Missing Jesus, and Philip and the Ethiopian Acts 8:26-40

Shincheonji Counter

Shincheonji would point to the Ethiopian Eunuch who was led to Christ through Philip, and would use this story to show the importance of needing a divine interpreter to convey God’s message. They would also use this story to show how Isaiah wasn’t going to be fully understood until its fulfillment, thus justifying their interpretation of the sealed scroll.

Christian Response

The story of Philip and the eunuch demonstrates that God provides understanding through the Holy Spirit to all believers, not just a specific appointed individual. This interpretation is accessible to anyone who seeks it through prayer, study, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to being exclusive to a singular leader or “Promised Pastor.”

Acts 8 shows Philip, one of the early church’s deacons, not an apostle, providing interpretation. This indicates that the ability to understand and explain scripture is not limited to an elite class but is available to all believers empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17-18).

Shincheonji response

But, doesn’t this show that until Isaiah was fulfilled, that the Israelites didn’t have the full and true understanding of the book of Isaiah? Also, didn’t Jesus illuminate the minds of the Disciples?

Just like in the First Coming how God used Jesus to open the eyes of the disciples, wouldn’t God also use another Promised Pastor to illuminate the minds of his people yet again?

Christian response

While it is true that until Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies, that the Israelites were unable to fully understand the all of the prophecies, for Shincheonji to make the claim that Isaiah 29 was about the entire Bible, and that there was no chance of actual understanding or deliverance, shows an oversimplification of the Bible and the context of the verses that they use to come to their conclusion that a divinely appointed Promised Pastor is needed to explain the Book of Revelation.

The Creation of Heaven and Earth, page 498 – Just as Isaiah mentioned a sealed book, Rv 5:1-3 mentions a scroll that no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth is able to open or look inside. Today, Jesus has received this sealed book (Is 29:11; Rv 5:1), which no one could open, from God’s hand (Rv 5:7). He has opened it and fulfilled it by breaking all its seals (Rv 6, 8).

Also, Old Testament prophecies often had both immediate and future applications (a “now and not yet” aspect), which can help explain how prophecies were partially understood and relevant in their own time, and fully revealed in Christ, and Christ alone.

Later in this document, I will go over the finality of Christ, and how Christ is the “Promised Pastor” of both the old and the new testament, which leaves no room for another “Promised Pastor” or Messianic figure.