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

Lesson 121: Rev 15 – The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, the Place All Nations Must Come to Worship

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

Introduction: The Final Transition

Imagine you’re sitting in that classroom, nearing the end of months of intensive study. The instructor’s voice carries a tone of urgency mixed with excitement: “We literally have less than two months left before we are done. But is the end of the class? Is that it? No. It’s just the beginning.”

You’ve invested countless hours. You’ve distanced yourself from family and friends who “don’t understand.” You’ve learned to view your former church as “Babylon.” You’ve been taught that you could be part of the elite 144,000. And now, as the course nears completion, the instructor reveals what comes next: “What happens after the quarter? Hopefully this will become a lifestyle for the 25% of us that do pass.”

Wait—only 25% will pass? The instructor explains: “Within each person, there’s a 25% chance we can become the good soil.” The reference is to Jesus’ parable of the sower, but now it’s being used to create scarcity and competition. Not everyone will make it. Will you be among the 25%?

The pressure intensifies: “So in order for that to happen, what must we complete? We got to complete our exams. Are we studying well? By the grace of God. Amen. Yes, you can do it. You still have tonight.”

The instructor shares personally: “I stayed up really late last night doing some studying. So just for one night, we can pull an all-nighter. I don’t know about you. When I was in college or high school, I used to do those all the time. Okay? So if we used to do all-nighters for regular school, surely we can do it for Father God, too, right? Amen.”

The message is clear: If you stayed up all night for secular education, surely you can do the same for God. But is this really for God, or is it for passing an organizational exam?

Then comes another requirement: “And another thing that we have to do in order for us to pass over is to complete our Book of Life. So please, please, please nag your evangelist, okay? Say, where is my Book of Life? And make sure our – actually, our deadline to complete the Book of Life is this week.”

The “Book of Life”—a biblical term referring to God’s record of those who belong to Him—has been transformed into an organizational document that students must complete to “pass over.” The biblical imagery is being co-opted for organizational purposes.

But the lesson isn’t just about exams and documentation. It’s about something much more significant: your identity and role within Shincheonji’s organizational structure. The instructor begins teaching Korean titles and honorifics:

“There’s one thing I wanted to teach us regarding Mount Zion and God’s kingdom. And regarding God’s kingdom, it’s very orderly and everything about God’s kingdom is actually done according to revelation. And when we greet one another, it’s done in a very polite way. And everyone in God’s kingdom, whether small or great, has a title. And that title is very important because it actually helps us to be able to know who we are in God’s kingdom and reminds us of our duty.”

Students learn to address instructors as “Jundo-sa-nim,” evangelists as “Team-jung-nim,” and each other according to gender and age categories. They learn to say “Nae” (yes in Korean), with the instructor offering a mnemonic: “And horses make a nae sound, right? So whenever you think about when your buddy tell you to do something and say ‘nae.'”

The comparison is telling: horses are obedient creatures who respond immediately to commands. Is this the model for Christian discipleship?

Then comes the main teaching: Revelation 15 and the “Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony” (TTT). The instructor declares: “Today we’ll learn about Revelation chapter 15, which is the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, the place all nations must come to worship.”

The implication is unmistakable: Shincheonji is this temple. All nations must come here. This is “God’s final resting place.” And if all nations must come here, then you must be here too. Not only that, but you must help others come: “But not only do I have to go there, I can’t do, I can’t be selfish, right? I also have to help others to come and be part of it too. What is that word call when we help others to come and be part of ‘Jun-do’, Evangelism.”

The lesson is preparing students for the final transition—from students to members, from learners to recruiters, from seekers to organizational representatives. And at the center of it all is one person: “The really, really most important person in the New Testament is the one who was promised, the promised pastor.”

This is Lesson 121, where students learn that Shincheonji is the temple where all nations must worship, and that the “promised pastor” (Lee Man-hee) is “the really, really most important person in the New Testament.” But as we’ll discover through examining this lesson with first-century Christian understanding, historical context, and careful biblical interpretation, these claims represent a dramatic departure from biblical Christianity.

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 “The Revelation Project – Day 1-6 (Dr. Chip Bennett & Dr. Warren Gage),” “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 temple in Revelation 15, then contrast that with Shincheonji’s interpretation, and finally explore the psychological and theological implications of this teaching.

Part 1: The Temple in Revelation 15—What First-Century Christians Understood

The Text of Revelation 15

Before we can understand Shincheonji’s interpretation, we need to carefully examine what Revelation 15 actually says. Let’s read the entire chapter:

“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.’

After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” (Revelation 15:1-8)

This is the complete text of Revelation 15. Now let’s examine what first-century Christians would have understood from this passage.

The Heavenly Temple

The first and most crucial point is that the temple John sees is explicitly in heaven: “After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened” (v. 5).

This is not describing an earthly temple or a physical organization. John is seeing a heavenly reality—the true temple where God dwells, of which the earthly tabernacle and temple were only copies and shadows.

The writer of Hebrews explains this clearly:

“They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.'” (Hebrews 8:5)

“It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.” (Hebrews 9:23-24)

The earthly tabernacle that Moses built was a copy of the heavenly reality. The earthly temple in Jerusalem was a shadow of the true temple in heaven. And when Revelation shows John the “temple” or “tabernacle,” it’s showing him the heavenly reality, not predicting an earthly organization.

The Tabernacle of the Testimony

The phrase “tabernacle of the testimony” (or “tabernacle of the covenant law” in some translations) comes from the Old Testament. In Hebrew, it’s called mishkan ha’edut—the dwelling place of the testimony.

The “testimony” refers to the tablets of the Ten Commandments, which were kept in the ark of the covenant inside the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was called the “tabernacle of the testimony” because it housed God’s covenant law, His testimony to Israel.

Exodus 38:21: “These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.”

Numbers 1:50: “Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the covenant law—over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it.”

When Revelation 15:5 mentions “the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law,” it’s connecting the vision to this Old Testament imagery. John is seeing the heavenly reality of which the Old Testament tabernacle was a copy—the true dwelling place of God where His covenant and testimony are kept.

The Context: God’s Wrath and Judgment

Revelation 15 is not primarily about where people should worship. It’s about the completion of God’s judgment. Notice the context:

• Verse 1: “Seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.”
• Verse 6: “Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues.”
• Verse 7: “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God.”
• Verse 8: “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”

The temple appears in this chapter as the place from which God’s final judgments emerge. The seven angels come out of the temple carrying the seven bowls of God’s wrath. The temple is filled with smoke from God’s glory, and no one can enter until the judgments are complete.

This echoes Old Testament passages where God’s glory filled the temple with smoke:

Exodus 40:34-35: “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”

1 Kings 8:10-11: “When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.”

Isaiah 6:4: “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.”

The smoke-filled temple represents God’s awesome holiness and the seriousness of His judgment. It’s not a comfortable image of a place where people casually gather for worship—it’s a powerful image of God’s transcendent holiness and righteous judgment.

The Song of Moses and the Lamb

Before the temple is revealed, Revelation 15:2-4 shows those who have been victorious over the beast singing “the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb.”

This song connects the exodus from Egypt (Moses) with the ultimate exodus accomplished by Christ (the Lamb). Just as God delivered Israel from Egypt and judged Pharaoh, so God will deliver His people from the beast system and judge those who oppose Him.

The song declares: “All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (v. 4).

