This lesson distinguishes the work of God from Satan in the spiritual and physical realms. God’s work involves fulfilling prophecies recorded in Scripture, so places testifying to His fulfillments are where He is working today. Satan’s work is deception through planting lies and false ideas, especially targeting churches/believers. The church is the prime battleground for this spiritual war between truth and lies. We must “test the spirits” by evaluating any teaching against Scripture, not relying solely on our potentially deceitful hearts. Discernment through God’s word reveals where God’s real work occurs amid Satan’s deceptive operations.
Shincheonji holds distinct theological views that differ from mainstream Christian denominations, yet it also shares some common teachings. This overlap can sometimes blur the lines between their beliefs and those of traditional Christianity. Therefore, it is essential to exercise critical thinking and discernment to differentiate between these shared elements and the unique doctrines they present.
While their interpretations warrant careful examination through a critical and biblical lens, it is equally important to approach these matters with an open yet discerning mindset.
The following notes were documented in person during Shincheonji’s 9-month Bible Study Seminar. They provide insight into the organization’s approach to introducing and explaining its beliefs to potential new members, often referred to as the ‘harvesting and sealing.’ This process is described as being ‘born again’ or ‘born of God’s seed,’ which involves uprooting the old beliefs and replanting new ones. This uprooting and replanting must occur continuously. By examining this process, we can gain a better understanding of the mindset and beliefs held by Shincheonji members.
Distinguishing Good vs. Evil Part Two
In the Physical World – Testing the Spirits
Key Points: We are going to be discerning:
1. The work of God and Satan
2. Their locations God / Satan
In this lesson, we will examine where certain spirits work, what work they do, and where they carry out that work. To briefly review what we covered last time, we were distinguishing good from evil in the spiritual world, specifically looking at the time before Adam and the events detailed in Genesis chapters 1-3.
Two Kinds of Spirits
In the very beginning, there were only holy spirits, oneness. However, something happened in the heart of a high ranking cherub angel. When evil formed in his heart, there then became two types of spirits in the spiritual world – good and evil. So unfortunately, there are now two kinds of spirits that exist.
God did not create Satan as he is known today. Originally, God created a guardian cherub angel. Over time, through his own free will, this angel that God had created rebelled and became the adversary known as Satan.
This leads to reasonable questions – if God is all-knowing and all-powerful, how could God not foresee that this angel would later turn against him? Did God realize what this angel would eventually become?
We may not fully understand the complexity of free will and how it interacts with God’s omniscience. However, Christian theology teaches that even though God is all-knowing, he allows his creations to exercise free will and does not override it. What we do know is that God created all angels good, but granted them moral autonomy. Through the misuse of that autonomy, and by his own choice, one cherub turned against the purpose for which he was created.
30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.
This is from God’s perspective. When God created the angels, He was not thinking about evil at all, just as a parent who has a child only thinks about good things for that child – wanting them to succeed and thrive. At that time, there was no evil, so why think about something that did not exist?
But ever since Satan became evil, it has been a thorn in God’s side for the past six thousand years from our human perspective. That is what we will discuss today – what is happening in the spiritual world between good and evil. In summary, they are at war.
This spiritual battle will inevitably impact the physical world as well. The war between good and evil will make its way into our human world.
First though, let’s understand God’s work and where God is working to comprehend how God operates.We will explore this to gain insight into the spiritual conflict between good and evil and how it spills over to affect our lives.
1. God’s Work.
In Genesis 1:1, it states that God created the heavens and the earth. As the Creator, God has a unique ability – when He speaks, He can put in place the situations and circumstances necessary for His words to become reality.
God alone has the power to ensure His words are fulfilled. Only the Creator has this capacity. This is why God can make a promise, and thousands of years later it is perfectly fulfilled, just as He promised. No other being possesses this ability.
The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.
It is going to happen.
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
The key message is that God is truthful and reliable. Unlike humans, God does not lie or fail to keep His promises.
Humans may lie to avoid consequences or out of fear. But God has no one to fear. When God speaks, it will happen. When God makes a promise, He will fulfill it.
God knew it would be difficult for people to distinguish true words from God from false claims. So He gave us a way to discern in Deuteronomy 18. The fulfillment of God’s statements and promises allows us to evaluate whether a message is truly from God.
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
In speaking to the Israelites, God first gave them His word – a promise. He said ‘I am going to send someone from among you. And I am going to give him my words. You are to listen to the words that I give him. Otherwise I will hold you to account.’ God was referring to Jesus, though these words were recorded 1,500 years before Jesus came. Only God can make a millennia-old promise that is ultimately fulfilled.
Yet God knew that people would struggle to discern if someone’s words are truly from God. Many claim ‘I received the word from God’ through dreams or visions. People may become confused.
But God said that if what a person speaks does not come to pass, it is not His word. Do not fear such a person – they have spoken out of turn. Prophecy and fulfillment is how you can distinguish God’s work.
