A Refutation Using “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story”

Lesson 120: Rev 14 – The 144,000 Firstfruits on Mt. Zion

Viewing Through First-Century Christian, Historical, and Literary Lenses

Introduction: The Promise of Elite Status

Imagine sitting in that classroom, months deep into your study. You’ve invested countless hours, formed close relationships, gradually distanced yourself from family and friends who “don’t understand.” You’ve learned that other churches are “Babylon,” that the mark of the beast is their false teaching, that only Shincheonji has the truth. And now, the instructor stands before you with an exciting announcement:

“Today we will explore the topic of the 144,000 firstfruits on Mount Zion from Revelation 14… These individuals will be 100% sealed, comparable to walking Bibles. When they speak, only the word comes out – nothing but truth proceeds from their mouths. ‘Whoa, let’s work to be this kind of person.'”

The message is clear: You can be one of them. You can be part of this elite group—the 144,000 firstfruits, perfectly sealed, speaking only truth, dwelling with the Lamb on Mount Zion. All those hours of study, all that sacrifice, all that separation from your old life—it’s leading somewhere magnificent. You’re not just learning Bible interpretation; you’re becoming part of the fulfillment of prophecy itself.

The instructor continues with practical preparation: “At Mount Zion, we use certain terms that originate from the language (Korean) of the promise pastor.” You begin learning Korean phrases: Pang-gab-seum-ni-dah (Good to see you), Kahm-sahm-ni-dah (Thank you), Sa-rang-ham-ni-dah (I love you), Hap-shi-dah (Let’s do it). The instructor explains: “When visiting South Korea, we’ll be prepared with essential phrases.”

Wait—visiting South Korea? The implication is clear: This isn’t just abstract theology. You’re being prepared for actual travel to the physical location where God’s work is centered. Mount Zion isn’t just a spiritual concept—it’s a place you’ll visit, where the “promised pastor” resides, where the 144,000 are being gathered.

But then the instructor’s tone shifts, and you hear something that should make you pause: “If you are still undecided about Babylon, you need to look at it more closely. If it’s not obvious to you by now, you haven’t examined it thoroughly enough.”

The message is unmistakable: If you still have any positive feelings toward other churches, if you haven’t fully embraced the view that they’re all deceived and deceiving, then you’re not paying attention. You need to look harder until you see what we’re telling you to see.

This is Lesson 120, where students learn about the 144,000 firstfruits on Mount Zion. But as we’ll discover, this lesson is about much more than biblical interpretation. It’s about:

• Identity transformation: From ordinary believer to elite “firstfruit”
• Cultural conditioning: Learning Korean language and customs in preparation for organizational involvement
• Complete separation: Finalizing the break from “Babylon” (all other churches)
• Geographic centralization: Understanding that God’s work centers on a specific place (South Korea) and person (Lee Man-hee)
• Timeline validation: Learning specific dates that “prove” Shincheonji’s narrative

As we examine this lesson through the lenses of first-century Christian understanding, historical context, and careful biblical interpretation, we’ll see how Shincheonji takes one of Revelation’s most powerful symbols—the 144,000—and transforms it into a recruitment tool and organizational identity marker. We’ll explore what first-century Christians would have understood about this symbol, what it meant in the context of the book of Revelation, and how drastically different that is from what Shincheonji teaches.

This refutation will draw extensively from the 30 chapters of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story,” which provides comprehensive analysis of how Shincheonji’s interpretive system works and why it departs so dramatically from biblical Christianity. We’ll also reference “Wedding Banquet of the Lamb and the First Resurrection,” “SCJ’s Fulfillment of Revelation Part 1 and Part 2,” and other resources to understand both the historical context and Shincheonji’s specific claims.

For those seeking additional resources and support, visit https://closerlookinitiative.com/shincheonji-examination for comprehensive analysis of Shincheonji’s teachings and testimonies from former members.

Let’s begin by examining what first-century Christians would have understood about the 144,000, then contrast that with Shincheonji’s interpretation, and finally explore the psychological and theological implications of this teaching.

Part 1: The 144,000 in First-Century Context—What the Original Audience Understood

The Literary Structure of Revelation

Before we can understand the 144,000, we need to understand how Revelation is structured. As “The Revelation Project – Day 1-6 (Dr. Chip Bennett & Dr. Warren Gage)” explains, Revelation is not written as a linear chronological narrative where each chapter follows the previous one in time. Instead, Revelation uses a literary technique called recapitulation or parallelism, where the same events and themes are revisited from different perspectives.

Think of it like watching a dramatic event from multiple camera angles. Each angle shows you the same event but reveals different details and emphasizes different aspects. Revelation does this with the entire period between Christ’s first and second comings—showing it through different symbolic visions that overlap and reinforce each other.

This is crucial for understanding the 144,000, because they appear in two key passages:

1. Revelation 7:1-8: The sealing of the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel
2. Revelation 14:1-5: The 144,000 standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion

These are not two different groups or two different events separated by years. They are two perspectives on the same reality—God’s sealed people, protected and victorious.

Revelation 7:1-8 — The Sealing of the 144,000

Let’s read the first passage carefully:

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ‘Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” (Revelation 7:1-4)

The passage then lists 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

What First-Century Christians Would Have Understood:

The Twelve Tribes: The number 144,000 is clearly symbolic—12 tribes × 12,000 from each tribe = 144,000. The number 12 is highly significant in biblical symbolism, representing God’s people (12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, 12 apostles in the New Testament). The number 1,000 represents completeness or a large multitude. So 12 × 12 × 1,000 = the complete people of God, the full number of God’s covenant people.

The Seal on Their Foreheads: As we discussed in the refutation of Lesson 119, the seal represents ownership, protection, and identity. In contrast to the mark of the beast (which represents allegiance to the beast system), the seal of God represents belonging to God and being protected by Him.

The Timing: The sealing happens before the winds of judgment are released. God protects His people before allowing judgment to fall. This echoes Ezekiel 9:4-6, where God marks His faithful people before judgment comes on Jerusalem.

The Symbolism: First-century Jewish Christians would have immediately recognized this as symbolic language for the complete people of God—the true Israel, those who belong to God through faith in Christ. Paul had already taught that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith like Abraham (Romans 4:16, Galatians 3:7-9), and that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:28).

The twelve tribes listed in Revelation 7 are not the literal twelve tribes (the list is actually unusual—it omits Dan and includes both Joseph and Manasseh). This signals that we’re dealing with symbolic representation, not literal tribal counting.

Revelation 14:1-5 — The 144,000 with the Lamb on Mount Zion

Now let’s read the second passage:

“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” (Revelation 14:1-5)

What First-Century Christians Would Have Understood:

Mount Zion: In biblical imagery, Mount Zion represents the dwelling place of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the place where God’s people gather in His presence. Hebrews 12:22-24 explains: “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.”

Mount Zion is not a physical location in Korea or anywhere else on earth. It’s the spiritual reality of God’s presence with His people, the heavenly assembly of believers.

The Lamb’s Name and the Father’s Name: This is the seal from Revelation 7—they bear God’s name, showing they belong to Him. In contrast to those who bear the mark of the beast, these bear the mark of the Lamb.

The New Song: Throughout Revelation, singing represents worship and celebration of God’s redemption. The 144,000 sing a “new song”—the song of the redeemed, celebrating what God has done in Christ. Only the redeemed can sing this song because only they have experienced this redemption.

Virgins/Not Defiled with Women: This is symbolic language, not literal. In the Old Testament, sexual immorality was often used as a metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness—idolatry and covenant-breaking (see Hosea, Ezekiel 16, Ezekiel 23). The 144,000 are “virgins” in the sense that they have remained spiritually faithful—they haven’t committed spiritual adultery by worshiping the beast or participating in idolatry.

This doesn’t mean the 144,000 are all unmarried men who have never had sexual relations. That interpretation would contradict the biblical teaching that marriage is honorable (Hebrews 13:4) and that sexual relations within marriage are good (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). The language is metaphorical, describing spiritual purity and faithfulness.

Following the Lamb: This describes discipleship—they follow Jesus wherever He leads, remaining faithful even unto death if necessary.

Firstfruits: In the Old Testament, firstfruits were the first portion of the harvest offered to God (Exodus 23:19, Leviticus 23:10). They represented the whole harvest—offering the firstfruits was a way of dedicating the entire harvest to God. The 144,000 as “firstfruits” represent the entire harvest of redeemed humanity. They are offered to God as representatives of all who will be saved.

No Lie in Their Mouths: This echoes Zephaniah 3:13, describing the faithful remnant of Israel. It means they speak truth, they bear faithful witness to Christ, they don’t compromise their testimony.

Blameless: Not sinlessly perfect, but blameless in the sense of being justified through Christ, standing before God clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

The Connection Between Revelation 7 and Revelation 14

These two passages describe the same group from different perspectives:

Revelation 7: Shows the sealing—God marking His people for protection before judgment Revelation 14: Shows the result—God’s sealed people standing victorious with the Lamb

Between these two visions, Revelation shows the trials, persecutions, and judgments that God’s people endure. But the message is clear: those who are sealed by God will endure and will stand victorious with the Lamb.

This is the same pattern we see throughout Revelation:

• God’s people face persecution and trial
• But God protects and preserves them
• They remain faithful even unto death
• They are vindicated and stand victorious

The 144,000 represent the complete people of God—all believers in Christ, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, who remain faithful through persecution and trial.