This is the phrase that Shincheonji focuses on: “All nations will come and worship.” But notice what the text actually says:

1. They will worship “before you”—before God, not at a physical location
2. They will worship because of God’s righteous acts—His judgments and salvation, not because of an organization
3. This is a song of victory—sung by those who have overcome the beast, not a recruitment slogan

The phrase “all nations will come and worship” is not predicting that people will travel to a physical organization in Korea. It’s declaring that God will be universally acknowledged as Lord, that His righteous acts will be revealed to all, and that people from every nation will worship Him.

This echoes Old Testament prophecies about the nations coming to worship God:

Psalm 86:9: “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.”

Isaiah 66:23: “From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 14:16: “Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.”

These prophecies speak of God’s universal reign and the nations acknowledging Him as Lord. They’re not predicting that people will join a specific religious organization in Korea.

What First-Century Christians Would Have Understood

When first-century Christians read or heard Revelation 15, they would have understood:

1. The Heavenly Temple: The temple John sees is in heaven, not on earth. It’s the true dwelling place of God, of which the earthly tabernacle and temple were copies.

2. Christ as the True Temple: Jesus had already declared that He Himself was the true temple. When the religious leaders asked for a sign, Jesus answered: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The Gospel writer explains: “But the temple he had spoken of was his body” (John 2:19-21).

Jesus is the true temple—the place where God dwells with humanity, the meeting place between God and man. Through His death and resurrection, He has become the ultimate tabernacle, the place where God’s glory is revealed.

3. Believers as God’s Temple: Paul taught that believers corporately are God’s temple:

1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

2 Corinthians 6:16: “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'”

Ephesians 2:19-22: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

The temple is not a physical building or organization—it’s the community of believers in whom God dwells by His Spirit. All believers together form God’s temple, with Christ as the cornerstone.

4. The End of the Physical Temple: By the time Revelation was written (likely in the 90s AD), the Jerusalem temple had already been destroyed (70 AD). Jesus had predicted this destruction:

Matthew 24:1-2: “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'”

The destruction of the physical temple was a sign that the old covenant system had passed away. God no longer dwelt in a physical building made with hands. He dwelt with His people through the Holy Spirit.

5. Worship in Spirit and Truth: Jesus had already taught that true worship is not about 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.'”

True worship is not about going to a specific physical location. It’s about worshiping in Spirit and truth—with hearts transformed by the Holy Spirit, in accordance with God’s truth revealed in Christ.

6. The Universal Reign of Christ: The declaration that “all nations will come and worship” (Rev 15:4) speaks of Christ’s universal reign. After His resurrection, Jesus declared:

Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'”

Christ already has all authority. The gospel is already going to all nations. People from every nation are already worshiping God through Christ. This is not a future event dependent on one organization—it’s the present reality of Christ’s reign.

The Literary Context in Revelation

As “The Revelation Project – Day 1-6 (Dr. Chip Bennett & Dr. Warren Gage)” explains, Revelation uses a technique called recapitulation or parallelism, where the same events are shown from different perspectives.

Revelation 15 is part of a larger section (chapters 15-16) that shows the seven bowl judgments—the final outpouring of God’s wrath. This parallels earlier judgment sequences (the seven seals in chapters 6-8 and the seven trumpets in chapters 8-11).

The temple appears throughout Revelation in various contexts:

• Revelation 3:12: Believers are promised they will be pillars in God’s temple
• Revelation 7:15: The great multitude serves God day and night in His temple
• Revelation 11:1-2: John is told to measure the temple of God
• Revelation 11:19: The temple in heaven is opened and the ark of the covenant is seen
• Revelation 14:15, 17: Angels come out of the temple
• Revelation 15:5-8: The temple is opened and the seven angels emerge with the final plagues
• Revelation 16:1: A voice from the temple commands the angels to pour out the bowls
• Revelation 21:22: In the new Jerusalem, there is no temple because God and the Lamb are its temple

The temple imagery throughout Revelation emphasizes:

• God’s presence with His people
• The holiness of God
• The source of God’s judgments
• The ultimate reality that God Himself is the temple

None of these references suggest that the temple is a physical organization on earth that people must join. The temple is always either the heavenly reality or the community of believers in whom God dwells.

Part 2: Shincheonji’s Interpretation—The Exclusive Temple

Now that we understand what first-century Christians would have understood about Revelation 15, let’s examine what Shincheonji teaches in Lesson 121.

Shincheonji’s Core Claims About the Temple

According to Lesson 121, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (TTT) is:

1. A Physical Place on Earth: The lesson teaches that the TTT is Shincheonji Church, specifically the organization’s structure and headquarters.

2. The Place All Nations Must Come: “Today we’ll learn about Revelation chapter 15, which is the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, the place all nations must come to worship.”

The implication is clear: If you want to worship God properly, you must come to Shincheonji. All nations must come here.

3. God’s Final Resting Place: “I must become a part of it, especially why? Because it’s actually God’s final resting place.”

Shincheonji is presented as God’s ultimate dwelling place, His final destination, the place where He has chosen to rest.

4. Essential for Salvation: “So if all nation is coming there, then what about me? I must be there too.”

The logic is simple: If this is where all nations must come, then you must be there too. Being part of Shincheonji is essential for salvation.

5. Centered on the “Promised Pastor”: “The really, really most important person in the New Testament is the one who was promised, the promised pastor. Why? Because he was the one who overcame and it is through him we can see that God used to create his kingdom.”

The temple is inseparable from Lee Man-hee, the “promised pastor.” God’s kingdom is created through him, and the temple exists because of him.

The Organizational Structure as “God’s Kingdom”

The lesson spends significant time teaching organizational titles and hierarchy:

• Instructors: Jundo-sa-nim
• Main Evangelists: Main-team-jung-nim
• Evangelists: Team-jung-nim
• Male Students: Jip-sa-nim
• Female Students: Jip-sa-nim
• Young Adult Males: Hyeong-ja-nim
• Young Adult Females: Ja-ma-nim

The instructor explains: “There’s one thing I wanted to teach us regarding Mount Zion and God’s kingdom. And regarding God’s kingdom, it’s very orderly and everything about God’s kingdom is actually done according to revelation. And when we greet one another, it’s done in a very polite way. And everyone in God’s kingdom, whether small or great, has a title.”

Notice the equation: Shincheonji’s organizational structure = God’s kingdom. The titles and hierarchy are presented as divinely ordained, “done according to revelation.”

The instructor emphasizes: “And that title is very important because it actually helps us to be able to know who we are in God’s kingdom and reminds us of our duty.”

Your organizational title defines who you are in God’s kingdom. Your identity is tied to your position in the hierarchy. Your duty is defined by your organizational role.

The Problems with This Interpretation

Problem 1: Localizing the Heavenly Temple

Revelation 15:5 explicitly states that the temple John sees is “in heaven.” Yet Shincheonji teaches that this temple is their earthly organization. This requires:

• Ignoring the clear statement that the temple is in heaven
• Reinterpreting “heaven” to mean something earthly
• Claiming that an earthly organization fulfills a heavenly vision

This is the same pattern we’ve seen throughout Shincheonji’s interpretation: taking heavenly, spiritual, and universal realities and localizing them to their organization in Korea.

As Chapter 21 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this radical localization is inconsistent with the scope and nature of Revelation. Revelation shows cosmic, universal realities—the conflict between God and evil, the vindication of God’s people, the ultimate victory of Christ. Shincheonji reduces these cosmic realities to events in one small religious organization in Korea.

