophetic pattern they represent: a chosen group entrusted with God’s work, but one that ultimately failed, clearing the way for the one who overcomes.

Betrayal of the Tabernacle Temple refers to the turning point in Shincheonji’s narrative when the leadership of the Tabernacle Temple shifted away from its original foundation. Yoo Jae-yeol, who had inherited authority from his father Yoo In-gu, removed him from leadership and later entrusted control to Oh Pyeong-ho. This transfer of authority is interpreted in Shincheonji as a decisive moment when the sanctuary, once chosen by God, was handed over to those outside the original calling.

From SCJ’s perspective, this act is identified as “betrayal” in the pattern of betrayal, destruction, and salvation. It is linked to passages such as Matthew 10:21, where family members turn against one another, and Revelation 2:1–7, where the messenger of Ephesus is said to have abandoned his first love. In this view, Yoo’s actions mark the spiritual downfall of the Tabernacle Temple: what had been entrusted with divine purpose was compromised, leading to its eventual destruction. This betrayal, however, is also seen as part of God’s providential design, setting the stage for the appearance of the one who overcomes.

The Woman and the Wilderness in Shincheonji’s interpretation of Revelation 12 is applied symbolically to Yoo Jae-yeol and his role in the Tabernacle Temple. SCJ teaches that Yoo, as the leader of the temple, is represented by the “woman clothed with the sun,” a figure who gives birth to a male child. This male child is identified as Lee Man-hee, the Promised Pastor, who is destined to “rule all nations with an iron scepter” (Rev 12:5). In this framework, Yoo’s position was significant not because of his own ultimate success, but because he served as the vessel through which the male child of prophecy was born.

After this event, SCJ explains Yoo’s journey to the United States as the fulfillment of Revelation 12:6, where the woman flees into the wilderness to a place prepared by God. His departure is thus interpreted not as a mere personal decision but as a prophetic action within the broader narrative of betrayal, destruction, and salvation. In Shincheonji’s perspective, Yoo’s symbolic role as the woman highlights how even those who later fall short of God’s expectation were used to advance the providence. The wilderness flight marks the turning point when responsibility shifts decisively to the male child, the one who overcomes, while the woman fades from the center of God’s work.

The Mark of the Beast in Revelation 13 is understood by Shincheonji as symbolically fulfilled through events at the Tabernacle Temple in 1981. That year, Yoo Jae-yeol presided over an ordination ceremony in which thousands of members of the temple formally accepted Presbyterian doctrine. From SCJ’s viewpoint, this action represented the people of God aligning themselves with external, worldly churches rather than remaining faithful to the commands entrusted to them.

This moment is interpreted as the fulfillment of Revelation 13:16–17, in which the “beast” forces all people to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to belong. In SCJ’s teaching, the “mark” is not a literal brand but a spiritual sign of allegiance—accepting and acting according to false doctrine. By leading the congregation to submit to Presbyterian authority, Yoo is seen as having guided the Tabernacle Temple into receiving the mark of the beast. This act of compromise confirmed the temple’s betrayal and set the stage for its downfall, while at the same time validating the prophetic framework of Revelation as understood in Shincheonji.

Spiritual Significance of Yoo Jae-yeol within Shincheonji’s teaching is that of the fallen messenger, likened to the angel of the church in Ephesus who “abandoned the love [he] had at first” (Rev 2:4). Though once entrusted with the leadership of the Tabernacle Temple, Yoo is seen as one who lost his position through unfaithfulness. In this view, his “lampstand” was removed (Rev 2:5), symbolizing the loss of divine authority and the withdrawal of God’s presence from the temple.

This fall is not understood in isolation but as part of the providential pattern that SCJ emphasizes throughout Revelation: betrayal, destruction, and salvation. Yoo’s betrayal marked the first stage, leading to the spiritual destruction of the Tabernacle Temple through compromise and false doctrine. Yet, from SCJ’s perspective, this downfall was necessary within God’s plan, because it created the conditions for salvation through the one who overcomes. Thus, Yoo’s spiritual significance lies in being both a cautionary figure of betrayal and a pivotal part of the process that prepared the way for the establishment of Shincheonji.

Legacy in Shincheonji’s Narrative is framed around the contrast between Yoo Jae-yeol’s failure and the overcoming of Lee Man-hee. Yoo is remembered as the messenger who faltered, losing the authority and mission originally entrusted to him. Yet in SCJ’s interpretation, his downfall was not the end of God’s providence but the necessary backdrop against which the Promised Pastor could be revealed. Yoo’s failure is thus seen as paving the way for “the one who overcomes” (Rev 2–3), who would succeed where the former messenger had fallen short.

From this perspective, Yoo’s legacy is twofold: on one hand, he stands as a preparatory figure who fulfilled prophecy by playing his role in the betrayal of the Tabernacle Temple; on the other, he is held up as a cautionary example of what happens when God’s chosen lose their first love. The contrast between Yoo’s fall and Lee Man-hee’s overcoming reinforces SCJ’s central theological claim—that salvation history advances through prophecy fulfilled, and only the one who overcomes is able to establish the promised new kingdom.