The Great Multitude (Revelation 7:9-17)

Immediately after the vision of the 144,000 being sealed, John sees another vision:

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9)

When John asks who these are, he’s told: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

The Relationship Between the 144,000 and the Great Multitude:

Many interpreters understand these as two perspectives on the same reality:

• The 144,000: God’s people viewed from an earthly perspective, during their time of trial, sealed for protection, numbered and organized (12 tribes)
• The Great Multitude: The same people viewed from a heavenly perspective, after their trial, standing victorious, innumerable and international (from every nation)

This interpretation makes sense of the literary structure. Revelation 7 shows:

1. The 144,000 sealed on earth (vv. 1-8)
2. The same people appear as the great multitude in heaven (vv. 9-17)

The 144,000 is a symbolic number representing completeness. The great multitude is “too many to count,” showing the reality—God’s people are beyond numbering.

This also explains why the 144,000 are described as “from the tribes of Israel” while the great multitude is “from every nation.” The 144,000 use Old Testament covenant language (twelve tribes) to show continuity with God’s historic people. The great multitude uses New Testament fulfillment language (every nation) to show the expansion of God’s people to include all who believe in Christ.

As Chapter 22 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, Revelation consistently uses this technique of showing the same reality from multiple perspectives. The 144,000 and the great multitude are not two different groups with different destinies. They are the one people of God, shown from different angles to reveal different aspects of their identity and experience.

The Theological Meaning

For first-century Christians facing persecution, the message of the 144,000 was profoundly encouraging:

1. God knows His people: They are numbered and sealed—not one will be lost
2. God protects His people: The seal marks them for protection during judgment
3. God’s people are complete: The full number will be gathered—144,000 represents completeness
4. God’s people are international: Though described with Old Testament tribal language, the reality is a multitude from every nation
5. God’s people will be victorious: They will stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion, singing the new song

This wasn’t about a literal count of exactly 144,000 individuals. It was about the assurance that God’s people—all of them, the complete number—would be protected, preserved, and brought to victory.

The 144,000 represents you, if you are in Christ. It represents me, if I am in Christ. It represents every believer who has been sealed by the Holy Spirit and who remains faithful to Christ.

Ephesians 1:13-14 explains: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.”

The seal is the Holy Spirit. All believers are sealed. All believers are part of the 144,000—the complete people of God.

Part 2: Shincheonji’s Interpretation—The Elite Firstfruits

Now that we understand what first-century Christians would have understood about the 144,000, let’s examine what Shincheonji teaches in Lesson 120.

Shincheonji’s Core Claims About the 144,000

According to Lesson 120, the 144,000 are:

1. A Literal Number of Specific Individuals: “Today we will explore the topic of the 144,000 firstfruits on Mount Zion from Revelation 14.”

Shincheonji teaches that the 144,000 is not a symbolic number representing all believers, but a literal count of exactly 144,000 specific individuals who will be gathered in our time.

2. An Elite Group Within Shincheonji: “These individuals will be 100% sealed, comparable to walking Bibles. When they speak, only the word comes out – nothing but truth proceeds from their mouths.”

The 144,000 are described as an elite class—perfectly sealed, speaking only truth, comparable to “walking Bibles.” This creates a hierarchy within Shincheonji between the 144,000 (the elite firstfruits) and the “great multitude” (ordinary members).

3. Priests Who Will Teach Others: “We will examine the priests who are to appear in our time, understanding both their role and how they are gathered, as well as their role in gathering others. This is not merely an honorary appointment for celebration, but rather an appointment of duty – a task that must be fulfilled.”

The 144,000 are identified as priests with a specific function—teaching the great multitude that will come after them.

4. Located at Physical Mount Zion (Shincheonji): “Their dwelling place will be Mount Zion, which is also where the Lamb dwells.”

Mount Zion is identified as Shincheonji Church, specifically the organization’s headquarters in South Korea.

5. The “Best of the Best”: “This same principle applies at the time of the second coming. The best of the best are being offered to God as firstfruits – servants who will serve as priests and teach the great multitude to come.”

The 144,000 are the “best of the best”—the most faithful, most knowledgeable, most dedicated members of Shincheonji.

The Detailed Shincheonji Teaching

According to Shincheonji’s fuller teaching (found in their Advanced Level curriculum and explained in “SCJ’s Fulfillment of Revelation Part 1 and Part 2”), the 144,000 are:

• Gathered starting in 1984 when Shincheonji was established
• Selected from among those who complete Shincheonji’s curriculum and demonstrate faithfulness
• Sealed with the “revealed word” taught by Lee Man-hee
• Organized into twelve tribes (corresponding to Shincheonji’s twelve tribal organizational structure)
• Given special status and responsibilities within the organization
• Destined to reign with Christ and teach the great multitude

The gathering of the 144,000 is presented as currently underway. Students are encouraged to work toward being part of this elite group.

The Problems with This Interpretation

Problem 1: Literalizing Symbolic Numbers

Shincheonji’s interpretation requires taking the number 144,000 literally while taking almost everything else in Revelation symbolically. But this is inconsistent.

Consider what else Revelation says about the 144,000:

• They are “from the tribes of Israel” (Rev 7:4)
• 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes (Rev 7:5-8)
• They are “virgins” who “did not defile themselves with women” (Rev 14:4)

If we take the number literally, shouldn’t we also take these other details literally? Shouldn’t the 144,000 be:

• Ethnically Jewish (from the tribes of Israel)
• Exactly 12,000 from each tribe
• All male (the Greek word for “virgins” is masculine)
• All celibate (never had sexual relations)

But Shincheonji doesn’t teach this. They take the number literally but interpret everything else symbolically. Why?

Because taking everything literally wouldn’t fit their organizational needs. They need the 144,000 to be Shincheonji members (so it can’t be limited to ethnic Jews). They need it to include both men and women (so “virgins” must be symbolic). They need it to include married people (so “not defiled with women” must be metaphorical).

This is selective literalism—choosing which parts to take literally based on what fits the predetermined interpretation, not based on consistent hermeneutical principles.

As Chapter 7 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this selective literalism is a hallmark of Shincheonji’s interpretive method. They claim to interpret Revelation literally and precisely, but in practice they interpret literally when it serves their purposes and symbolically when it doesn’t.

Problem 2: Creating an Elite Class

By teaching that the 144,000 are an elite group of “the best of the best,” Shincheonji creates a hierarchical system that contradicts the New Testament teaching on equality in Christ.

Jesus taught: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

Paul wrote: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

James warned: “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” (James 2:1)

The New Testament consistently teaches that in Christ, there is no elite class. All believers are equally children of God, equally justified by faith, equally sealed by the Spirit, equally part of the body of Christ.

Yes, there are different gifts and different roles (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). But these differences are functional, not hierarchical. They’re about serving the body, not about status or elite identity.

Shincheonji’s teaching creates exactly the kind of hierarchical, status-based system that Jesus explicitly rejected. It tells students: “You can be part of the elite 144,000 if you’re faithful enough, knowledgeable enough, dedicated enough.” This feeds spiritual pride and creates division within the community.

As Chapter 16 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” discusses, this elite identity serves important psychological functions for the organization—it motivates members to work harder, creates loyalty through special status, and makes leaving more difficult (you’d be giving up your place among the elite).

Problem 3: Misunderstanding “Firstfruits”

The lesson states: “The term ‘firstfruits’ has its roots in agricultural practice. In harvesting, firstfruits were the initial and best portion of the crop that farmers, field workers, or vineyard workers would offer to God, similar to a tithe.”

This is partially correct but misses the crucial theological meaning of firstfruits in the New Testament.

Biblical Teaching on Firstfruits:

In the Old Testament, firstfruits were indeed the first portion of the harvest offered to God (Exodus 23:19, Leviticus 23:10). But they represented the entire harvest—offering the firstfruits was a way of dedicating the whole harvest to God.

In the New Testament, Christ is called the firstfruits:

1 Corinthians 15:20, 23: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”

Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection. His resurrection guarantees that all who belong to Him will also be raised. He is the first, and we follow.

Believers are also called firstfruits:

James 1:18: “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

Romans 8:23: “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”

All believers are firstfruits—the first portion of God’s new creation, the beginning of His harvest, representing the full harvest to come.

When Revelation 14:4 calls the 144,000 “firstfruits to God and the Lamb,” it’s identifying them as representatives of all the redeemed—the first portion that represents the whole harvest.

Shincheonji’s interpretation misses this. They make “firstfruits” into an elite status—the “best of the best”—rather than understanding it as representative identity. The 144,000 aren’t better than other believers; they represent all believers.

Problem 4: Localizing Mount Zion

The lesson teaches: “Their dwelling place will be Mount Zion, which is also where the Lamb dwells.”

Later, students learn that Mount Zion is Shincheonji Church, specifically the headquarters in South Korea. This requires believing that:

• The Lamb (Jesus Christ) dwells at Shincheonji headquarters in Korea
• The 144,000 will physically gather at this location
• Mount Zion is not the heavenly reality described in Hebrews 12:22-24, but a physical building in Korea

This is a radical localization of what Scripture presents as a spiritual and heavenly reality.

Hebrews 12:22-24 is explicit: “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.”

Mount Zion is where believers already are spiritually—in God’s presence, part of the heavenly assembly. It’s not a future physical location we’ll travel to in Korea.

When Revelation 14:1 shows the 144,000 standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, it’s showing the spiritual reality of believers in God’s presence, not predicting a physical gathering at Shincheonji headquarters.