Problem 2: Contradicting Jesus’ Teaching on Worship

Jesus explicitly taught that worship is not about 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.'”

Jesus declared that the time had come when worship would not be tied to any physical location—not Jerusalem, not Samaria, not anywhere. True worship is in Spirit and truth.

Shincheonji’s teaching directly contradicts this. They claim there is a specific physical place where all nations must come to worship. This is a return to the old covenant concept of a centralized temple, which Jesus explicitly said was passing away.

Problem 3: Making Salvation Organizational

The lesson teaches: “So if all nation is coming there, then what about me? I must be there too.”

This makes salvation dependent on organizational membership. You must be part of Shincheonji to be saved. You must come to this physical temple.

But Scripture teaches that salvation is through faith in Christ alone:

Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Romans 10:9-10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

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.”

Salvation is not about joining the right organization or going to the right physical location. It’s about faith in Jesus Christ. Anyone, anywhere, who trusts in Christ is saved.

Shincheonji’s teaching makes organizational membership essential for salvation, which is a fundamental departure from the gospel.

Problem 4: Elevating the “Promised Pastor” Above Christ

The lesson explicitly states: “The really, really most important person in the New Testament is the one who was promised, the promised pastor.”

Think about this claim carefully. The “really, really most important person in the New Testament” is not Jesus Christ—it’s Lee Man-hee, the “promised pastor.”

This is a staggering claim. The New Testament is about Jesus Christ—His life, death, resurrection, and the salvation He accomplished. The entire New Testament points to Christ as the center, the foundation, the source of salvation.

But Shincheonji teaches that the most important person is not Christ, but the “promised pastor” through whom God creates His kingdom.

This is a fundamental displacement of Christ. While Shincheonji uses Christian language and biblical imagery, in practice they have made Lee Man-hee more central than Jesus Christ.

As Chapter 15 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this displacement of Christ is one of the clearest markers of false teaching. Any system that makes someone or something other than Christ the center has departed from Christianity, regardless of how much biblical language it uses.

Problem 5: Creating a Hierarchical System

The emphasis on titles, honorifics, and organizational hierarchy creates a system that contradicts Jesus’ teaching:

Matthew 23:8-12: “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus explicitly warned against creating hierarchical systems with special titles. He taught that His followers are all brothers and sisters, with one Teacher (Christ) and one Father (God).

Yet Shincheonji creates an elaborate system of titles and hierarchy, teaching that “everyone in God’s kingdom, whether small or great, has a title” and that this title “helps us to be able to know who we are in God’s kingdom and reminds us of our duty.”

This is exactly the kind of system Jesus warned against. It creates status distinctions, reinforces hierarchy, and defines people by their organizational position rather than by their relationship with Christ.

Problem 6: The “East” Argument

Shincheonji often justifies its Korea-centrism by arguing that Korea is “in the east” and that prophecies about “the east” predict God’s work centering on Korea.

But as we noted in the refutation of Lesson 120, this argument has serious problems:

Multiple groups make the same claim:

• Eastern Lightning (Church of Almighty God) in China claims China is the “east” where God’s final work is happening
• Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines claims the Philippines is the “east” where God’s true church was restored
• Multiple Korean new religious movements (not just Shincheonji) claim Korea is the “east” where God’s 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.

“East” is relative: East of what? From whose perspective? Korea is east of Europe and America, but west of the Americas if you go the other direction. Geographic directions are relative to your starting point.

The biblical meaning of “east”: In biblical symbolism, “east” often refers to the direction of sunrise—the direction from which light comes. It’s likely symbolic of light/revelation, not a geographic prediction about Korea.

Christ’s universal reign: When Scripture speaks of all nations worshiping God, it’s describing the universal reign of Christ, not predicting that people will travel to one country.

The Biblical “Book of Life”

Before we examine Shincheonji’s use of the “Book of Life,” let’s understand what this term means in Scripture.

The “Book of Life” appears throughout the Bible as a metaphor for God’s record of those who belong to Him:

Old Testament References:

Exodus 32:32-33: “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”

Psalm 69:28: “May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”

Daniel 12:1: “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.”

New Testament References:

Philippians 4:3: “Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

Revelation 3:5: “The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”

Revelation 13:8: “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”

Revelation 20:12, 15: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books… Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 21:27: “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

What the Book of Life Represents:

The Book of Life is a metaphor for God’s sovereign knowledge of those who belong to Him. It represents:

1. God’s knowledge: God knows who are His (2 Timothy 2:19)
2. God’s election: Those whose names are written were chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4)
3. Eternal security: Jesus promises that believers’ names will never be blotted out (Revelation 3:5)
4. Final judgment: The Book of Life is the record consulted at the final judgment (Revelation 20:12-15)

The Book of Life is God’s book, not a human document. It’s kept in heaven, not on earth. It’s written by God, not by human organizations. And your name is in it through faith in Christ, not through organizational membership.

Jesus said in Luke 10:20: “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Our names are written in heaven—in God’s record—through faith in Christ. This is a spiritual reality, not an organizational document.

Shincheonji’s “Book of Life”

In Lesson 121, the instructor says: “And another thing that we have to do in order for us to pass over is to complete our Book of Life. So please, please, please nag your evangelist, okay? Say, where is my Book of Life? And make sure our – actually, our deadline to complete the Book of Life is this week.”

The instructor continues: “So please make sure you complete it and also send in your Book of Life photo. The guidelines will be sent to you by your evangelist and explained in the announcement.”

What’s Happening Here:

Shincheonji has taken the biblical metaphor of the “Book of Life”—God’s eternal record of those who belong to Him—and transformed it into an organizational document that students must complete and submit with a photo.

This “Book of Life” is not God’s heavenly record. It’s Shincheonji’s earthly documentation system. Students must:

• Complete the document
• Meet a deadline (“this week”)
• Submit a photo
• Follow guidelines provided by their evangelist
• “Pass over” by completing it

The phrase “pass over” is significant. It echoes the Passover in Exodus, where Israelites marked their doorposts with blood so the angel of death would “pass over” their homes. But now, instead of the blood of the lamb protecting you, it’s completing Shincheonji’s documentation.

The Problems with This Practice

Problem 1: Replacing God’s Record with Organizational Documentation

By calling their organizational document the “Book of Life,” Shincheonji blurs the line between God’s eternal record and their earthly paperwork.

Students begin to think: “My name in Shincheonji’s Book of Life = my name in God’s Book of Life.” The two become conflated in students’ minds.

This creates the impression that your salvation status is tied to your organizational documentation. If you complete Shincheonji’s Book of Life, you’re saved. If you don’t, you’re not.

But Scripture is clear: Your name is written in God’s Book of Life through faith in Christ, not through completing organizational paperwork.

Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Salvation is through faith in Christ, not through organizational documentation.

Problem 2: Creating Anxiety and Control

The repeated emphasis—”please, please, please nag your evangelist”—creates urgency and anxiety. Students are made to feel that their salvation status depends on completing this document by the deadline.

This anxiety serves organizational purposes:

• It motivates compliance (students complete the document to relieve anxiety)
• It creates dependency (students need the organization to validate their salvation status)
• It provides control (the organization can use documentation requirements to manage members)

But biblical salvation creates peace, not anxiety:

Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 John 5:13: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Believers can know they have eternal life. We have peace with God through Christ. Our salvation doesn’t depend on meeting organizational deadlines or completing paperwork.