Prophecy and fulfillment distinguish God’s word and work. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, God made promises that must be fulfilled. A majority of the New Testament catalogs how God’s Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled – “so that the scriptures would be fulfilled,” “according to scripture this happened.”
It testifies to God’s work of fulfillment. That’s the essence of the gospel – the good news that God kept His promises. Jesus embodied the fulfillment of God’s promises.
Jesus and God also prophesied about the time Jesus would come again. To know we are where God is working today, there needs to be testimony of what God is doing now, in our time. A place testifying to God’s fulfillment is where He is working.
What did God do in the past? What is God doing today?
That’s what the disciples testified to 2,000 years ago – the promises fulfilled in their time. That distinguished the apostles from everyone else – their words were different. “This is what God said to our ancestor Moses. Nothing else is true.” The disciples and apostles would say, “This is what God said then and this is how He fulfilled it.
Let’s briefly review the spiritual world to understand how it manifests in the physical world.
In the beginning, there was oneness and unity with God and his holy angels. The angels had free will and some chose to separate from God. Those fallen angels were cast out of heaven and became Satan and the demons.
Revelation Chapter 9 unveils mounted troops numbering 200 million, as heard by Apostle John, exemplifying the presence of evil in the spiritual world and a war broke out. This spiritual battle spills over into the physical world as well.
To identify this battlefield on Earth, we must examine Satan’s current work and strategies.
Reminder:
– Prophecy and Fulfillment to distinguish God’s work
– The Good News is that God kept his promise.
– What is God doing now? To testify His fulfillments. A place that testifies to God’s work (fulfillments)
2. Satan’s Work.
Let’s look at where Satan likes to work and where he’s actually most effective.
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
This passage conveys a strong rebuke of those who had strayed from God’s truth. Over time, they had lost the true understanding of God and instead followed their own thoughts, opinions and traditions. When Jesus came, he did not match their misguided expectations based on their flawed scriptural interpretations.
We must be careful not to make similar mistakes. Let us seek to truly understand God’s work in our time, so that we recognize what He is doing.
In verse 44, Jesus said “You belong to your father, the devil.” Satan is a liar and deceiver. Lying is intrinsic to his nature. His lies can be difficult to detect, which makes him effective at deception, that is his work.
We must be discerning. Where does Satan tell lies? How can we distinguish truth from falsehood? We must know God’s word and rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance, not merely our own understanding. With wisdom and vigilance, we can reject lies and follow the truth.
Remember:
– So what is Satan’s work? He lies. Everything the devil does is deceptive. But are his lies easy or difficult to detect? Difficult.
– Where does Satan work? What are his strategies?
It starts in the minds of people, as seen in Luke 22. When Satan entered the mind of Judas, prompting him to betray Jesus. It started in Judas’ mind.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Satan prompted Judas. To prompt means to instigate or encourage someone to do something. In the previous chapter, John 12, Judas criticizes Mary for wasting expensive perfume on Jesus’s feet. But we know from that same chapter that Judas was a thief. Satan took note of that weakness. Later on, how did Judas betray Jesus? He used money. The Pharisees gave him money, and Satan exploited Judas’ weakness for money. He was able to influence his mind and heart.
This is the first place Satan works – in everyone’s mind and heart. No one is exempt from his attacks. Your only defense is God’s word. It makes you strong and serves as spiritual armor.
So really, tonight is a time for self-contemplation. What weaknesses might Satan exploit in me? He will certainly try, especially when you are studying God’s word more deeply. As you dive deeper into scripture, you become a greater threat to Satan.
Satan wants to keep us ignorant, docile and easy to devour. But when someone knows God’s word, they become a threat. Even someone who walked with Jesus for three years – Judas – succumbed to Satan’s temptations.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Let’s not be like Judas. Let’s be strong in God’s word, especially in settings where hearts and minds gather, where Satan can be most influential.
Can Satan’s strategies get even more effective?
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
God’s Temple
As was mentioned, Satan often works most in churches. Of course, his prime targets are people trying to get closer to God. Why would he need to target those who already don’t believe in God? It is the believers who are his prime targets. Have you ever wondered why there is always strife and arguments in churches? Why there are always issues when someone falls? I thought you would be better than this as a believer in God. The church is a prime target.
So we cannot blindly say everything is fine and glory to God. That type of person will get targeted quickly. All it takes is a little hurt for that person to leave the church, blaming God for what happened.
We must be strong and discerning, because it is not easy. But we can do it.
I want to conclude – a church with testimony of fulfillment is a place where Satan does not work. A place with no testimony of fulfillment is where Satan works.
This is the battleground. Not bars, not strip clubs, not nightclubs or places commonly discussed. It’s not Hollywood or other worldly places. The battleground is and has always been the church, and will continue to be so until the conclusion of things, as the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13 reminds us. The enemy sows weeds in the same field where the farmer planted good seeds, and they must grow up together.