As Chapter 21 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this localization of universal spiritual realities is a consistent pattern in Shincheonji’s interpretation. Heavenly realities become earthly locations in Korea. Spiritual truths become organizational identities. This serves to center everything on Shincheonji and Korea, making the organization geographically and organizationally indispensable.

Problem 5: The Timeline Problem

The lesson presents a detailed timeline:

• 1975: Mr. Oh enters the Tabernacle Temple, beginning the betrayal
• 42 months of destruction (September 1980 – March 1984)
• March 14, 1984: Beginning of the salvation period, which “will continue forever”
• 1984-present: Gathering of the 144,000

This timeline creates several problems:

First, it requires believing that Revelation’s cosmic prophecies find their fulfillment in events affecting one small religious group in Korea. As we’ve discussed in previous refutations, this radical localization is inconsistent with Revelation’s universal scope.

Second, it requires believing that the “salvation period” began in 1984 and that before 1984, true salvation wasn’t available. But Scripture teaches that salvation has been available since Christ’s death and resurrection (Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-13). Christians throughout history have been saved by faith in Christ, not by joining an organization founded in 1984.

Third, it creates urgency around the gathering of the 144,000. If this is happening now, if the number is limited to exactly 144,000, then students need to act quickly to secure their place. This urgency serves organizational purposes—it motivates commitment and prevents delay or second-guessing.

But biblical salvation is not about securing a limited number of spots in an elite group. It’s about trusting in Christ, who saves all who come to Him (John 6:37).

The Introduction of Korean Language

One of the most revealing aspects of Lesson 120 is the introduction of Korean language instruction. The instructor explains:

“At Mount Zion, we use certain terms that originate from the language (Korean) of the promise pastor. Today, we will learn and understand more of these terms.”

Students are then taught several Korean phrases:

1. 반갑습니다 (Pang-gab-seum-ni-dah) = “Good [Glad] to see you!”
2. 감사합니다 (Kahm-sahm-ni-dah) = “Thank You!”
3. 사랑하다 (Sa-rang-ham-ni-dah) = “I Love You!”
4. 합셰다 (Hap-shi-dah) = “Let’s do it!”
5. 안녕하심닛카 (Ahn-nyeong-ha-shim-nikka) = “Do you have peace?”
6. 준도 (Jun-do) = “To deliver the way (to evangelize)”

The instructor frames this as practical preparation: “When visiting South Korea, we’ll be prepared with essential phrases like ‘good to see you’ and ‘thank you,’ along with several other useful terms.”

What’s Really Happening Here

On the surface, this might seem innocent—learning a few phrases in another language, preparing for a potential trip. But when we examine this through the lens of organizational psychology and indoctrination processes, we see something more significant happening.

Function 1: Creating Cultural Identity

By teaching Korean language and emphasizing that these terms “originate from the language of the promise pastor,” Shincheonji is creating a distinct cultural identity that separates members from their original culture and binds them to the organization’s Korean center.

This is not about learning Korean for general communication or cultural appreciation. It’s about learning the specific language of “Mount Zion”—the organizational headquarters. Students are being taught to think of themselves as part of a Korean-centered movement, with Korea as the geographic and cultural center of God’s work.

The instructor emphasizes: “At Mount Zion, expressing gratitude is very important to us – we say thank you frequently. We place great emphasis on proper etiquette, which includes learning to say ‘Kamsahamnida,’ which means thank you in Korean.”

This creates the impression that Korean culture and etiquette are somehow more spiritually significant than other cultures. The “proper etiquette” students need to learn is Korean etiquette, because that’s the etiquette of “Mount Zion.”

Function 2: Preparing for Pilgrimage

The repeated references to “visiting South Korea” serve to normalize the expectation that committed members will travel to Korea. This isn’t presented as optional or as one possibility among many. It’s presented as something you’ll do: “When visiting South Korea, we’ll be prepared…”

This prepares students psychologically and practically for what Shincheonji calls “pilgrimage”—traveling to South Korea to visit the headquarters, attend large gatherings, and potentially meet Lee Man-hee (the “promised pastor”).

These pilgrimages serve multiple organizational functions:

• They deepen commitment (having invested time and money to travel to Korea, members are less likely to leave)
• They create powerful emotional experiences (large gatherings, meeting the leader, feeling part of a global movement)
• They physically connect members to the Korean headquarters, reinforcing the geographic centralization
• They generate revenue for the organization

As Chapter 19 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” discusses, these pilgrimages are a crucial stage in the indoctrination process. Members who travel to Korea typically return with significantly deepened commitment and increased resistance to criticism.

Function 3: Creating In-Group Language

Every high-control group develops its own specialized language—terms and phrases that have special meaning within the group but sound strange or meaningless to outsiders. This serves several purposes:

• Boundary marking: The language marks who is inside the group and who is outside
• Thought control: Special terms shape how members think about reality
• Emotional bonding: Shared language creates a sense of belonging and intimacy
• Communication barrier: The specialized language makes it harder to communicate with outsiders who don’t understand the terms

By teaching Korean terms like “Jun-do” (evangelizing), “Hap-shi-dah” (let’s do it), and “Sa-rang-ham-ni-dah” (I love you), Shincheonji creates a linguistic environment where members increasingly think and speak in the organization’s terms.

When a member says “Jun-do” instead of “evangelism,” they’re not just using a different word—they’re invoking the entire Shincheonji framework of what evangelism means (bringing people to Shincheonji’s teaching, not just sharing the gospel of Christ).

Function 4: Elevating the Leader

The instructor explicitly states that these terms “originate from the language of the promise pastor.” This elevates Lee Man-hee by making his native language the language of God’s work.

The implication is clear: Korean is special because it’s the promised pastor’s language. Learning Korean is not just practical—it’s spiritual. It connects you to the center of God’s work, which is centered on a Korean man.

This is subtle but powerful. It makes Lee Man-hee’s cultural and linguistic background into something spiritually significant, rather than recognizing that God works in all languages and all cultures.

As Acts 2 demonstrates, at Pentecost the Holy Spirit enabled people to hear the gospel in their own languages. God doesn’t privilege one language over others. But Shincheonji’s teaching subtly elevates Korean as the language of “Mount Zion,” the language of the “promised pastor,” the language students need to learn to be fully part of God’s work.

The “Hapshida” Mentality

The instructor gives special attention to the term “Hapshida” (Let’s do it):

“At Mount Zion, we have a go-getter attitude. This mindset is essential because Mount Zion is destined to be the place where God returns and where the world will gather. Such a mission requires determined people who believe ‘it can be done.'”

The instructor then connects this to Joshua and Caleb: “This spirit mirrors the mindset of Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who brought back a good report when they were sent to explore the Promised Land. We should aspire to be like Joshua and Caleb, and like their forefather Jacob, who also possessed this ‘let’s get it done’ attitude.”

What’s Biblical and What’s Shincheonji:

Biblical: The example of Joshua and Caleb is genuinely biblical. They did have faith that God could give Israel the Promised Land, even when the other spies doubted (Numbers 13-14). Having faith in God’s promises and being willing to act on that faith is biblical.

Shincheonji’s Twist: But Shincheonji redirects this biblical principle toward organizational goals. The “Promised Land” becomes Shincheonji’s mission. The “let’s do it” attitude becomes commitment to organizational activities—evangelizing (Jun-do), attending events, traveling to Korea, recruiting others.

The biblical principle of faith and action is real. But it’s being channeled toward organizational purposes rather than toward genuine faith in Christ and obedience to His actual commands.

The Psychological Function:

The “Hapshida” mentality serves to:

• Create enthusiasm and momentum
• Overcome doubts and hesitations
• Frame questioning as lack of faith
• Motivate action even when members are tired or uncertain
• Create peer pressure (everyone else is saying “Hapshida,” so you should too)

When a member expresses doubt or hesitation, other members can respond with “Hapshida!”—essentially saying “Don’t doubt, just do it!” This shuts down critical thinking and frames faith as unquestioning action.

The Problem with Geographic Centralization

The entire framework of Lesson 120—learning Korean, preparing to visit South Korea, understanding Mount Zion as a physical location in Korea—represents a fundamental departure from New Testament Christianity.

The New Testament Pattern:

When Christianity spread in the first century, it didn’t create a geographic center that all believers needed to visit. Jerusalem was important historically (it’s where Jesus died and rose, where the church began), but it wasn’t the center that all Christians needed to travel to or orient themselves toward.

In fact, Jesus explicitly told the Samaritan woman that worship would not be centered in any particular location:

John 4:21-24: “‘Woman,’ Jesus replied, ‘believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.'”

The message is clear: True worship is not about location. It’s about Spirit and truth. God is not confined to one mountain or one city or one nation.

Paul reinforced this in his sermon at Athens:

Acts 17:24-28: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.'”

God does not live in temples made by human hands. He is not confined to one location. He is not far from any of us, regardless of where we live.

The Shincheonji Pattern:

Shincheonji’s teaching creates exactly the kind of geographic centralization that the New Testament explicitly rejects:

• Mount Zion is in Korea (a specific physical location)
• The promised pastor is in Korea (God’s work centers on one man in one place)
• Members should learn Korean (the language of the center)
• Members should visit Korea (pilgrimage to the center)
• The 144,000 will gather in Korea (the center is where God’s people must be)

This creates a system where Korea—specifically, Shincheonji’s headquarters in Korea—becomes the indispensable center of God’s work. You can’t fully participate in God’s work without connecting to this Korean center.