Problem 3: Making Salvation Conditional on Performance

The phrase “in order for us to pass over” makes salvation conditional on completing the Book of Life. You must do this to “pass over”—to be saved, to be protected, to be part of God’s people.

This is a works-based salvation system. You must complete certain requirements to be saved:

• Complete the Book of Life
• Pass the exams
• Study well
• Meet deadlines
• Follow organizational procedures

But Scripture teaches that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works:

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.”

Titus 3:5: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

We are not saved by completing requirements or meeting organizational standards. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ.

Problem 4: Photo Submission and Organizational Tracking

The requirement to “send in your Book of Life photo” reveals that this is not just about spiritual documentation—it’s about organizational tracking and control.

Why does Shincheonji need photos of members? What is the organizational purpose of collecting this information?

This practice serves several functions:

• Identification: The organization can identify and track members
• Documentation: The organization maintains records of who has completed requirements
• Control: Members who have submitted photos and documentation are more committed and less likely to leave
• Recruitment data: The organization can use this information for recruitment strategies

But God doesn’t need photos to know who belongs to Him. He knows His sheep by name (John 10:3, 14). He doesn’t need organizational documentation to keep track of His people.

The Progression of Organizational Integration

By Lesson 121, students have been through a carefully designed progression of organizational integration:

Early Lessons (Introductory Level):

• Introduced to Shincheonji’s interpretive method
• Began attending classes regularly
• Started forming relationships with evangelists and other students

Middle Lessons (Intermediate Level):

• Learned Shincheonji’s symbolic system
• Began to distrust other interpretations
• Increased time commitment to classes and study

Advanced Level – Early Lessons:

• Learned Shincheonji’s historical narrative
• Began to separate from other churches
• Accepted the view that other churches are “Babylon”

Advanced Level – Later Lessons (including Lesson 121):

• Complete organizational documentation (Book of Life)
• Learn organizational titles and hierarchy
• Prepare for exams that determine “passing”
• Transition from student to member identity
• Begin preparing for recruitment role

Each stage increases organizational integration and commitment. By the time students reach Lesson 121, they’re deeply embedded in the organizational system, with documentation, relationships, time investment, and identity all tied to Shincheonji.

As Chapter 11 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, this progressive integration is a hallmark of high-control groups. Commitment is increased gradually, with each stage building on the previous ones, until leaving becomes psychologically and socially very difficult.

The True Book of Life

The good news is that the true Book of Life is not an organizational document you must complete. It’s God’s eternal record of those who belong to Him through faith in Christ.

Your name is written in the Book of Life not by:

• Completing organizational paperwork
• Meeting deadlines
• Submitting photos
• Passing exams
• Proving yourself worthy

Your name is written in the Book of Life by:

• Faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16)
• God’s sovereign choice (Ephesians 1:4-5)
• Christ’s finished work (Hebrews 10:10, 14)
• The sealing of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)

This is grace. This is the gospel. This is what sets us free from anxiety about our salvation status.

Revelation 3:5 contains Jesus’ promise: “The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”

Jesus promises that He will never blot out the name of the one who is victorious (the one who trusts in Him). This is eternal security. This is the confidence believers have—not because we’ve completed organizational requirements, but because Christ has completed the work of salvation.

Part 4: The 25% Pass Rate and Performance-Based Belonging

The Scarcity Message

One of the most psychologically powerful elements of Lesson 121 is the repeated emphasis on the 25% pass rate. The instructor says:

“What happens after the quarter? Hopefully this will become a lifestyle for the 25% of us that do pass.”

“Well, we put it was way more than 25%, right? So within each person, there’s a 25% chance we can become the good soil, but it’s always our hope that more than 25% will be able to pass.”

The message is clear: Only 25% will pass. Most students will fail. Will you be among the minority who succeed?

The Biblical Reference: The Parable of the Sower

The 25% figure comes from Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15). In this parable, seed falls on four types of soil:

1. Path (hard ground): The seed is immediately taken by birds
2. Rocky ground: The seed sprouts quickly but withers because it has no root
3. Thorny ground: The seed grows but is choked by thorns
4. Good soil: The seed produces a crop—thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown

If we count these as equal portions, then 25% (one out of four) represents the good soil that produces fruit.

Jesus’ Explanation:

Jesus explains that the seed is the word of God, and the soils represent different responses:

• Path: Those who hear but don’t understand; Satan takes the word away
• Rocky ground: Those who receive the word with joy but fall away when trouble comes
• Thorny ground: Those who hear but are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures
• Good soil: Those who hear the word, retain it, and produce fruit

The Parable’s Meaning:

Jesus is explaining why His teaching produces different results in different people. Some reject it immediately. Some accept it enthusiastically but fall away when it’s costly. Some accept it but let other priorities crowd it out. And some accept it, persevere, and bear fruit.

The parable is about responses to Jesus’ teaching, not about passing organizational exams. It’s about spiritual receptivity, not about organizational performance.

Shincheonji’s Application

Shincheonji takes this parable and applies it to their organizational system:

• Path: Those who never complete the course
• Rocky ground: Those who start but drop out when it gets difficult
• Thorny ground: Those who complete the course but don’t remain active in Shincheonji
• Good soil: Those who complete the course, pass the exams, and become active members

The instructor says: “So within each person, there’s a 25% chance we can become the good soil.”

This application creates several problems:

Problem 1: Misapplying the Parable

Jesus’ parable is about responses to the gospel—the message of God’s kingdom. It’s about whether people receive and persevere in the truth about Jesus Christ.

Shincheonji applies it to their organizational course. Being “good soil” means completing their curriculum, passing their exams, and remaining in their organization.

This shifts the focus from the gospel to the organization. Instead of asking “Am I receiving and persevering in the truth about Christ?” students ask “Am I completing Shincheonji’s requirements?”

Problem 2: Creating Scarcity and Competition

By emphasizing that only 25% will pass, Shincheonji creates:

Scarcity: There are limited spots among the successful. Not everyone will make it.

Competition: Students compete with each other to be among the 25%. This creates comparison, judgment, and division rather than unity and mutual support.

Fear: Students fear being among the 75% who fail. This fear motivates compliance and prevents questioning.

Pressure: Students feel pressure to prove they’re part of the 25%. This pressure drives them to work harder, study longer, and demonstrate greater commitment.

All of these serve organizational purposes—they motivate compliance, prevent attrition, and create committed members. But they contradict the gospel of grace.

Problem 3: Making Salvation Performance-Based

The 25% pass rate makes salvation (or at least, being part of God’s people) dependent on performance. You must:

• Study well enough to pass the exams
• Complete the Book of Life
• Demonstrate that you’re “good soil”
• Prove you’re among the 25%

This is a works-based system. Your status depends on your performance, not on God’s grace.

But Scripture teaches that salvation is not based on our performance:

Romans 11:6: “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

Galatians 2:16: “Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

We are justified by faith in Christ, not by passing organizational exams or proving we’re “good soil.”

Problem 4: Redefining “Good Soil”

In Jesus’ parable, “good soil” represents those who:

• Hear the word
• Understand it
• Retain it
• Produce fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—Galatians 5:22-23)

The fruit is spiritual transformation—becoming more like Christ, loving God and others, living in obedience to God’s commands.