Reminder:
The Churches is the battleground.
I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
The apostles and early disciples faced challenges establishing the early churches. Paul traveled from town to town founding churches, dedicating himself to spreading the truth after his transformative encounter with Jesus. Though grace had been shown to him, Paul worked tirelessly for years to establish churches across the region. He would check in on them, often hearing disturbing reports. In response, he would pen letters – 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians – to wake them up. “If anyone comes preaching a different gospel or a different Jesus than what we preached,” he warned, “do not be deceived.” New believers, only months into the faith, were vulnerable to false teachings that could spiritually destroy them.
The apostles and disciples were fighting an internal war for the truth. They were fighting a war, weren’t they? Unfortunately, these conflicts still happen today, which is why coming together around Scripture is so important. Though we come from different backgrounds, Scripture unites us in discernment. We want to test teachings to find where God actually is at work.
The key is not relying on opinions, but asking, “What does Scripture say?” Testing teachings against Scripture helps us combat deception and discern where the Spirit is guiding us. We need to test the spirits.
Testing the Spirits
How Do Spirits Work?
Spirits work through communicating thoughts and ideas, which can be based in truth or deception. For example, in John 13, Satan influenced Judas with malicious thoughts, prompting him to betray Jesus.
Have you ever had an intrusive thought that seemed to come out of nowhere and startled you? I have experienced that regularly. In those moments, it’s important to pause and discern where that thought came from – is it from God, my own mind, or an external influence?
Before automatically accepting a thought, check it against scripture and consider what God would have you do. For example, “I’m too tired to study” or “I’m too hungry to focus” – those excuses probably come from my own mind rather than God. After discernment, it may become clear that I just need a snack break before continuing to study.
As Jesus said in John 6:63, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Words and the thoughts they convey are powerful vehicles through which spirits operate. We must carefully filter the words and ideas we encounter through the truth of scripture, so that we can distinguish words of life from words rooted in deception.
Discernment helps us navigate the spiritual influences around us.
Reminder:
– Spirits work through words. And they can either be words of truth or words of lies.
In 1 John 4:1, the apostle John encourages believers to “test the spirits” and discern truth from falsehood.
He warns that many false prophets have gone out into the world, and since prophets speak, we must carefully evaluate their messages. When we hear something, we should examine the Scriptures and check if it aligns with God’s Word. If it contradicts the Bible, we must reject it. But if it is consistent, we can accept it and connect the speaker’s insight to the biblical text, affirming “Amen, that is what this verse says.”
As Christians, we need to develop this ability to test teachings and discern spiritual truth from deception. Let’s look at another verse that talks about those who are able to do this with wisdom and understanding.
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Let us be like the Bereans. They listened to the words of Paul attentively. However, they did not stop there. They then examined the Scriptures. Before believing, let us emulate their example – even of me.
So after the class, do not just say “wow, great message.” Go back and pore through the Scriptures again. See the passages with your own eyes once more. Confirm and ask questions, as the Bereans had many inquiries.
I recommend everyone maintain a notebook for questions – a small pocketbook to bring along. Whenever a question arises, perhaps while reading a passage or reviewing, write it down immediately so you do not forget. The most frustrating occurrence is having a question and then not remembering it later.
Therefore, let us mimic the Bereans who heard and confirmed – listening and then validating with Scripture. Amen. Now let’s discuss how we should not discern. Jeremiah chapter 17 tells us what we ought not utilize as our method for discernment.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
We should be careful not to solely rely on our hearts to discern truth and people’s motives as the method. The heart can be deceitful.
Satan knows this and uses it as a main tool to lead people astray with thoughts like “follow your heart” or “listen to your inner voice.” This can lead people to walk away from God, thinking they are walking towards truth.
Instead, we should look to God’s word as our guide. It never lies. When evaluating a church or religious teaching, look at whether they deeply explore and testify to the fulfillment of Scripture. Or do they mainly teach man’s traditions and rules without grounding in the Bible?
We are all in this spiritual war, whether we realize it or not. We have to be able to discern whether a teaching is speaking real biblical truth, even if it is comfortable to our hearts. God wants us to hear this – it’s in Scripture for a reason. As it says in Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Let God’s word be a guide, illuminating the right path forward. This is why we study – to align our hearts with His truth.
Reminder:
– So, as we study, breathe. It’s okay. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re studying. But let the word be your guide. You have to be able to look at a place. And see whether they are speaking truth.
– No use “heart” as your discerning method. Jeremiah 17:9
Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Send for your light and your truth, let your guidance lead me to your dwelling place. Question whether you are in a place of truth. The word is your guide. It is the answer.
Listen intently and confirm – that’s how we can discern and we will get more tools as we deserve, more protection to add to your armor. As he said, the word is your guide. Do not fret.”
Memorization
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John
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