This is not Christianity. This is a Korean-centered religious movement that uses Christian language and biblical symbols but fundamentally departs from the New Testament pattern.

The Question of “From the East”

Shincheonji often justifies its Korea-centrism by appealing to passages that mention “the east.” For example:

Revelation 7:2: “Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God.”

Matthew 24:27: “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

Shincheonji argues: Korea is in the east (from a Western perspective), therefore these passages predict that God’s work in the last days will center on Korea.

The Problems with This Argument:

Problem 1: “East” is relative. East of what? From whose perspective? Korea is east of Europe and America, but it’s west of the Americas if you go the other direction around the globe. It’s north of Australia, south of Russia. Geographic directions are relative to your starting point.

Problem 2: Many groups make this claim. Shincheonji is not the only group claiming to be the fulfillment of prophecies about “the east”:

• Eastern Lightning (also called “The Church of Almighty God”) is a Chinese cult that claims China is the “east” where God’s final work is happening, and that their leader (a woman they call “Almighty God”) is the returned Christ.
• Iglesia ni Cristo is a Filipino cult that claims the Philippines is the “east” where God’s true church was restored in the last days through their founder Felix Manalo.
• Multiple Korean new religious movements (not just Shincheonji) claim Korea is the “east” where God’s final work is centered.

If “from the east” is the key to identifying God’s true work, how do we decide between these competing claims? They can’t all be right, but they all use the same logic: “We’re in the east, therefore we’re the fulfillment.”

Problem 3: The biblical meaning of “east.” In biblical symbolism, “east” often refers to the direction of sunrise—the direction from which light comes. When Revelation 7:2 mentions an angel “coming up from the east,” it’s likely symbolic of the angel bringing light/revelation, not a geographic prediction about Korea.

Similarly, when Jesus says His coming will be like lightning from the east (Matthew 24:27), He’s emphasizing the visibility and undeniability of His return, not predicting that He’ll return to a specific geographic location in Asia.

Problem 4: Jesus’ actual return. Scripture teaches that when Jesus returns, it will be visible to everyone, everywhere, simultaneously:

Matthew 24:30: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”

Revelation 1:7: “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him.”

Jesus’ return will not be a secret event in Korea that people need to travel to see. It will be a cosmic, universal event visible to everyone. If Shincheonji’s “Mount Zion” in Korea is where Jesus has returned, why hasn’t every eye seen Him? Why do people need to travel to Korea to encounter this? Why is it not visible to all peoples on earth?

As Chapter 27 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, Shincheonji’s geographic centralization on Korea is not based on sound biblical interpretation. It’s based on selective use of passages that mention “east,” combined with the founder’s Korean identity, to create a Korea-centered theology that serves organizational purposes.

Part 4: The “Babylon” Rhetoric and Complete Separation

The Escalating Anti-Church Language

Throughout the Advanced Level curriculum, students have been gradually conditioned to view churches outside Shincheonji negatively. But in Lesson 120, this conditioning reaches a new level of intensity and explicitness.

The instructor states: “The mark of the beast, 666, represents Satan’s doctrines and Satan’s lies – this is what the mark truly is. It is not what is taught in Babylon about it being a computer chip, tattoo, or vaccine.”

Notice the language: Other churches are now simply called “Babylon.” Not “other churches,” not “mainstream Christianity,” but “Babylon”—the biblical symbol of opposition to God, spiritual adultery, and false religion.

The instructor continues: “While studying the open word, it is important to examine Babylon again carefully. The open word reveals things to us that we were previously unaware of. When examining Babylon closely, you come to a startling realization. The reality is that no one in Babylon knows what is actually happening or going on.”

Let’s break down what’s being communicated here:

1. Total Ignorance: “No one in Babylon knows what is actually happening or going on.”

This is an absolute statement. Not “many churches have incorrect interpretations” or “most pastors don’t understand Revelation correctly.” But “no one in Babylon knows what is actually happening.”

This means:

• Your former pastor doesn’t know
• Your Christian family members don’t know
• Christian scholars and theologians don’t know
• The entire 2,000-year history of Christian interpretation doesn’t know

Only Shincheonji knows. Everyone else is completely ignorant.

2. Baseless Opinions: “People merely speak their opinions. When they read the Bible, they simply believe whatever interpretation comes to their mind.”

This characterizes all non-Shincheonji biblical interpretation as random opinion—people just making things up based on whatever pops into their heads. There’s no acknowledgment that other Christians study Scripture carefully, use sound hermeneutical principles, or have the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

3. False Correlations: “They make worldly connections, trying to equate current political events and wars to specific Bible verses.”

This is ironic, given that Shincheonji does exactly this—correlating specific Bible verses to specific events in Korean history. But when others make connections between Scripture and contemporary events, it’s dismissed as “worldly connections” and “random correlations.”

4. Mixing Truth with Error: “The congregation accepts these interpretations without question, even though they are just random correlations that lack spiritual connection but are being mixed with the word of God.”

This accuses other churches of mixing God’s word with false teaching—essentially poisoning the truth. This is serious language, suggesting that attending other churches means consuming spiritual poison.

5. Dangerous Deception: “This situation in Babylon is concerning.”

The word “concerning” is mild, but the implication is serious—Babylon is dangerous. People there are deceived, teaching false doctrine, leading others astray.

The Ultimatum

Then comes the ultimatum: “If you are still undecided about Babylon, you need to look at it more closely. If it’s not obvious to you by now, you haven’t examined it thoroughly enough.”

This is a direct challenge to any student who still has positive feelings toward other churches or who isn’t fully convinced that all other churches are “Babylon.” The message is clear:

• If you’re “still undecided,” you have a problem
• If it’s “not obvious to you by now,” you’re not paying attention
• You need to “look at it more closely” until you see what we’re telling you to see

This is not an invitation to honest examination. It’s pressure to conform to the prescribed view. The “right” answer is predetermined—Babylon is completely false, and if you don’t see this, you need to keep looking until you do.

The Psychological Function

This escalating anti-church rhetoric serves several crucial functions in the indoctrination process:

Function 1: Completing the Separation

By this point in the curriculum, students have likely already distanced themselves from their former churches and Christian communities. But there may still be lingering positive feelings, memories of genuine Christian fellowship, respect for former pastors or teachers.

This lesson aims to eliminate those lingering positive feelings. It’s not enough to believe Shincheonji has better interpretation—students must believe that other churches have nothing of value, that they’re completely deceived, that they’re “Babylon.”

This completes the psychological separation. Once you fully embrace the view that other churches are Babylon, you can’t go back. You can’t visit your old church “just to see.” You can’t listen to other pastors “just to compare.” You can’t maintain friendships with Christians outside Shincheonji without constantly judging them as deceived.

Function 2: Validating the Investment

By this point, students have invested enormous amounts of time, energy, and emotional commitment into Shincheonji. They’ve studied for months, distanced themselves from family and friends, reoriented their lives around the organization.

If other churches actually have truth, if other Christians are genuinely saved, if the differences are just matters of interpretation—then all that investment and sacrifice might not have been necessary. Students might feel foolish for having made such drastic changes.

But if other churches are Babylon—completely false, totally deceived, spiritually dangerous—then the investment was absolutely necessary. Students can feel good about their choices because they’ve escaped Babylon and found the truth.

Function 3: Preventing Comparison

As long as students are willing to compare Shincheonji’s teaching with other Christian perspectives, there’s a risk they’ll discover problems with Shincheonji’s interpretation. They might find that other perspectives make more sense, fit the biblical text better, align more closely with historical Christianity.

But once students fully embrace the “Babylon” framework, comparison becomes impossible. Why would you compare truth with Babylon? Why would you listen to people who “don’t know what is actually happening”? Why would you consider interpretations that are “just random correlations”?

The “Babylon” label prevents honest comparison by pre-judging all other perspectives as worthless.

Function 4: Creating Fear

The language about Babylon “mixing” false teaching with God’s word creates fear. If other churches are mixing truth and error, then they’re spiritually dangerous. Listening to them might contaminate your understanding. Attending them might cause you to receive “the mark.”

This fear keeps members from exploring other perspectives, even when they have doubts about Shincheonji. The fear of spiritual contamination is stronger than the curiosity about alternative views.

The Biblical Problems

Problem 1: Judging the Universal Church

When Shincheonji calls all other churches “Babylon,” they’re making a sweeping judgment about the entire body of Christ throughout the world. This includes:

• Churches that faithfully preach the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ
• Christians who genuinely love Jesus and serve Him faithfully
• Believers who demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their lives
• Communities where people are being saved, healed, and transformed by God’s power

Jesus said: “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-17)

If we apply this test honestly, we see good fruit in churches around the world:

• People coming to faith in Christ
• Lives being transformed by the gospel
• Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Sacrificial service to the poor and marginalized
• Faithful witness even unto death in persecuted regions

This is not the fruit of “Babylon.” This is the fruit of the Spirit working in genuine believers.

Shincheonji’s sweeping condemnation of all other churches requires ignoring or dismissing this obvious fruit.

Problem 2: The Nature of Babylon

In Revelation, Babylon represents a specific reality—the system of worldly power, economic exploitation, and false religion that opposes God and persecutes His people. Revelation 17-18 describes Babylon in detail:

• Babylon is drunk with the blood of the saints (17:6)
• Babylon is a great city that rules over the kings of the earth (17:18)
• Babylon is the center of global commerce and luxury (18:3, 11-13)
• Babylon persecutes and kills God’s witnesses (18:24)

In the first-century context, this clearly referred to Rome—the empire that persecuted Christians, that demanded emperor worship, that controlled global commerce, that executed Christian martyrs.