But in Shincheonji’s application, “good soil” means:

• Completing their curriculum
• Passing their exams
• Remaining in their organization
• Becoming active in recruitment

The fruit is organizational loyalty and activity, not spiritual transformation.

This substitutes organizational metrics for spiritual fruit. Instead of asking “Am I becoming more loving, more patient, more like Christ?” students ask “Am I completing organizational requirements?”

The Pressure to Study

The instructor creates intense pressure around the exams:

“So in order for that to happen, what must we complete? We got to complete our exams. Are we studying well? By the grace of God. Amen. Yes, you can do it. You still have tonight.”

“I stayed up really late last night doing some studying. So just for one night, we can pull an all-nighter. I don’t know about you. When I was in college or high school, I used to do those all the time. Okay? So if we used to do all-nighters for regular school, surely we can do it for Father God, too, right? Amen.”

The Message:

• You must study intensively to pass
• You should be willing to sacrifice sleep (“pull an all-nighter”)
• If you did this for secular education, you should do it for God
• Passing the exam is equated with serving God

The Problems:

1. Equating Organizational Exams with Serving God: The instructor says: “If we used to do all-nighters for regular school, surely we can do it for Father God, too, right?”

This equates passing Shincheonji’s exam with serving God. But are these the same thing?

Serving God means:

• Loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)
• Loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31)
• Making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)
• Living in obedience to Christ’s commands (John 14:15)
• Producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

Passing an organizational exam about Shincheonji’s interpretation of Revelation is not the same as serving God. The two are being conflated to motivate students to study harder.

2. Creating Unhealthy Pressure: Encouraging students to pull all-nighters and sacrifice sleep creates unhealthy pressure. This is not about genuine spiritual growth—it’s about organizational performance.

God cares about our whole being—physical, emotional, and spiritual. He doesn’t require us to sacrifice our health to pass organizational exams.

Psalm 127:2: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.”

God grants sleep to those He loves. Rest is a gift from God, not something to be sacrificed for organizational requirements.

3. Measuring Spirituality by Organizational Performance: The entire framework measures spirituality by organizational performance:

• Are you studying well?
• Will you pass the exam?
• Have you completed the Book of Life?
• Are you among the 25%?

But biblical spirituality is measured by:

• Love for God and others (Matthew 22:37-40)
• Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Obedience to Christ (John 14:15)
• Faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

These are matters of the heart, not organizational performance metrics.

The Contrast with Biblical Teaching

The biblical teaching about salvation and belonging to God’s people is radically different:

Biblical Teaching:

1. Salvation is by grace through faith: 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 salvation by passing exams or proving yourself. It’s a gift received by faith.

2. All believers are accepted: Romans 15:7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

There’s no 25% pass rate. All who come to Christ in faith are accepted. He doesn’t turn anyone away.

John 6:37: “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

3. God’s standard is perfection, but Christ meets it for us: We can’t meet God’s standard through our performance. We all fall short (Romans 3:23). But Christ met the standard for us, and His righteousness is credited to us through faith (Romans 4:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

4. Assurance comes from Christ’s work, not our performance: 1 John 5:11-13: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

We can know we have eternal life, not because we’ve passed organizational exams, but because we have the Son—we trust in Christ.

5. Spiritual growth is a process, not a pass/fail exam: Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God is at work in us, transforming us progressively. This is not a pass/fail system where 75% fail. It’s a process where God faithfully completes what He started in all His children.

The True “Good Soil”

If you want to be “good soil” in the biblical sense, it’s not about passing Shincheonji’s exams. It’s about:

1. Hearing God’s word: Not Shincheonji’s interpretation, but God’s actual word—Scripture, understood in its context, centered on Christ.

2. Understanding it: Not memorizing organizational teachings, but genuinely understanding the gospel—that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ.

3. Retaining it: Not just completing a course, but persevering in faith through trials, temptations, and difficulties.

4. Producing fruit: Not organizational activity, but spiritual fruit—becoming more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

This is what it means to be “good soil.” And the good news is that God Himself cultivates this soil in us. We don’t make ourselves good soil through effort—God transforms us by His Spirit.

Philippians 2:13: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Part 5: The Transition from Student to Recruiter

The Evangelism Push

Lesson 121 marks a significant transition: students are being prepared to become recruiters. The instructor says:

“But not only do I have to go there, I can’t do, I can’t be selfish, right? I also have to help others to come and be part of it too. What is that word call when we help others to come and be part of ‘Jun-do’, Evangelism.”

“So we must also do the work of ‘Jun-do’. We have some seminars that are going on. So please make sure to ask the evangelist.”

“If you really want to see that excitement and now the people, and you really want others to come and know God better, please let us all bend together to do the work of ‘jon-do’, because it’s actually a way that we can bring glory to father God.”

What’s Happening:

Students are being told that it’s not enough to be part of Shincheonji themselves—they must recruit others. This is framed as:

• Not being selfish
• Helping others
• Bringing glory to God
• Sharing excitement about what they’ve learned

The Korean term “Jun-do” (전도) literally means “to deliver the way” or “evangelism.” But in Shincheonji’s context, it specifically means recruiting people to Shincheonji’s Bible study program.

The Recruitment Process

The instructor describes the recruitment experience: “It is always really inspiring when we go to these events and we see the light in the people’s eyes when they learn something new and they’re like, whoa, I can’t believe I never knew that before. And to us, it’s very simple because we’ve learned them because they’re very basic, but to them, it’s really life, you know, shattering because like, wow, I never really understood that the Bible couldn’t be known if I studied it.”

The Appeal:

The instructor appeals to students’ desire to:

• See people’s excitement when they learn something new
• Help people understand the Bible
• Share what they’ve learned
• Make a difference in people’s lives

These are legitimate desires. Christians should want to share the gospel, help people understand Scripture, and see lives transformed.

But Shincheonji is channeling these legitimate desires toward organizational recruitment rather than genuine gospel evangelism.

The Difference Between Gospel Evangelism and Organizational Recruitment

Gospel Evangelism:

Biblical evangelism is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ:

• The message: Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers salvation to all who believe (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
• The goal: That people would trust in Christ and be saved (Romans 10:9-10)
• The method: Proclaiming Christ, explaining the gospel, inviting people to faith (Acts 8:35, Romans 10:14-15)
• The result: People come to faith in Christ, are baptized, and join the community of believers (Acts 2:41)

Shincheonji’s “Jun-do” (Recruitment):

Shincheonji’s “evangelism” is recruiting people to their Bible study program:

• The message: “You can understand the Bible if you study with us” (not the gospel of Christ)
• The goal: That people would join Shincheonji’s study program and eventually become members
• The method: Inviting people to seminars and Bible studies, often without initially revealing the Shincheonji connection
• The result: People enter the Introductory Level and begin the indoctrination process

The difference is crucial:

The Deceptive Recruitment Tactics

As documented in “SCJ’s Fulfillment of Revelation Part 1 and Part 2” and testimonies from former members, Shincheonji often uses deceptive recruitment tactics:

1. Concealing Identity: Initial invitations often don’t mention Shincheonji. People are invited to “Bible study” or “Christian education” without being told it’s Shincheonji until later in the process.

2. Friendship Evangelism: Members are taught to build friendships with potential recruits, often targeting Christians who are already committed to Bible study.

3. Gradual Disclosure: Controversial teachings are revealed gradually, only after students have invested significant time and formed relationships.

4. Pressure to Continue: Once people start the program, there’s pressure to continue to the next level, complete the course, and not “waste” the time already invested.

5. Isolation from Other Perspectives: Students are discouraged from discussing what they’re learning with pastors, family, or friends who might provide alternative perspectives.

These tactics are not consistent with biblical evangelism, which is characterized by:

Honesty and transparency: 2 Corinthians 4:2: “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

Respect for people’s freedom: 2 Corinthians 5:11: “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.”

Paul persuades, but he doesn’t manipulate or deceive. He makes the truth plain and respects people’s freedom to accept or reject it.

The Psychological Function of Recruitment

Having students recruit others serves several important psychological functions for the organization:

1. Deepening Commitment: When you recruit others to something, you become more committed to it yourself. This is called the “consistency principle” in psychology—we want our actions to be consistent with our beliefs and commitments.

If you’ve recruited friends or family to Shincheonji, leaving becomes much harder. You’d have to admit you were wrong, potentially damage those relationships, and face the guilt of having brought others into something harmful.

2. Validating the System: If you can successfully recruit others, it validates the system in your mind. “If I can convince others this is true, it must be true.” This reinforces your own belief.

3. Creating Shared Responsibility: Once you’ve recruited others, you share responsibility for their involvement. This creates guilt that keeps you committed. “I can’t leave—what about the people I brought in?”

4. Organizational Growth: Obviously, recruitment grows the organization. Each member who becomes a recruiter potentially brings in multiple new members, creating exponential growth.

5. Identifying Committed Members: Those who successfully recruit demonstrate high commitment and are identified as future leaders within the organization.

As Chapter 18 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, the transition from student to recruiter is a critical stage in the indoctrination process. It represents a shift from passive reception to active participation in spreading the organization’s message.

The Ethical Problems

Shincheonji’s recruitment system raises serious ethical problems:

1. Deception: Concealing the Shincheonji connection or the controversial teachings violates basic honesty and respect for people’s autonomy.

2. Manipulation: Using friendship and emotional connection as recruitment tools manipulates people’s trust.

3. Exploitation: Targeting Christians who are seeking deeper Bible study exploits their genuine spiritual hunger.

4. Relationship Damage: The recruitment process often damages relationships when people discover they were targeted for recruitment rather than genuine friendship.

5. Spiritual Harm: Leading people into a system that replaces the gospel with organizational loyalty causes spiritual harm.

These practices contradict biblical ethics:

Ephesians 4:25: “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6: “For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else.”

Paul emphasizes that his evangelism was characterized by honesty, pure motives, and transparency—not deception, flattery, or hidden agendas.

True Evangelism

Biblical evangelism is fundamentally different from Shincheonji’s recruitment:

1. It centers on Christ, not an organization: Acts 8:35: “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”

2. It’s honest and transparent: 2 Corinthians 4:2: “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.”

3. It respects people’s freedom: Acts 17:32-34: “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.’ At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.”

Paul presented the gospel, some rejected it, some wanted to hear more, and some believed. He respected their responses.

4. It produces faith in Christ, not organizational loyalty: 1 Corinthians 2:5: “So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”

5. It’s motivated by love, not organizational growth: 2 Corinthians 5:14: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

If you want to share your faith, share Christ—not an organization. Share the gospel—not an interpretive system. Invite people to relationship with Jesus—not to organizational membership.

Part 6: The Psychological Function of the TTT Teaching

The Power of Exclusive Claims

Shincheonji’s claim to be “the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, the place all nations must come to worship” is psychologically powerful. Let’s examine why.

1. It Creates Urgency: If Shincheonji is the only place where all nations must come to worship, then being part of Shincheonji is absolutely essential. There’s no alternative. You must be here.

This creates urgency: You can’t delay, you can’t be lukewarm, you can’t keep one foot in and one foot out. This is the place. You must commit fully.

2. It Validates Investment: By this point in the curriculum, students have invested enormous amounts of time, energy, and emotional commitment. They’ve distanced themselves from family and friends, left their former churches, reoriented their lives around Shincheonji.

The claim that Shincheonji is “God’s final resting place” validates all that investment. It wasn’t wasted—you’ve found the most important place in the world, the place where God dwells, the place all nations must come.

3. It Creates Pride and Special Status: Being part of “the place all nations must come to worship” creates a sense of special status. You’re not just part of a church—you’re part of THE place, God’s final resting place, the fulfillment of prophecy.

This feeds spiritual pride: “I’ve found what others are still searching for. I’m part of something unique and essential. I have what the whole world needs.”

4. It Justifies Separation: If Shincheonji is the exclusive place of worship, then separation from other churches and Christians is not just justified—it’s necessary. Why would you maintain connections with “Babylon” when you’ve found the true temple?

This completes the isolation process. Students who might have maintained some connection with their former Christian communities now have theological justification for complete separation.

5. It Motivates Recruitment: If all nations must come here, then you have a responsibility to bring people here. Not recruiting becomes selfish—you’re withholding from others what they desperately need.

This motivates the transition from student to recruiter. You’re not just inviting people to Bible study—you’re bringing them to the place where God dwells, the place where all nations must come.

The Organizational Benefits

These psychological effects serve clear organizational purposes:

Benefit 1: Member Retention: Once members believe Shincheonji is the exclusive place of worship, leaving becomes almost impossible. Where would you go? If this is THE place, then leaving means leaving God’s presence, abandoning God’s final resting place, rejecting the fulfillment of prophecy.

Benefit 2: Increased Commitment: The exclusive claim motivates maximum commitment. If this is the most important place in the world, then you should give it your maximum time, energy, and resources.

Benefit 3: Recruitment Motivation: Members become highly motivated recruiters because they believe they’re bringing people to the only place where true worship happens.

Benefit 4: Financial Support: Members who believe Shincheonji is God’s final resting place are willing to provide significant financial support to maintain and expand the organization.

Benefit 5: Resistance to Criticism: When members hear criticism of Shincheonji, they dismiss it as attacks on God’s work. After all, if this is THE place, then critics are opposing God Himself.

As Chapter 23 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, exclusive claims are a hallmark of cultic groups. By claiming to be the only true church, the only place of salvation, the only fulfillment of prophecy, groups create powerful psychological bonds that make leaving extremely difficult.

The Contrast with Biblical Teaching

The biblical teaching about the church and worship is radically different from Shincheonji’s exclusive claims:

1. The Church is Universal: The church is not one organization or one physical location. It’s the universal body of all believers in Christ.

Ephesians 1:22-23: “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

The church is Christ’s body—all believers, everywhere, throughout history.

2. Christ is the Temple: The true temple is not an organization—it’s Christ Himself, and believers in whom God dwells by His Spirit.

John 2:19-21: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.”

3. Believers are God’s Temple: 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

2 Corinthians 6:16: “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'”

God doesn’t dwell in one organization in Korea. He dwells in all believers by His Spirit, wherever they are.

4. Worship is Not About 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.'”

True worship is not about going to a specific location. It’s about worshiping in Spirit and truth—with hearts transformed by the Spirit, in accordance with God’s truth.

5. Salvation is in Christ Alone: Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Salvation is not found in Shincheonji or any other organization. It’s found in Christ alone. The “name under heaven” by which we must be saved is not “Shincheonji” or “Lee Man-hee”—it’s Jesus Christ.

6. The Church Includes All Believers: 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.”

All who have been baptized by the Spirit (all believers) form one body. This includes believers in all churches, all denominations, all nations—not just one organization.