Throughout history, “Babylon” has been understood as representing systems of worldly power that oppose God and persecute His people—whether Rome, oppressive political regimes, or the broader system of worldly values that stands against God’s kingdom.

But Shincheonji applies “Babylon” to churches that:

• Preach salvation through faith in Christ
• Worship Jesus as Lord
• Teach the Bible
• Serve their communities
• Send missionaries around the world

These churches may have interpretive differences with Shincheonji, but they’re not persecuting God’s people. They’re not drunk with the blood of the saints. They’re not the anti-Christian system that Revelation describes as Babylon.

Shincheonji’s use of “Babylon” to describe other Christian churches is a misapplication of biblical symbolism that serves to demonize fellow believers in Christ.

Problem 3: The Unity of the Body

The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the unity of believers in Christ:

Ephesians 4:4-6: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

1 Corinthians 12:12-13: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

John 17:20-23: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

The body of Christ is one. All who genuinely believe in Jesus Christ, who confess Him as Lord, who trust in His death and resurrection for salvation—they are part of the one body.

There are certainly differences in interpretation, practice, and emphasis among different Christian traditions. But these differences don’t negate the fundamental unity we have in Christ.

Shincheonji’s teaching destroys this unity. It says: “We are the body of Christ. Everyone else is Babylon.” This is not biblical Christianity—it’s sectarianism.

As Chapter 24 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this sectarian mindset is one of the clearest markers of cultic thinking. When a group claims to be the exclusive people of God and condemns all other believers as false, they’ve departed from biblical Christianity regardless of how much biblical language they use.

What About Interpretive Differences?

Someone might ask: “But what if Shincheonji’s interpretation is correct and other churches are wrong? Shouldn’t we call out false teaching?”

This is a fair question, and it’s important to distinguish between:

Legitimate Discernment vs. Sectarian Condemnation

Legitimate discernment involves:

• Examining specific teachings against Scripture
• Identifying genuine errors that contradict core Christian doctrine
• Warning against teachings that lead people away from Christ
• Doing this with humility, recognizing our own fallibility
• Maintaining respect for fellow believers even when disagreeing
• Focusing on essential doctrines while allowing freedom on secondary matters

Sectarian condemnation involves:

• Making sweeping judgments about entire groups
• Claiming exclusive access to truth
• Condemning all who disagree as completely false
• Refusing to acknowledge any good in other perspectives
• Making interpretive differences into salvation issues
• Creating an us-vs-them mentality that destroys Christian unity

The difference is crucial. Christians can and should discern truth from error. But we do this while recognizing that:

• We see through a glass dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12)
• We all have partial understanding
• The body of Christ is bigger than any one group or tradition
• Unity in Christ is more fundamental than perfect doctrinal agreement

Shincheonji crosses the line from legitimate discernment into sectarian condemnation. They don’t just say “we believe other churches misinterpret Revelation.” They say “other churches are Babylon, completely deceived, mixing Satan’s lies with God’s word, and no one there knows what’s happening.”

This is not discernment—it’s demonization.

Part 5: The Psychological Function of the 144,000 Teaching

The Carrot and the Stick

Shincheonji’s teaching about the 144,000 functions as both motivation (the carrot) and control (the stick). Let’s examine how this works psychologically.

The Carrot: Elite Identity and Purpose

The lesson presents the 144,000 as:

• “The best of the best”
• “100% sealed”
• “Walking Bibles”
• Speaking “only truth”
• Having a special “duty” and “task”
• Priests who will “teach the great multitude”

This creates powerful motivation:

1. Status and Recognition: Humans have a natural desire for recognition and significance. The promise of being part of an elite group—the “best of the best”—appeals to this desire. Students can feel special, chosen, important.

2. Purpose and Meaning: The 144,000 aren’t just honored—they have a mission. They will teach the great multitude. This gives students a sense of cosmic purpose. Their lives matter. They’re part of God’s plan for the ages.

3. Achievement and Progress: The teaching implies that becoming part of the 144,000 is something students can work toward. By studying diligently, remaining faithful, demonstrating commitment, they can achieve this status. This creates a sense of progress and achievement.

4. Belonging and Identity: Being part of the 144,000 means belonging to an exclusive group with shared identity. This creates strong bonds with fellow members and a sense of being part of something bigger than yourself.

All of these are legitimate human needs—for significance, purpose, achievement, belonging. But Shincheonji channels these needs toward organizational goals rather than toward genuine relationship with Christ.

The Stick: Fear of Missing Out

But the teaching also creates anxiety:

1. Limited Number: If there are exactly 144,000 spots, and they’re being filled now, then there’s urgency. You might miss out if you don’t act quickly enough, if you’re not faithful enough, if you don’t demonstrate sufficient commitment.

2. Conditional Status: The lesson emphasizes that being part of the 144,000 requires being “100% sealed,” speaking “only truth,” being “the best of the best.” This creates pressure to prove yourself worthy. Any doubt, any question, any failure might disqualify you.

3. Comparison with Others: If the 144,000 are the elite and others are just the “great multitude,” then there’s implicit comparison and competition. Are you good enough to be in the elite group, or will you be relegated to the ordinary group?

4. Fear of Losing Status: Once students begin to identify as potential members of the 144,000, leaving Shincheonji means giving up this identity. You’d go from being part of the elite to being part of “Babylon.” This makes leaving psychologically very difficult.

The Progression of Indoctrination

By Lesson 120, students have been through a carefully designed progression:

Introductory Level (Parables):

• Introduced to Shincheonji’s interpretive method
• Taught that parables hide meaning that only the “promised pastor” can reveal
• Began to distrust their own understanding and other teachers

Intermediate Level (Bible Logic):

• Learned Shincheonji’s system for interpreting symbols
• Began to see patterns that “prove” Shincheonji’s interpretation
• Started to view the Bible as a puzzle that only Shincheonji can solve

Advanced Level – Early Lessons (Revelation 1-13):

• Learned Shincheonji’s historical narrative (Tabernacle Temple, betrayal, destruction)
• Began to identify other churches as “the beast” and their teaching as “the mark”
• Started to separate from former Christian communities

Advanced Level – Lesson 120 (Revelation 14):

• Offered elite identity as part of the 144,000
• Taught Korean language in preparation for organizational involvement
• Given ultimatum to fully embrace “Babylon” view of other churches
• Prepared for pilgrimage to Korea

Each stage builds on the previous ones. By the time students reach Lesson 120, they’ve been conditioned through months of study to accept increasingly extraordinary claims. The teaching about the 144,000 would have seemed absurd at the beginning, but now it seems like the natural conclusion of everything they’ve learned.

As Chapter 11 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this progressive disclosure is a hallmark of cultic indoctrination. Controversial claims are revealed gradually, only after students have been sufficiently conditioned to accept them.

The Social Dynamics

The 144,000 teaching also creates specific social dynamics within Shincheonji:

1. Hierarchy: Despite claims of equality, the distinction between the 144,000 (elite firstfruits) and the great multitude (ordinary members) creates a hierarchical system. Some members are more important, more spiritual, more valuable than others.

2. Competition: If spots are limited and status is based on performance, members compete with each other to demonstrate superior faithfulness, knowledge, and commitment.

3. Conformity: To be part of the 144,000 who speak “only truth,” members must conform perfectly to Shincheonji’s teaching. Any deviation, any unique perspective, any questioning might disqualify them.

4. Dependency: Members become dependent on the organization to validate their status. Only Shincheonji can determine who is part of the 144,000. This gives the organization enormous power over members’ identities and self-worth.

5. Isolation: The elite identity separates members not just from “Babylon” but potentially from each other. Those who achieve 144,000 status might look down on ordinary members. Those who don’t achieve it might feel inferior or resentful.

These dynamics are unhealthy and contrary to the New Testament vision of Christian community, where:

• All believers are equally children of God (Galatians 3:26-28)
• Different gifts are for mutual service, not for status (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
• Leaders are servants, not elites (Matthew 20:25-28)
• Love, not achievement, is the measure of spiritual maturity (1 Corinthians 13)

The Contrast with Biblical Teaching

The biblical teaching about believers’ identity in Christ is radically different from Shincheonji’s 144,000 doctrine:

Biblical Identity:

1. All Believers Are Chosen: Ephesians 1:4: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

All believers are chosen, not just an elite 144,000. All believers are a royal priesthood, not just a special group.

2. All Believers Are Sealed: Ephesians 1:13-14: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.”

All believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit at the moment of faith. The seal is not something you achieve through study or organizational loyalty—it’s the Holy Spirit Himself, given to all who believe.

3. All Believers Are Saints: 1 Corinthians 1:2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul addresses all believers as “saints” (holy people). This is not an elite status—it’s the status of every believer, sanctified (made holy) through Christ.

4. All Believers Are Priests: 1 Peter 2:5: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 1:6: “And has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father.”

All believers are priests. We all have direct access to God through Christ. We all offer spiritual sacrifices of worship and service. There’s no priestly elite—the entire body of believers is a priesthood.

5. Status Comes from Christ, Not Achievement: Colossians 2:10: “And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.”

Our status comes from being “in Christ,” not from our achievements, knowledge, or organizational position. We are complete in Him, not through our own efforts.

This biblical teaching creates security, equality, and freedom:

• Security: Your status doesn’t depend on your performance
• Equality: All believers share the same status in Christ
• Freedom: You don’t have to prove yourself worthy or compete for limited spots

Shincheonji’s teaching creates insecurity, hierarchy, and bondage:

• Insecurity: Your status depends on being “100% sealed” and speaking “only truth”
• Hierarchy: The 144,000 are elite, others are ordinary
• Bondage: You must constantly prove yourself worthy of elite status

Part 6: What the 144,000 Really Means for Christians Today

The Enduring Message of the 144,000

If the 144,000 is not a literal count of Shincheonji members, what does this symbol mean for Christians today?

The 144,000 represents several profound truths that remain relevant for believers in every age:

1. God Knows His People

The fact that the 144,000 are numbered (12,000 from each tribe) emphasizes that God knows exactly who His people are. Not one will be lost. Not one will be forgotten.

Jesus said in John 10:14-15: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

God doesn’t need Shincheonji’s organizational records to know who belongs to Him. He knows His sheep. He calls them by name. He will not lose a single one that the Father has given Him (John 6:39).

2. God Protects His People

The sealing of the 144,000 (Revelation 7:3) emphasizes God’s protection of His people during times of trial and judgment. The seal marks them as belonging to God and protects them from the judgments that fall on the earth.

This doesn’t mean Christians won’t face persecution or suffering. The great multitude in Revelation 7:14 “have come out of the great tribulation.” But it means that through all trials, God preserves His people spiritually. Nothing can separate them from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

3. God’s People Are Complete

The number 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1,000) symbolizes completeness. God will gather the full number of His people. The mission will be accomplished. The harvest will be complete.

This is encouraging when we look at the world and wonder if God’s purposes will succeed. Yes, they will. God will gather His people from every nation. The full number will come in. The mission will be completed.

4. God’s People Are International

Though the 144,000 are described using Old Testament tribal language, the great multitude is “from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9). This shows that God’s people include believers from all nations, not just one ethnic group or one country.

This contradicts any teaching that centers God’s work on one nation (whether Korea, Israel, America, or any other). God’s kingdom is international, multicultural, multilingual. No one nation or culture has exclusive claim to being God’s people.

5. God’s People Will Be Victorious

Revelation 14:1 shows the 144,000 standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion—victorious, worshiping, celebrating. This is the destiny of all believers. We will stand with Christ. We will worship before His throne. We will participate in the eternal celebration of God’s victory.

This hope sustains us through present trials. We know how the story ends. We know that faithfulness will be rewarded. We know that those who endure will stand victorious with the Lamb.

Who Are the 144,000?

So who are the 144,000? The answer is both simple and profound:

The 144,000 represents all believers in Jesus Christ—the complete people of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit, protected through trials, destined for victory with the Lamb.

If you are in Christ, you are part of the 144,000. Not because you’ve achieved elite status or completed a curriculum or joined the right organization. But because you’ve been sealed with the Holy Spirit, marked as belonging to God, included in the complete number of His people.

This is not about organizational membership. It’s about relationship with Christ.

Romans 8:9: “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”

The question is not “Am I part of Shincheonji’s 144,000?” The question is “Do I have the Spirit of Christ? Do I belong to Him?”

The Danger of Literalizing Symbolic Numbers

Throughout history, groups that have literalized the 144,000 have created problems:

1. Jehovah’s Witnesses originally taught that only 144,000 people would go to heaven (they called this the “anointed class”), while others would live on a paradise earth. This created a two-tier system and caused confusion when the number of members claiming to be “anointed” exceeded 144,000.

2. Various groups have claimed to be gathering the literal 144,000, creating urgency and competition to secure one of the limited spots.

3. Some interpretations have limited the 144,000 to specific ethnic groups (Jewish believers) or specific time periods, creating divisions within the body of Christ.

All of these problems arise from taking a symbolic number literally and missing the theological meaning it conveys.

As “The Revelation Project – Day 1-6 (Dr. Chip Bennett & Dr. Warren Gage)” explains, Revelation uses numbers symbolically throughout. The number 7 represents completeness. The number 12 represents God’s people. The number 1,000 represents a large multitude. These numbers work together to convey theological truths, not to provide literal counts.

When we literalize these numbers, we miss the message and create systems that contradict the broader biblical teaching about salvation, election, and the people of God.

The True Firstfruits

The lesson emphasizes that the 144,000 are “firstfruits,” but as we discussed earlier, this term has specific biblical meaning that Shincheonji misses.

Christ is the Firstfruits: 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”

Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits that guarantees our resurrection. He is the first, and we follow.

All Believers Are Firstfruits: James 1:18: “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

We are firstfruits of God’s new creation. We are the beginning of what God is doing to renew all creation. We represent the harvest to come.

This means that being “firstfruits” is not about elite status within an organization. It’s about being part of God’s new creation, the beginning of His work to renew all things.

Every believer is firstfruits. Every believer represents the harvest to come. Every believer is a sign of God’s kingdom breaking into this present age.

Part 7: Questions for Reflection and Discernment

If you’re studying with Shincheonji or considering their teaching about the 144,000, here are questions to consider:

Questions About the Interpretation

1. Why literalize this number? If the 144,000 is literal, why aren’t the other details literal (12,000 from each tribe, all male virgins, etc.)? What principle determines which parts are literal and which are symbolic?
2. Where are the twelve tribes? The 144,000 are explicitly said to be “from the tribes of Israel” (Rev 7:4). If this is literal, shouldn’t they be ethnically Jewish? How can Shincheonji members from all nations be the literal fulfillment of this?
3. What about the great multitude? Revelation 7:9-17 shows a great multitude “that no one could count” immediately after the 144,000. What is the relationship between these two groups? Are they different groups with different destinies?
4. Why create hierarchy? The New Testament consistently teaches equality in Christ (Galatians 3:28). Why does Shincheonji’s interpretation create an elite class (the 144,000) and an ordinary class (the great multitude)?
5. What happened to Christians before 1984? If the gathering of the 144,000 began in 1984, what about Christians who died before then? What about the apostles, the church fathers, the reformers, missionaries, martyrs throughout history? Are they not part of the 144,000?

Questions About Mount Zion

6. Why localize Mount Zion? Hebrews 12:22-24 describes Mount Zion as the heavenly Jerusalem, a spiritual reality. Why does Shincheonji make it a physical location in Korea?
7. What about Jesus’ teaching? Jesus told the Samaritan woman that true worship is not about location but about Spirit and truth (John 4:21-24). How does this align with teaching that Mount Zion is a specific place in Korea that people need to visit?
8. What about “every eye will see”? Revelation 1:7 says that when Christ returns, “every eye will see him.” If Christ has returned to Mount Zion in Korea, why hasn’t every eye seen Him? Why do people need to travel to Korea to encounter this?
9. What about other “eastern” groups? Eastern Lightning (China), Iglesia ni Cristo (Philippines), and multiple Korean groups all claim to be the fulfillment of prophecies about “the east.” How do we decide between these competing claims?
10. Is God limited to one nation? Does teaching that God’s final work centers on Korea contradict the biblical teaching that God’s kingdom includes people from every nation (Revelation 7:9)?

Questions About the Korean Language Teaching

11. Why learn Korean? If God’s work is universal and the gospel is for all nations, why is learning Korean presented as important for understanding God’s work?
12. What about Pentecost? At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled people to hear the gospel in their own languages (Acts 2). Why would God now require people to learn Korean to understand His work?
13. Is this cultural imperialism? Does requiring people to learn Korean and adopt Korean cultural practices constitute a form of cultural imperialism that contradicts the gospel’s transcultural nature?
14. What’s the real purpose? Is the Korean language teaching really about practical communication, or is it about creating cultural identity, preparing for organizational involvement, and deepening commitment through investment?
15. What about those who can’t? What about people who have difficulty learning languages, who are elderly, who have cognitive limitations? Are they excluded from fully participating in God’s work because they can’t learn Korean?

Questions About “Babylon”

16. Is this biblical? Does calling all other churches “Babylon” align with how Revelation uses this symbol? Does it match the description of Babylon in Revelation 17-18?
17. What about good fruit? If other churches are completely false (“Babylon”), how do we explain the good fruit visible in many churches—people coming to faith in Christ, lives being transformed, love and service demonstrated?
18. Is this judging? Jesus warned against judging others (Matthew 7:1-2). Is calling all other churches “Babylon” a form of judgment that exceeds what Scripture allows?
19. What about unity? Jesus prayed for the unity of believers (John 17:20-23). Does the “Babylon” teaching promote unity or division within the body of Christ?
20. What if you’re wrong? If Shincheonji’s interpretation is incorrect, what are the consequences of having condemned all other churches as “Babylon”? What relationships have been damaged? What opportunities for genuine Christian fellowship have been lost?

Questions About the Psychological Dynamics

21. Why the urgency? If the 144,000 is a symbolic number representing all believers, why create urgency about securing a limited number of spots? Who benefits from this urgency?
22. Why the competition? Does the teaching create competition among members to prove themselves worthy of the 144,000? Is this competition healthy and biblical?
23. Why the fear? Does the teaching create fear—fear of missing out, fear of not being good enough, fear of losing your status? Is this fear from God (2 Timothy 1:7)?
24. Why the conformity? To be part of the 144,000 who speak “only truth,” must you conform perfectly to Shincheonji’s interpretation? Does this prevent honest questioning and genuine discernment?
25. Why the dependency? Does the teaching make you dependent on Shincheonji to validate your spiritual status? Is this dependency healthy and biblical?