The Danger of Exclusive Claims

Throughout history, groups that have claimed to be the exclusive people of God, the only true church, or the only place of salvation have caused immense harm:

1. They Create Division: Exclusive claims divide the body of Christ, creating “us vs. them” mentalities that contradict Jesus’ prayer for unity (John 17:20-23).

2. They Foster Pride: Believing you’re part of the exclusive group fosters spiritual pride rather than the humility that should characterize Christians.

3. They Enable Abuse: When a group claims exclusive status, leaders can abuse that status to control members. “You can’t leave—this is the only true church.”

4. They Distort the Gospel: Exclusive claims shift the focus from faith in Christ to membership in the right organization, distorting the gospel of grace.

5. They Harm Families: Exclusive claims lead members to separate from family and friends who aren’t part of the group, causing immense relational damage.

As Chapter 24 of “Testing Shincheonji’s Claims: Two Lenses, One Story” explains, exclusive claims are one of the clearest markers of cultic thinking. When a group claims to be the only true expression of Christianity, they’ve departed from biblical Christianity regardless of how much biblical language they use.

Part 7: What the Temple Really Means for Christians Today

The True Temple

If Shincheonji is not the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, what is the biblical understanding of the temple for Christians today?

1. Christ is the True Temple:

Jesus is the ultimate temple—the place where God’s glory dwells, the meeting place between God and humanity, the location where true worship happens.

John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The phrase “made his dwelling” literally means “tabernacled”—Jesus tabernacled among us. He is the true tabernacle, the place where God dwells with humanity.

Colossians 2:9: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”

All the fullness of God dwells in Christ. He is the ultimate temple, the complete revelation of God, the place where we encounter God’s presence.

2. Believers are God’s Temple:

Through faith in Christ, believers become the temple of God—the place where God dwells by His Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

Each believer individually is a temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells in us, not in a physical building or organization.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

Believers corporately—together—are God’s temple. The community of believers is where God dwells by His Spirit.

3. The Church is Being Built as God’s Temple:

Ephesians 2:19-22: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

The church—all believers—is being built together as God’s temple. Christ is the cornerstone. The foundation is the apostles and prophets (the biblical revelation). And all believers are being built together as the place where God dwells by His Spirit.

This is not one organization. It’s the universal church—all believers, in all places, throughout all time.

4. The Ultimate Temple is the New Jerusalem:

Revelation 21:22: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

In the new creation, there will be no physical temple because God and the Lamb will be the temple. God’s presence will fill everything. The distinction between sacred space (temple) and ordinary space will disappear because all will be sacred—all will be filled with God’s presence.

This is the ultimate fulfillment—not an organization in Korea, but the new creation where God dwells with His people forever.

What This Means Practically

Understanding the biblical teaching about the temple has practical implications:

1. You Don’t Need to Go to a Specific Location: You don’t need to travel to Korea or join a specific organization to encounter God’s presence. If you are in Christ, God dwells in you by His Spirit. You are the temple.

2. Worship is Not About Location: You can worship God anywhere—in your home, in your car, in nature, in a church building, wherever you are. True worship is about Spirit and truth, not location.

3. The Church is Wherever Believers Gather: Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Wherever believers gather in Christ’s name, He is present. The church is not one organization—it’s the gathering of believers wherever they are.

4. You Have Direct Access to God: Hebrews 10:19-22: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.”

You have direct access to God through Christ. You don’t need organizational mediation. You can draw near to God with confidence because of Christ’s blood.

5. Your Body is Sacred: Because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, your body is sacred. This has implications for how you treat your body, what you do with it, how you care for it.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

6. The Community of Believers is Sacred: Because the church corporately is God’s temple, the community of believers is sacred. This has implications for how we treat each other, how we maintain unity, how we build each other up.

1 Corinthians 3:17: “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

Destroying God’s temple means harming the community of believers—causing division, leading people astray, damaging the body of Christ.

The Freedom of the Gospel

The biblical teaching about the temple creates freedom:

• Freedom from geographic bondage: You don’t need to be in a specific location to worship God
• Freedom from organizational control: You don’t need organizational membership to access God’s presence
• Freedom from hierarchical mediation: You have direct access to God through Christ
• Freedom from performance anxiety: Your status as God’s temple is based on Christ’s work, not your performance
• Freedom to worship anywhere: You can worship God in Spirit and truth wherever you are

This is the freedom Christ came to bring:

Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Don’t let anyone burden you with the yoke of organizational requirements, geographic centralization, or hierarchical control. Christ has set you free. Stand firm in that freedom.

Part 8: Questions for Reflection and Discernment

If you’re studying with Shincheonji or considering their teaching about the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, here are questions to consider:

Questions About the Interpretation

1. Where is the temple? Revelation 15:5 explicitly says the temple is “in heaven.” How can Shincheonji claim to be this temple when the text clearly locates it in heaven?
2. What about Jesus’ teaching? Jesus said worship would not be tied to any physical location (John 4:21-24). How does this align with teaching that all nations must come to a specific organization in Korea?
3. What is the context? Revelation 15 is about God’s final judgments (the seven bowl plagues), not about where people should worship. Why does Shincheonji focus on one phrase (“all nations will come and worship”) while ignoring the chapter’s actual context?
4. What about Christ as the temple? The New Testament teaches that Christ is the true temple (John 2:19-21). How does Shincheonji’s claim to be the temple relate to Christ being the temple?
5. What about believers as the temple? Paul teaches that believers corporately are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16). How does this relate to one organization claiming to be THE temple?

Questions About the “Book of Life”

6. What is the Book of Life? The biblical Book of Life is God’s eternal record of those who belong to Him (Revelation 20:12-15). How did this become an organizational document that students must complete?
7. How are names written? Scripture teaches that names are written in the Book of Life through faith in Christ (Philippians 4:3, Revelation 21:27). How does completing organizational paperwork relate to this?
8. Why the deadline? If the Book of Life is God’s eternal record, why is there an organizational deadline to complete it “this week”?
9. Why photos? Why does Shincheonji need photos of members? What organizational purpose does this serve?
10. What about assurance? The Bible teaches that believers can know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). Does tying this to organizational documentation create assurance or anxiety?

Questions About the 25% Pass Rate

11. Is this biblical? Jesus’ parable of the sower is about responses to His teaching, not about passing organizational exams. How does Shincheonji’s application align with Jesus’ meaning?
12. What about grace? The gospel teaches salvation by grace through faith, not by passing exams. How does the 25% pass rate align with the gospel of grace?
13. Who determines who passes? In Shincheonji’s system, the organization determines who passes. In the gospel, God saves all who come to Him in faith. What’s the difference?
14. What fruit is measured? Jesus said good soil produces spiritual fruit (love, joy, peace, etc.). Shincheonji measures organizational performance (exam scores, documentation completion). What’s the difference?
15. What about those who “fail”? If 75% fail, what happens to them? Are they not saved? Are they not part of God’s people? What does this say about the system?