Questions About Your Experience

26. How do you feel? When you think about the 144,000 teaching, do you feel encouraged and secure in Christ, or anxious and pressured to prove yourself?
27. What’s changed? How has your relationship with family, friends, and other Christians changed since you started learning about the 144,000? Are these changes healthy?
28. What would happen if you left? If you left Shincheonji, would you lose your identity as part of the 144,000? What would that mean for your sense of purpose and belonging?
29. Can you question? Are you free to question the 144,000 teaching, or would questioning be seen as lack of faith or spiritual immaturity?
30. Where is Christ? In all the focus on the 144,000, organizational structure, Korean language, and Mount Zion in Korea—where is Jesus Christ? Is He more central or less central than when you first believed?

A Personal Reflection

These questions are not meant to attack your sincerity or intelligence. Many people in Shincheonji are genuinely seeking God and want to be faithful to Him. The 144,000 teaching appeals to legitimate desires—for purpose, significance, belonging, and assurance.

But we must ask: Does this teaching actually deliver what it promises? Does it create genuine security, or does it create anxiety about maintaining elite status? Does it foster genuine community, or does it create hierarchy and competition? Does it point us to Christ, or does it point us to an organization and its leader?

The biblical teaching about the 144,000 is actually more encouraging than Shincheonji’s version:

• You don’t have to achieve elite status—all believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit
• You don’t have to compete for limited spots—God’s people are beyond numbering
• You don’t have to prove yourself worthy—your status comes from Christ, not your performance
• You don’t have to travel to Korea—you’re already at Mount Zion spiritually, in God’s presence through Christ
• You don’t have to speak only perfect truth—God’s grace covers your imperfections as you grow

This is the gospel of grace. This is the good news. This is what sets us free.

Conclusion: The True Mount Zion

As we conclude this refutation of Lesson 120, let’s return to the core question: What is Mount Zion, and who are the 144,000?

The Biblical Mount Zion

Mount Zion in Scripture is not a physical location in Korea. It’s the place where God dwells with His people—first in the earthly Jerusalem, then ultimately in the heavenly Jerusalem.

The writer of Hebrews explains:

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24)

Notice the tense: “You have come” to Mount Zion. Not “you will come someday if you’re part of the elite 144,000.” But “you have come”—already, now, through Christ.

All believers have already come to Mount Zion. We’re already part of the heavenly assembly. We’re already in God’s presence through Christ. Our names are already written in heaven.

This is not about traveling to Korea. It’s not about achieving elite status. It’s not about being part of an organization. It’s about being in Christ.

The True 144,000

The 144,000 represents all believers—the complete people of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit, protected through trials, destined for victory with the Lamb.

If you are in Christ:

• You are part of the 144,000 (the complete people of God)
• You are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)
• You are a priest to God (1 Peter 2:5, Revelation 1:6)
• You are firstfruits of God’s new creation (James 1:18)
• You stand on Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22-24)
• You will stand with the Lamb in victory (Revelation 14:1)

This is not about organizational membership. It’s about relationship with Christ.

The Danger of Organizational Identity

Shincheonji’s teaching replaces spiritual identity in Christ with organizational identity in Shincheonji:

• Instead of being sealed by the Holy Spirit, you’re sealed by Shincheonji’s teaching
• Instead of Mount Zion being God’s presence, it’s Shincheonji’s headquarters
• Instead of all believers being God’s people, only Shincheonji members are
• Instead of security in Christ, you have conditional status based on performance

This is a fundamental departure from the gospel. It makes salvation and spiritual status dependent on organizational affiliation rather than on faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:6-8 warns: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

The question is: Are you rooted in Christ, or in an organization? Is your identity based on Him, or on your status within a group? Is your security in His finished work, or in your performance and organizational affiliation?

The Gospel of Grace

The good news of the gospel is that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone:

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

You don’t earn your place among God’s people by:

• Completing a curriculum
• Achieving perfect understanding
• Speaking only perfect truth
• Being the “best of the best”
• Learning Korean
• Traveling to Korea
• Maintaining organizational loyalty

You receive your place among God’s people by:

• Faith in Jesus Christ
• Trusting in His death and resurrection for your salvation
• Receiving the Holy Spirit who seals you as God’s own

This is grace. This is freedom. This is the gospel.

An Invitation

If you’re in Shincheonji and struggling with doubts about the 144,000 teaching, please know:

You are not losing your place among God’s people if you leave Shincheonji. Your place is secured by Christ, not by organizational membership.

You are not giving up elite status. All believers share the same status in Christ—children of God, sealed by the Spirit, part of His people.

You are not abandoning God’s work. God’s work is happening wherever people are coming to faith in Christ, growing in grace, and serving in love—not just in one organization in Korea.

You are not receiving “the mark of Babylon.” Other churches that preach Christ and teach Scripture are not Babylon, even if they interpret Revelation differently than Shincheonji.

You are free to question, to examine, to seek truth. This is not spiritual weakness—it’s wisdom and discernment.

The true Mount Zion is wherever God’s people gather in Christ’s presence. The true 144,000 is all believers, sealed by the Holy Spirit. The true gospel is salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.

You don’t need to earn your place. You don’t need to prove yourself worthy. You don’t need to achieve elite status.

You need only to trust in Christ, who has already done everything necessary for your salvation.

Romans 8:1-2: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

This is freedom. This is grace. This is the gospel that has sustained Christians for 2,000 years.

The Real Fulfillment

Shincheonji claims that Revelation 14 is being fulfilled now through the gathering of 144,000 Shincheonji members in Korea. But the real fulfillment of Revelation 14 is much more glorious:

The real fulfillment is happening whenever and wherever people come to faith in Christ:

• In churches around the world where the gospel is preached
• In homes where families worship together
• In hospitals where chaplains minister to the dying
• In prisons where inmates find freedom in Christ
• In persecuted regions where believers risk their lives to follow Jesus
• In mission fields where the gospel reaches unreached peoples

The real 144,000 are being gathered from every nation, tribe, people, and language—not just from one organization in one country.

The real Mount Zion is the spiritual reality of God’s presence with His people through Christ—not a physical building in Korea.

The real sealing is the Holy Spirit marking all believers as God’s own—not an organization’s teaching marking an elite few.

The real victory is Christ’s finished work on the cross and His resurrection—not an organization’s claims to exclusive truth.

This is the gospel. This is the good news. This is what first-century Christians understood when they read Revelation 14, and it’s what Christians today can understand when we read it through the same lens.

A Final Word on the Timeline

The lesson presents a detailed timeline:

• 1975: Betrayal begins
• 1980-1984: Destruction (42 months)
• March 14, 1984: Salvation begins
• 1984-present: Gathering of 144,000

This timeline serves to validate Shincheonji’s narrative and create a sense of historical inevitability. But we must ask:

What about the 1,900 years before 1984?

Were Christians during those centuries not saved? Were they not part of God’s people? Were they not sealed by the Holy Spirit?

What about:

• The apostles who died for Christ in the first century?
• The martyrs who faced lions in Roman arenas?
• The church fathers who defended orthodox doctrine?
• The monks who preserved Scripture through the Dark Ages?
• The reformers who recovered the gospel of grace?
• The missionaries who brought the gospel to unreached peoples?
• The believers who endured persecution under Communist regimes?
• The Christians who fought against slavery and injustice?

Were none of these part of the 144,000? Were they all just waiting for 1984 when the “real” salvation would begin?

This is absurd. It requires believing that God’s work of salvation was somehow incomplete or ineffective for 1,900 years, only becoming real when one organization was founded in Korea in 1984.

The biblical teaching is clear: Salvation has been available since Christ’s death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit has been sealing believers since Pentecost. God has been gathering His people from every nation for 2,000 years. The 144,000 represents all of these believers—the complete people of God throughout history, not just members of one organization founded in 1984.

As Chapter 28 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, any interpretation that makes salvation dependent on events in the 1980s in Korea fundamentally contradicts the gospel and the entire history of Christianity.

Hope for Those Leaving

If you’re considering leaving Shincheonji, you may be afraid of losing your identity as part of the 144,000. But the truth is, you’re not losing anything real—you’re gaining freedom.

What you’re leaving behind:

• Conditional acceptance based on performance
• Anxiety about maintaining elite status
• Competition with other members
• Fear of asking questions
• Isolation from other Christians
• Dependency on organizational validation
• A system that makes you prove your worth

What you’re gaining:

• Unconditional acceptance in Christ
• Security based on His finished work
• Unity with all believers
• Freedom to question and grow
• Connection with the broader church
• Identity rooted in Christ alone
• A gospel that sets you free

The transition may be difficult. You may grieve the loss of relationships, the sense of purpose, the feeling of being special. These are real losses, and it’s okay to grieve them.

But on the other side of that grief is something better: genuine Christian community, authentic relationship with Christ, freedom to grow in grace, and connection with 2,000 years of Christian faith and practice.

As “Wedding Banquet of the Lamb and the First Resurrection” explains, the true celebration is not about being part of an elite organizational group. It’s about being part of the bride of Christ—all believers, from all times and places, united in love for Jesus.

You are invited to that celebration, not because you’ve achieved elite status, but because Christ has invited you. The invitation is open. The door is open. You are welcome.

Resources and Support

If you’re struggling with these questions, please know you’re not alone. Many people have walked this path before you. There are resources and communities ready to support you.

Visit https://closerlookinitiative.com/shincheonji-examination for:

• Detailed analysis of Shincheonji’s teachings
• Biblical responses to specific doctrines
• Testimonies from former members
• Resources for families affected by Shincheonji
• Support for those considering leaving or who have left
• Connection with healthy Christian communities

You don’t have to figure this out alone. There are people who understand what you’re going through, who can answer your questions, who can support you through the transition.

The True Worship

Revelation 14:3 describes the 144,000 singing “a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”

This new song is the song of the redeemed—the celebration of what God has done in Christ. It’s the song that all believers sing, the song of grace and redemption.

You don’t learn this song by completing Shincheonji’s curriculum. You learn it by experiencing God’s grace, by being transformed by His love, by walking with Him through trials and joys.

This song is being sung right now in churches around the world:

• In small house churches in persecuted regions
• In grand cathedrals with centuries of history
• In storefront churches in urban neighborhoods
• In rural chapels in farming communities
• In hospital rooms where believers face death with hope
• In homes where families worship together

Wherever believers gather to worship Christ, to celebrate His grace, to encourage one another in faith—there the new song is being sung. There the 144,000 are gathered. There Mount Zion is present.

You don’t need to travel to Korea to join this worship. You don’t need to achieve elite status to sing this song. You need only to come to Christ, to receive His grace, to join your voice with believers throughout history and around the world in celebrating what He has done.

The Invitation of Revelation

Revelation ends not with exclusive claims about who can be part of God’s people, but with an open invitation:

Revelation 22:17: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

This is the message of Revelation. Not “Only 144,000 can come.” Not “Only those who complete our curriculum can come.” Not “Only those who travel to Korea can come.”

But simply: “Come!”

The invitation is open. The water of life is free. Anyone who is thirsty can come. Anyone who wishes can take the gift.

This is grace. This is the gospel. This is the true message of Revelation.

Final Thoughts: Distinguishing Biblical Truth from Organizational Claims

Throughout this refutation, we’ve worked to distinguish what is biblical from what is uniquely Shincheonji. Let’s summarize these distinctions clearly:

What Is Biblical:

✓ The 144,000 is a symbolic number representing the complete people of God (Revelation 7:4-8, 14:1-5)

✓ All believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit at the moment of faith (Ephesians 1:13-14)

✓ Mount Zion represents God’s presence with His people, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22-24)

✓ All believers are priests to God, with direct access to Him through Christ (1 Peter 2:5, Revelation 1:6)

✓ All believers are firstfruits of God’s new creation (James 1:18)

✓ Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, not by works or organizational membership (Ephesians 2:8-9)

✓ God’s people come from every nation, not just one country or ethnic group (Revelation 7:9)

✓ True worship is in Spirit and truth, not tied to any physical location (John 4:21-24)

✓ All believers share equal status in Christ, without hierarchical divisions into elite and ordinary classes (Galatians 3:28)

✓ The body of Christ is one, including all who genuinely believe in Jesus (Ephesians 4:4-6)

What Is Uniquely Shincheonji:

✗ The 144,000 is a literal count of exactly 144,000 specific individuals in Shincheonji

✗ The 144,000 are an elite class of “the best of the best,” superior to ordinary members

✗ Mount Zion is Shincheonji headquarters in South Korea, a physical location people must visit

✗ Only Shincheonji members are sealed with the true word, not all believers

✗ The gathering began in 1984 when Shincheonji was founded, not throughout Christian history

✗ Korea is the center of God’s work because it’s “in the east” and the founder is Korean

✗ Learning Korean is spiritually significant because it’s the “promised pastor’s” language

✗ All other churches are “Babylon”, completely false and deceived

✗ Salvation requires joining Shincheonji and accepting their interpretation

✗ The timeline of Revelation corresponds to events in Korean religious history in the 1970s-1980s

The Blurred Lines

Shincheonji is skilled at blurring the lines between biblical truth and organizational claims. They do this by:

1. Using biblical language for organizational concepts (calling Shincheonji “Mount Zion,” calling members “the 144,000”)
2. Mixing biblical truth with organizational claims (yes, believers are sealed—but only Shincheonji members are truly sealed)
3. Starting with biblical passages and then redirecting them to organizational purposes (Revelation 14 is about the 144,000—which is Shincheonji members)
4. Appealing to biblical values while promoting organizational loyalty (yes, be faithful to God—which means being faithful to Shincheonji)
5. Using biblical examples to validate organizational practices (Joshua and Caleb had faith—so say “Hapshida” and don’t question)

This blurring makes it difficult for students to distinguish between following God and following the organization. The two become conflated in students’ minds, so that leaving the organization feels like leaving God.

But they are not the same. Following Christ and following Shincheonji are two different things. You can leave Shincheonji without leaving Christ. In fact, leaving Shincheonji may be necessary to truly follow Christ without organizational mediation.

The Test of Discernment

How can you tell the difference between biblical truth and organizational claims? Here are some tests:

1. The Christ Test: Does this teaching make Christ more central or less central? Does it point me to Jesus or to an organization and its leader?

2. The Grace Test: Does this teaching emphasize grace or works? Am I saved by faith in Christ or by organizational membership and performance?

3. The Unity Test: Does this teaching promote unity with all believers or separation from other Christians?

4. The Freedom Test: Does this teaching create freedom or bondage? Am I free to question and grow, or bound by fear and conformity?

5. The Fruit Test: Does this teaching produce the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) or the fruit of the flesh (division, anxiety, pride, competition, fear)?

6. The Scripture Test: Does this teaching align with the whole counsel of Scripture, or does it require selective reading and creative interpretation?

7. The History Test: Does this teaching connect with 2,000 years of Christian faith, or does it claim that truth was lost until one organization recovered it?

Apply these tests to Shincheonji’s teaching about the 144,000. What do you discover?

Conclusion: The Hope of the Gospel

As we conclude this comprehensive refutation of Lesson 120, let’s return to where we began—with the hope and promise that Revelation 14 offers to believers.

The 144,000 standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion is a beautiful picture of the destiny of all believers. We will stand with Christ. We will worship before His throne. We will participate in the eternal celebration of His victory.

This hope is not reserved for an elite few who achieve special status in one organization. This hope belongs to all who trust in Christ:

• The elderly woman who has faithfully followed Jesus for decades in a small rural church
• The new believer who just came to faith last week
• The persecuted Christian in a hostile nation who risks everything to follow Christ
• The single mother struggling to raise her children while holding onto faith
• The teenager discovering what it means to follow Jesus
• The scholar studying Scripture in a seminary
• The missionary serving in a remote village
• The businessman trying to live out his faith in the workplace
• The person with disabilities who loves Jesus with all their heart

All of these—and countless others from every nation, tribe, people, and language—are part of the 144,000. All are sealed by the Holy Spirit. All stand on Mount Zion through Christ. All will stand with the Lamb in victory.

This is the gospel. This is the good news. This is what sets us free.

You don’t need to achieve elite status. You don’t need to complete a curriculum. You don’t need to learn Korean. You don’t need to travel to Korea. You don’t need to separate from other Christians. You don’t need to prove yourself worthy.

You need only to trust in Christ, who has already done everything necessary for your salvation.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

This is the message that has sustained Christians through 2,000 years of history. This is the message that continues to transform lives today. This is the message that will endure forever.

The 144,000 are not an elite organizational group. They are the complete people of God—all believers, from all times and places, united in Christ.

If you are in Christ, you are part of the 144,000. You stand on Mount Zion. You are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You will stand with the Lamb in victory.

This is your identity. This is your destiny. This is your hope.

Not because of what you’ve achieved, but because of what Christ has done.

Not because of your organizational membership, but because of your relationship with Him.

Not because you’re the “best of the best,” but because He is the best, and He has made you His own.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 24-25)

Additional Resources

For further study and support:

• Closer Look Initiative: https://closerlookinitiative.com/shincheonji-examination
  • Comprehensive analysis of Shincheonji’s teachings
  • Biblical responses to specific doctrines
  • Testimonies from former members
  • Resources for families affected by Shincheonji
  • Support for those considering leaving or who have left
  • Connection with healthy Christian communities
• “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story”: All 30 chapters provide detailed examination of Shincheonji’s interpretive method, theological claims, and psychological tactics, with biblical responses grounded in historical Christian understanding.
• “Wedding Banquet of the Lamb and the First Resurrection”: Explores the biblical teaching on the marriage supper of the Lamb and the first resurrection, contrasting it with Shincheonji’s interpretation.
• “SCJ’s Fulfillment of Revelation Part 1 and Part 2”: Documents the historical events that Shincheonji claims fulfill Revelation, examined critically through historical and biblical lenses.
• “The Revelation Project – Day 1-6 (Dr. Chip Bennett & Dr. Warren Gage)”: Provides comprehensive teaching on how to read Revelation in its first-century context, understanding its literary structure and theological message.
• Further Biblical Study: The resources cited throughout this refutation (including works on first-century understanding of Revelation, apocalyptic literature, and the historical context of the early church) are valuable for anyone seeking to understand Revelation in its original setting.

A Prayer for Those Seeking Truth

“Father God, we come to You seeking truth. We ask for wisdom to discern what is from You and what is from human tradition. We ask for courage to follow truth wherever it leads, even when it’s difficult. We ask for freedom from fear—fear of being wrong, fear of losing status, fear of disappointing others. We ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, as Jesus promised. We ask for genuine Christian community where we can grow in grace and knowledge of You. We trust that You are faithful, that You will not let us be deceived, that You will lead us in the path of righteousness for Your name’s sake. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”