Questions About Recruitment

16. What is being shared? Biblical evangelism shares the gospel of Christ. Shincheonji’s “Jun-do” recruits people to Bible study. What’s the difference?
17. Is it honest? Are potential recruits told upfront that this is Shincheonji? Are they told about the controversial teachings? Is this honest evangelism?
18. What’s the goal? Biblical evangelism aims for people to trust in Christ. Shincheonji’s recruitment aims for organizational membership. What’s the difference?
19. Who benefits? Biblical evangelism benefits the person who comes to faith in Christ. Organizational recruitment benefits the organization. Who benefits from Shincheonji’s recruitment?
20. What about relationships? Are friendships genuine, or are they strategic for recruitment purposes? How does this affect trust and relationships?

Questions About Exclusive Claims

21. Is Shincheonji the only true church? If Shincheonji is “the place all nations must come to worship,” what about other churches? Are they all false?
22. What about Christians throughout history? If Shincheonji is God’s final resting place (established in 1984), what about Christians before 1984? Were they not part of God’s people?
23. What about good fruit elsewhere? If other churches are false, how do we explain the good fruit visible in many churches—people coming to faith, lives transformed, love demonstrated?
24. What about unity? Jesus prayed for the unity of believers (John 17:20-23). Do exclusive claims promote unity or division?
25. What if you’re wrong? If Shincheonji’s exclusive claims are incorrect, what are the consequences? What relationships have been damaged? What opportunities for genuine Christian fellowship have been lost?

Questions About the “Promised Pastor”

26. Who is most important? The lesson says “the really, really most important person in the New Testament is the one who was promised, the promised pastor.” Is this biblically accurate? Isn’t Jesus Christ the most important person?
27. What about Christ’s centrality? The New Testament is about Jesus Christ—His life, death, resurrection, and salvation. How does making the “promised pastor” most important affect Christ’s centrality?
28. What about mediation? The New Testament teaches that Christ is the one mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5). Does emphasizing the “promised pastor” create another mediator?
29. What about worship? Who receives the glory and honor in Shincheonji—Christ or the “promised pastor”? Where is the focus?
30. What about accountability? If the “promised pastor” is the most important person, who holds him accountable? What if his interpretation is wrong?

Questions About Your Experience

31. How do you feel? When you think about the 25% pass rate and the exams, do you feel peace or anxiety? Does this reflect the gospel of grace?
32. What’s changed? How have your relationships changed since joining Shincheonji? Are you closer to or more distant from family, friends, and other Christians?
33. Where is your identity? Is your identity rooted in Christ or in your organizational status (student, potential member of the 144,000, etc.)?
34. Can you question? Are you free to question Shincheonji’s teachings, or would questioning be seen as lack of faith or spiritual immaturity?
35. What would happen if you left? If you left Shincheonji, would you lose your salvation? Would you be leaving God’s presence? What does this say about where your security is rooted?

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 teachings about the temple, the Book of Life, and being part of God’s people appeal to legitimate spiritual desires.

But we must ask: Are these teachings biblical? Do they align with what Jesus taught? Do they produce the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of organizational control?

The biblical teaching is actually more encouraging than Shincheonji’s version:

• You don’t need to pass exams to be part of God’s people—you need only faith in Christ
• You don’t need to complete organizational documentation—your name is written in God’s Book of Life through faith
• You don’t need to travel to Korea—God dwells in you by His Spirit wherever you are
• You don’t need to prove you’re among the 25%—all who come to Christ in faith are accepted
• You don’t need organizational mediation—you have direct access to God through Christ

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

Conclusion: The True Temple and the True Gospel

As we conclude this refutation of Lesson 121, let’s return to the core question: What is the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, and where must people go to worship God?

The Biblical Answer

The temple John sees in Revelation 15 is in heaven—the true dwelling place of God, of which the earthly tabernacle was only a copy and shadow. This heavenly temple is not an organization on earth. It’s the ultimate reality of God’s presence.

But the good news is even better than that. Through Christ, we don’t need to wait to access this heavenly temple. We have access now:

Hebrews 10:19-22: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

Through Christ’s blood, we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place—the very presence of God. We don’t need to travel to Korea. We don’t need to join an organization. We don’t need to pass exams or complete documentation.

We need only to come to God through Christ, and we are welcomed into His presence.

Where is the Temple?

So where is the temple? Where do people need to go to worship God?

The temple is:

1. Christ Himself: John 2:19-21: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’… But the temple he had spoken of was his body.”

2. Every believer: 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

3. The community of believers: 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

4. The universal church: Ephesians 2:21-22: “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

5. Ultimately, God and the Lamb: Revelation 21:22: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

The temple is not one organization in one country. The temple is wherever God dwells—in Christ, in believers, in the community of faith, and ultimately in the new creation where God’s presence fills everything.

Where Must People Go to Worship?

Jesus answered this question definitively:

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.'”

People don’t need to go to any specific physical location to worship God. True worship is in Spirit and truth:

• In Spirit: With hearts transformed by the Holy Spirit, empowered by His presence
• In Truth: In accordance with God’s truth revealed in Christ and Scripture

You can worship God:

• In your home
• In your car
• In nature
• In a church building
• Wherever you are

Because if you are in Christ, God dwells in you by His Spirit. You are the temple. Wherever you are, God is present.

The Danger of Organizational Claims

Shincheonji’s claim to be “the place all nations must come to worship” is not just incorrect—it’s spiritually dangerous. It:

1. Contradicts Jesus’ teaching that worship is not about location
2. Replaces Christ with an organization as the center of God’s work
3. Creates bondage to organizational requirements instead of freedom in Christ
4. Damages relationships by requiring separation from other Christians
5. Distorts the gospel by making salvation organizational instead of relational

These are not minor interpretive differences. These are fundamental departures from biblical Christianity.

The True Gospel

The true gospel is simpler and more beautiful than Shincheonji’s system:

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.”

All who believe are accepted: John 6:37: “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

We have direct access to God through Christ: Hebrews 4:16: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

We are the temple of God: 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

We can worship anywhere: John 4:23-24: “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.”

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

An Invitation

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

You don’t need to be part of Shincheonji to be part of God’s temple. If you are in Christ, you ARE God’s temple. God dwells in you by His Spirit.

You don’t need to pass organizational exams to pass into God’s kingdom. You enter God’s kingdom through faith in Christ, not through organizational performance.

You don’t need to complete organizational documentation to have your name in God’s Book of Life. Your name is written there through faith in Christ.

You don’t need to travel to Korea to worship God. You can worship Him anywhere, in Spirit and truth.

You don’t need organizational mediation to access God’s presence. You have direct access through Christ.

The true temple is not an organization. The true temple is Christ, and all who are in Him. If you are in Christ, you are part of the temple. You are where God dwells. You are part of God’s people.

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

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 Hope of the Gospel

The hope of the gospel is not that you might pass organizational exams and become part of an elite group. The hope of the gospel is that through faith in Christ, you are already:

• Accepted by God (Romans 15:7)
• Justified (declared righteous) through Christ (Romans 5:1)
• Sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)
• Part of God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16)
• A child of God (John 1:12)
• An heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)
• Complete in Him (Colossians 2:10)

This is your identity in Christ. Not because you’ve achieved it, but because He has given it to you as a gift of grace.

You don’t need to earn it. You don’t need to prove it. You don’t need to maintain it through organizational loyalty.

You need only to receive it by faith and live in the freedom it brings.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Christ has set you free. Don’t let anyone burden you with organizational requirements, geographic centralization, or hierarchical control.

Stand firm in the freedom Christ has given you.

The true temple is not in Korea. The true temple is Christ, and all who are in Him.

If you are in Christ, you are home. You are in God’s presence. You are part of His temple.

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